There are many benefits of cross-training your employees across different departments and positions. Trained employees win because they feel valued and get to grow, the trainers win because they have an opportunity to share their expertise, and the organization wins because employee satisfaction has increased and they have employees that are more knowledgeable in different areas within their organization.
These words from Leslie Gordan, author of Employee Development: Big Company Results on a Small Business Budget, are a solid summary of the benefits of cross-training and how it can help your team and your business.
When you hire a new employee, you typically assign them to one specific role with defined tasks and responsibilities. Cross-training happens when you teach people some of the skills or duties of other roles, in addition to their own. It can be well worth the investment, as it can provide a major boost to engagement, teamwork and productivity.
A Closer Look at the Benefits of Cross-Training
Cross-training helps build people’s skills and in doing so, helps everyone to better understand exactly what it takes to keep business running smoothly and successfully. By implementing cross-training, you can achieve:
- Coverage for absenteeism: Even when your subject matter expert has to step away unexpectedly, a cross-trained employee can seamlessly step in and sustain business as usual. On a larger scale, the same applies when turnover occurs.
- Enhanced teamwork: When individuals are cross-trained, they can collaborate more effectively, share knowledge, understand each other’s responsibilities, and provide needed support.
- Better customer service: If multiple people can handle tasks, it can ensure customer needs are met. For instance, if a salesperson is absent, someone else can step in to avoid costly delays.
- An agile, future-ready business: Employees with diverse skills are better equipped to tackle whatever changing demands may occur, contributing to better overall agility and innovation for your company.
How to Make Cross-Training Work for You
Ready to get started on cross-training? Here are some tips:
- Define your processes. Break down the essential skills and duties of a role. This will help you clearly identify which aspects of a job could be taught to someone else.
- Set – and communicate – your goals. Let employees know that by implementing cross-training, your goal is to strengthen the business and their skillsets. Alleviate any concerns that you might be simply piling on additional responsibilities without compensation. Explain how cross-training will work and what the time commitment will look like, so employees can decide whether they want to participate. Which leads to …
- Keep it voluntary. This ensures that those who take part will take things seriously and make it effective for everyone involved.
- Set things in motion. Give employees opportunities to put their newly-honed skills into practice in a timely manner. You might rotate people between roles and/or departments, or assign relevant side projects. Whatever approach you take, continuously monitor progress and be accessible to answer questions and keep things on track.
The experienced workforce development team at PrideStaff Modesto can help you develop and execute a successful cross-training strategy tailored to the unique needs of your workforce and business. Contact us today to learn more.
