Cross training simply means improving the employees with training them to do the different part of the organisation’s work. To further explain, we can say training an employee A to do the work of employee B and training the employee B to do the work of employee A. There are several advantages for the organisation as well for the employees to implement and harvest the benefits of cross training at work. The cross training is also good for managers as it provides flexibility to manage the workforce in order to get the job done. It is also good for the employees as it improves their skills, increase their value to the organisation and combat position fatigue.
Cross training can be used in almost any position and in almost every industry. The organisations which have high customer contact, frequently cross-training their service representatives on various roles will help ensure the empathy with the customer. There are numerous benefits of the cross training at work which will result in better work flow.
Benefits of Cross Training at Work
Listed below are some of the major benefits of cross training at work.
- When you cross train your employees, your organisation can reduce the cost of recruiting new candidates from outside the organisation. This process is beneficial for both the employee and for the management. As for management, it will reduce the cost of hiring new employee and it will save from the hassle of training new employees. And for the employee, it is a chance to prove your talent and skills to secure the better position in the organisation where you’ve been working. Also learning a new skill within the company fits together with learning how your organisation needs that skill to be used.
- Another one of the benefits of cross training at work is that when you cross train the employees, they get the know-how of all the departments and they learn the management skill. The skills include, Communication, vision, managing workload and conflict resolution. Based on the mentioned skills, it is easy for the management to promote the best candidate which will work out for the best benefit of the organisation.
- Cross training the employees can save productivity when the other employees are absent. As we all know, a simple injury, occasional illness and family emergencies cannot be avoided. So whenever an employee is absent due to any issue, the other employees will be able to cover that work and it will keep up the productivity of the organisation.
- You can boost the motivation of your employees with relevant training for their career growth. How would that be possible? Sometimes, the best motivators are non-monetary awards. By offering the cross-training, a company genuinely states that it is interested in the career growth of their workers. It also allows the most motivated and passionate workers to self select into cross training. This less effort helps them in proving themselves as a rising star of the organisation.
- Cross training can help you in recruiting the new employees more strategically. When you cross-train your employees to increase their skill set and to avoid the gap in productivity, you know what they can do and what they are capable of. When a senior person retires or leave, you’ll have the clear picture of your staff that what they can do and what they cannot do, this will help you in hiring new talent more strategically.
- Whenever your organisation faces a special project and increased work flow, the best part to control the situation is to use temporary staff. This situation cannot be dealt by the cross training because it involves a lot of man power and some other factors. So, when you invest on temporary staff, your cross trained employees will be able to manage them very efficiently and knowing the situation they will work hard to achieve the goals.
- Cross training the employees help them communicate with the other team members and also increase their confidence. When they communicate the communication gap will be eliminated and they will be able to work in a more comfortable environment. And as we all know that, Team work makes the dream work.
