A SECONDMENT in Japan had a huge impact on Neil O’Keeffe’s career. A director at Price Water-house Coopers’ performance-improvement consultancy, he had expected to spend two years working for PWC’s Japanese operation, in part to satisfy his desire to spend time overseas. In the end his stay lasted five-and-a-half years and transformed his long-term prospects.

“It was amazing, an immense opportunity and very challenging in terms of consulting,” said O’Keeffe, 35.

The initial task was to use his specialist skills to assist a leading Japanese food and pharmaceutical company reform its treasury (the system whereby companies earn interest from the money they hold by using it to make short-term loans to financial institutions). But once that project had been completed, he stayed on as part of PWC’s Glo-bal Mobility programme, which organises internal secondments around the world.

He began by helping to expand the capabilities of PWC’s Japanese consultancy and wound up starting a new consultancy business for his employer.

O’Keefe said the secondment helped him to break out of his technical-consulting niche and gave him broad experience of performance management. He also had to raise his game. “From a personal perspective, I have grown enormously,” he said. “I was given very different responsibilities from what I would have had at home and as a result, my business acumen and commercial awareness have developed dramatically.”

In addition, he became “dangerously competent” at speaking Japanese and forged strong links with members of the expat community, many at top levels within their own organisations.

O’Keeffe returned to Britain 18 months ago. He reckons his present position in the company is probably no higher up than it would have been had he not taken his secondment, but is more optimistic for the future.

“My time overseas sets me apart from other people at a similar grade,” he said.

Charles MacLeod, head of engagement at PWC, said secondments gave staff a great opportunity to accelerate their careers. The firm has 500 people on secondment every year, many abroad, he said.

For David Johnson, the opportunity for a secondment as acting head of human resources at Telford and Wrekin council in the West Midlands allowed him to take his career in a new direction. His background was in teaching and education management and for seven years he worked for the unitary authority in various roles at assistant director level.

When the council was unable to fill the post of head of human resources, he pounced. Johnson had made it clear he wanted to develop his career, and a two-year secondment was proposed. “I had always enjoyed working in the human-resources arena,” he said. “The two-year period gave both the organisation and myself an opportunity to see if it would be a beneficial move.”

During this time, Johnson was given support within the organisation as well as expert coaching from an experienced head of human resources from another authority. Had the initiative failed, Johnson would have been found a new post of similar status to the one he vacated. But everything went well and in April last year he was confirmed in the job. Johnson, 52, now earns £78,000. “Secondments often give people a taste of greater responsibility, help develop their careers and keep them motivated,” he said.

One of the principal uses of secondments is to develop leadership, according to Vanessa Robinson, an adviser with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. “They give people judged to be of high potential the opportunity to get exposure to a different environment, possibly take on more responsibility and hence demonstrate higher levels of leadership,” she said.

This can be very helpful when opportunities for promotion are limited, a growing concern as organisations adopt ever-flatter management structures.

Robinson said: “If the secondment is chosen appropriately and the individual gets the right extra stretch, it can only be positive for his personal development.”

Secondments need to be well thought through, however. Their objectives have to be made clear, contact with the original firm needs to be maintained and the return has to be well planned.

For the senior industry figures and civil servants who go on cross-sector secondments through the Whitehall and Industry Group (Wig), planning is essential to ensure that all parties benefit from the exercise.

Sally Cantello, chief executive of Wig, which seeks to build understanding and cooperation between industry and government, said the group’s exchange programme could have an enormous impact on careers. Sixty people will take part this year, working on tailored projects in the public and private sectors.

“It improves their leadership and professional skills, gives them detailed insight into another sector and makes them more rounded individuals,” she said. “Those from industry who take a secondment in government also get a sense of who’s who in government, how it works and who they might need to talk to in future.”

Richard Chalk, a senior manager in the group regulatory risk unit of Royal Bank of Scotland, spent two years leading a team within the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Chalk had spent his entire career in banking, latterly leading strategic projects. He knew he needed a change and the opportunity of a secondment in the public sector seemed ideal.

“I was hoping that it would expand my skill set and give me more experience in man management and leadership,” said Chalk, 50.

He led the corporate-develop-ment team in Defra’s improvement and delivery group during a time of significant change in the new department. His 40-strong team introduced some of the best elements of change management, installed a leadership programme for senior management and implemented new ways of recognising and managing the risks that Defra faced, from bird flu to flooding, following a model that is widely used in the financial sector.

“It was a real breath of fresh air to be given the opportunity to take up a role in a government department, though there was a huge learning curve,” said Chalk.

He returned to RBS in 2005 with a better understanding of his skills and was determined to take advantage of his experience and seek more senior positions.

“Improving my ability to communicate with people who are not in the banking industry and my insight into how public-sector bodies operate give me a real advantage now,” he said.

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