It is an age old problem: how do employers manage to maintain job satisfaction among their staff.
Now, a popular Belgian visitor attraction has come up with a novel way of helping to keep its staff happy.
Its solution is … swapping jobs.
That is exactly what Bellewaerde Park did when it held a new Job Switch Day on Friday, June 13.
This “unique” initiative allowed permanent contract staff members to swap jobs for a day.
The goal? To discover another profession and better understand their colleagues’ daily lives.
It was, in essence, a one-day immersion in a colleague’s shoes.
A spokesman for the park, which is located near the Flemish city of Ypres, told this website, “The principle is simple: for one day, roles are swapped.
“A marketing member joins the grounds team, a technical employee learns about animal care, a maintenance colleague experiences the role of a mechanic, while a member of the IT team moves to the attractions.
“This approach allows everyone to better understand the work of other departments, fosters interaction between teams, and discover the park from a different perspective.
“It’s also an opportunity for new hires to immerse themselves in the Bellewaerde atmosphere, see how the different departments work together, and take part in the visitor experience in a hands-on way,” said the spokesman for Bellewaerde.
So successful was the event deemed to be that it is possible the same exercise may be repeated in the future.
