Year-end Promotions, Restructuring, and New Assignments 2020

This week I’d like to share my recent post in Haps Magazine Korea.

As we watch COVID-19’s impact on Korean global business, we can still expect some norms to continue — year-end promotions — proceeding as in the past.

Year-end organization-wide promotions, restructuring, and new assignments for teams are traditionally a part of Korean corporate culture. Top to bottom within Korean companies they occur sometime between early December and early January, with the changes to senior leadership happening first, and team level changes as a norm made known the week just before or between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

After the holidays, teams then report back to work. Some assume new roles frequently in departments where they have little experience — requiring employees to acquire new skills — sink or swim.

In the days that follow those shuffled brief their replacements, as staff remaining in their jobs update new management teams on the status of projects and issues.

Meanwhile, others will be en route to assignments in overseas operations; a challenge for those working outside…