There has always been talk of cross training employees in large corporations. One thing that is often missed is how valuable cross training is to small business. So what is the value behind cross training? Why is it so important that you should be interested in cross training your employees?
Cross Training Guarantees Continuity of Service
All employees will take time off during the year, whether its as vacation time, sick time, or personal time off. As an employer you need to ensure that production continues, and the wheels keep turning. By having multiple people trained in multiple skills, employees can be rotated around to pick up for the person who is absent. This will allow for operations to continue without a hiccup.
Cross Training Provides Staff Development and Growth
An employee who is not growing and developing through their tenure with your company is a stagnant employee. These types of employees, while they may be productive in the process, are not developing as a resource. Development and growth can help keep employees engaged, instead of them mentally checking out and just methodically going through routines.
Cross Training Gives Employees Job Security
An employee who is trained in more than one task has more job security than an employee trained in a singular task. Should a poor year require layoffs, the employee with numerous skills will be more valuable to the company. On top of this, cross training is good for the employee in this case too, as should an employee lose their job, they will have more transferable skills when seeking a new job.
Cross Training Gives Employees a Support System
When various employees are well-trained in different aspects of work, they can turn to each other when they run into a road block. If they have problems, get stuck at some point in a process, or need additional input, they’ll have other employees they can turn to. They will also be able to solve problems without running to a supervisor or management, keeping them freed up to do their work.
Cross Training Provides New Perspectives
When employees are doing the same single skill day in and day out, they can develop tunnel vision. They may not see the business as a whole, and may not see how their job fits in to the entire process. Cross training will help them to see their value to the company’s processes, and can help them to improve how they do their job. This can lead to increased output and better quality of work once they see how them doing their job effects the rest of the company.
Cross Training Provides Flexibility for the Employers
Through cross training, you as an employer may be able to discover a hidden aptitude. You may find that an employee hired for a certain job or task is actually better a different relevant task. By cross training numerous employees, you may find out that you can move them around to provide more efficient output. This will create greater value for the company.
Cross Training Gives the Employee an Investment in the Company
An employer who cross trains their employees is demonstrating that they value the people as a resource. This will help to make the employee feel like they are valued, and that they have more of a stake in the company for the future. An employee with a stake in their company will naturally give more effort. This benefits both the employee and employer.
So consider putting some emphasis on cross training your employees, and giving them the opportunity to grow. It will work out best for everyone involved – and who knows, you may find out that your next superstar employee may have already been working for you, just in a different position.