What is employee cross-training in the workplace?

Cross-training in the workplace involves training employees to perform tasks and roles outside their usual responsibilities. This approach enhances flexibility, fosters a deeper understanding of the business, and improves teamwork by enabling staff to support each other across different functions. It also prepares employees for career growth and succession within the company.

For example, a customer service rep might be cross-trained with customer support to interchange responsibilities.

You might establish a program for cross-training employees in just a few key areas of development. You could also cross-train workers in every aspect of another role. 

The program you create for cross-training employees will depend on your organization's needs. Of course, you should also create these training programs with your workers in mind, as they can benefit from being cross-trained.

Why cross-train employees?

Managers once implemented cross-training at work to prepare top workers for management positions. These upwardly mobile workers needed to do many different jobs to lead effectively. They learned what to expect from the people they would eventually be managing through cross-training.

Now, there are many reasons for cross-training at work. Sometimes, it's simply a way to deal with staffing shortages. The more people know, the better prepared to do work if someone leaves or is unavailable.

Cross-training employees also prepares them for lateral moves. Cross-training is key to helping cover needs in another department or implementing changes that involve multiple teams.

Benefits of cross-training employees

There are many benefits of cross-training employees. Here are some of the things your organization could gain when cross-training at work is a priority:

• Easier to ensure that workers complete necessary tasks
• Identify team talents and capabilities
• Allow motivated workers to explore new roles
• Improve retention rates
• Prepare for shortages and crises
• Foster empathy, understanding, and communication
• Save money by meeting temporary productivity needs internally
• Identify redundancies
  

Employees benefit from cross-training, as well. A properly cross-trained employee can see these benefits:

• Learn beneficial and marketable skills
• Do work that is engaging and interesting
• Earn promotions from within
• Avoid burnout
• Explore new positions and create a plan for professional development
• Ensure better job stability
  

When workers have adequate cross-training, knowledge stays within the company, even when someone leaves. There's no danger of just one person knowing how to do a mission-critical task or being the only person with critical information.

Best practices for cross-training employees

So, you have decided who will undergo cross-training. You've also explored areas where workers might struggle and removed other roadblocks to success. Now, you're ready to implement a successful cross-training initiative. Here are some best practices for getting started:

1. Look for and learn from existing training programs

Even if your company has never launched a formal cross-training program, chances are workers are cross-training right now. Remember that the practice of training employees to take on other roles is born out of necessity.

You likely have team leaders cross-training people to meet their goals and objectives in your organization. Likewise, there are probably motivated team members who have taken it upon themselves to develop new skills and learn about roles that interest them. Ask some questions, and you might find some great examples to learn from.

2. Present the benefits to managers and teams

The decision to cross-train employees shouldn't be made at the executive level, then foisted onto everyone else. That's just going to lead to frustration, resistance, and loss of productivity. Instead, every team should be given as much autonomy as possible in deciding whether cross-training is for them, which roles should receive priority, and how to implement the program.

To maximize enthusiastic participation, understand the needs and challenges of each department at your company. Prepare a well-justified case that cross-training will benefit (not burden) them. If you've implemented cross-training successfully in one area of your organization, use that as an example.

3. Document roles and responsibilities

It's critical to document the training process for each role. First and foremost, there should be a clear, up-to-date job description. Then, outline the responsibilities for each position. This outlining is necessary to identify the skills and competencies your trainees need to master during cross-training. 

Ask both managers and workers to participate in this process. There may be a disconnect between what managers perceive team members to be doing versus what they do now.

4. Match workers to cross-training opportunities

Now, it's time to determine which employees will be the best fit for specific cross-training activities. Start by deciding whether you will implement this training on an intra-departmental or interdepartmental basis. 

With the first option, you only provide cross-training to teams within their business area. If you choose the second, you will cross-train employees to work in entirely different departments. As a general rule, inter-departmental training will be more complicated to design and implement.

Consider their talents, skills, and professional development goals to assign workers to the best cross-training opportunities. The more interested they are in pursuing the opportunity, the more engaged they will be. At the same time, teams will benefit more when cross-trained employees have an affinity for the work.

5. Document procedures

It is imperative to have processes and procedures documented to cross-train employees effectively. Unfortunately, this is often a problem in many companies and organizations. 

It's very common for team leaders to implement procedural changes. This implementation helps teams solve urgent problems, adopt new technologies, improve productivity, and more. However, it is much less common for formal documentation to reflect current changes.

When these updates slip through the cracks, there can be a disconnect between the documentation and what workers need to learn during cross-training. That's why the first step is to bring all documents and manuals current.

Make sure this process includes any digital training assets. Now is the time to find and update training videos, online training manuals, and other assets used to train workers. This organizational undertaking will help with your effort to implement cross-training and improve future onboarding efforts.

6. Determine the best methodology

Many people envision cross-training as simply "job shadowing" or sending an employee over to another team to learn "on the job." Sometimes, this is a perfectly valid approach on its own. 

On-the-job training and shadowing are two methods of cross-training that can be effective, especially for roles that don't require a lot of specialized knowledge or practice. However, some workers may need to undergo more formal training before stepping into a new position. 

Instructor-led training

Formalized training happens in a training room environment for participants in the cross-training program. This approach works well when a) specific skills and abilities are vital to job success and b) workers must undergo an assessment before executing their new roles in a productive environment. Consider using this option when trainers are also required to have specific qualifications.

Self-directed training

With this option, participants complete any necessary training and assessments at their own pace. This method will utilize web-based training, video courses, and other eLearning options.

Hybrid training

Hybrid training will include any combination of the methods above. For example, workers may take a brief online course to pass a certification test, then move to on-the-job training.

7. Design training processes

No matter how you plan to train your employees, it's essential to have some formalized training plan in place. Even if your only goal is to use on-the-job training, there have to be some training objectives at an absolute minimum. 

Otherwise, an employee may learn only a fraction of the skills they need to be truly competent in a new role. By establishing training processes, you ensure that the organization and the employees benefit from the experience. Consider these questions as you formalize training for each position:

• What skills should each participant master?
• How will the company assess each trainee's knowledge and ability?
• Which key work activities should trainees experience?
• Is there time- or date-dependent training (e.g., working during an opening or closing shift or before a holiday)?
  

It may be helpful to create a checklist of tasks or activities for each trainee to complete. Workers can then use this checklist to document their progression through the training process.

Consider who is going to be delivering the training, as well. People with different expertise may need to provide instruction or guide trainees through specific tasks.

8. Start small

It's rarely a good idea to roll out a company-wide cross-training initiative. Instead, start with something that is both small and impactful. Look for a team that could benefit significantly from cross-training and starts there. If you can identify enthusiastic participants, that is certainly a plus.

Use that as your pilot program once you can create and successfully execute a cross-training program at that level. Gather data on the positive outcomes, and use this to achieve buy-in from other business areas. People initially hesitant to take part may be more willing once they see a real-life example of success.

9. Rotate cross-trained workers regularly

Workers will gain valuable knowledge and experience during cross-training. Unfortunately, that's going to be lost if they can't use it regularly. 

Every cross-training program must include plans to rotate workers into other positions regularly. This rotation will allow them to use what they have learned and ensure they can integrate into different roles easily. 

10. Keep training current

In addition to being rotated into alternate roles regularly, cross-training programs should provide necessary "refresher" coursework. Ongoing training ensures that everyone can step into their new duties regardless of any changes. 

For example, if a department begins using a new software package, that training must be available to both team members and anyone identified as being cross-trained.

11. Collect feedback

It's paramount to collect and analyze feedback from everyone who is a stakeholder in a cross-training program, including:

• Trainees
• Trainers and mentors
• Department heads
• Managers and supervisors
• Team members
  

To get the most valuable data, you'll want to collect feedback during the training process, immediately after, and in the future once there's been enough time to see (or not see) the results.

Create employee engagement surveys and other instruments to ask the most pertinent questions of every stakeholder. However, consider inviting some open-ended responses, as well. Surveys will allow everyone to express frustrations, successes, and suggestions.

12. Modify existing cross-training programs

Cross-training should be an interactive process in many ways. Now that you have helpful feedback, use it to return to your cross-training programs to make improvements. Then, once those are implemented, you can continue delivering training, collecting feedback, and making additional changes. 

13. Expand the program

If your cross-training program is successful, look for ways to expand it. Expansion might include introducing cross-training to new teams. You could also offer cross-training opportunities to a broader selection of workers in your organization.

Get Help Executing a Successful Cross-Training Initiative

The benefits of cross-training are clear. However, the processes you need to engage in to make this endeavor work can be complex. Fortunately, you don't have to do this on your own. 

Several platforms offer the tools and resources you need to design and deliver beautiful and functional cross-training to your team members. The right platform will have everything you need to start this or any other corporate training initiative.