Cross-training employees is a strategic approach that can safeguard your company’s bottom line. With the best approach that focuses on your workforce development, you can provide a major boost to your workforce’s productivity.
Cross-training is the practice of training an employee to be able to do the work that another employee does, while they still have their primary role. Although it might initially seem like you are adding more work to their responsibilities, understand that the additions are not their main responsibility. Be transparent about how it will help them grow.
In the past, it was common for a person to have one job and keep that job for life. But people no longer want that. They want to grow and have opportunities.
By increasing employees’ skills and adaptability, they will not be limited by the skills they have. It helps put them on a path of growth with new opportunities.
When it comes to developing a strategy, it is crucial that you understand your purpose for cross-training employees and the benefits to both your company and the employees. Recognize that everyone benefits – from the leaders and managers to all team members and the various departments.
It is also not only a strategy for large companies. Small to medium-sized companies have many of the same issues and often need more thought and planning in their strategic approach.
The Purpose of Cross-Training
When you embrace cross-training, you are promoting a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. Your purpose might include empowering employees, increasing the agility of your organization, and contributing to operational efficiency.
The advantage as a strategic approach will help increase your position in today’s competitive markets and better prepare your company in the ever-changing business landscape.
The Benefits of Cross-Training
In developing your strategy, understand the benefits you want to gain for your organization. Some of the benefits include:
- It helps employees share knowledge without additional hiring.
- It helps cover work schedules for holidays, vacations, and sick leave.
- It increases collaboration and team building.
- It improves operational efficiency.
- It increases employee motivation and improves engagement.
- It prepares employees for career growth and increases retention.
When Cross-Training Works as a Strategic Approach
Before you dive into cross-training employees, it is important to target the areas within your organization that would improve the most from increased skills and talents.
Covering Positions within Your Organization
Interdepartmental cross-training is beneficial to cover employees during time off, such as during vacations or other scheduled leave. But it is not only interdepartmental. Small to medium-sized companies need to be savvy in how they manage their talent when there is a crunch during vacation and holidays, too. It can also be beneficial to avoid unnecessary distractions, such as when employees can help with screening questions.
When companies do not have a plan to cover time off and simply leave the staff to handle the gap, this can lead to underperformance, overwhelm, and burnout. The inefficiency in performance is often excused by understaffing. But this does not have to be the case.
With a strategic approach to cross-train within the company, you have a plan that helps operations continue smoothly, even though an employee is away.
The key to consider is that you do not want to take an employee away from important work to fill in for another’s work. Selecting the appropriate employees to cross-train is part of your strategy so that they still have their primary job, but for a good reason, you will be able to temporarily reposition them to do a different job without overburdening them.
Cross-Training for Busy Times
There might be times during the year when business is hectic in certain departments and slower in others. While one strategy is often hiring temporary staff to cover the overflow of work, it might be a better strategy to cross-train some employees. Think about whether you have employees in other departments that might be slower during this same time. They might be more available to assist in the busier departments for a brief time.
The idea is to empower employees to provide support from within the company instead of outsourcing or overloading one group of employees during hectic times.
But it is important that you do not train people with skills that are too generalized. It is nice to fill in the gaps with a floater, but you do not want a lot of people to know a little bit about everything and not so much about anything. They should still have their expertise.
Helping Staff Work on Special Projects
In another example, there might be more specialized, complex projects that periodically take away some of your staff from their typical responsibilities. This often happens when companies are trying to expand.
By cross-training others to handle more of the typical workload, you free up your specialized staff to take up the work of the special projects. This can result in a higher performance level for your company while also being very satisfactory to the employee who has specialized skills.
A key factor in your strategic approach should be to leverage each employee’s strengths without causing burnout. You want to recognize their talents and potential while helping them find balance in their workload.
Adding Value to Your Company
Having the flexibility to manage your employees in ways beyond their primary roles can be a game changer that adds huge value to your company. The value ranges from increased flexibility and adaptability to improved collaboration and employee satisfaction. Your company gets versatility with your workforce, allowing it to be better prepared to meet evolving business needs and drive success.
In addition, cross-training does not have to require full training with weeks spent getting certifications, studying training manuals and assessments. The aim is simply to build the skills of specific employees so they can step in for support when needed.
It is important to understand that cross-training is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. You must make the training relevant, have clear communication, and develop an effective strategic approach. Having a strategic planning and training company like Impact Branding Consulting will help you review all your options to find the right balance to support your company’s goals and your employee training needs.
If you are ready to improve your bottom line by adding cross-training to your strategic approach, contact IBC.