In a time of skills shortages and lagging employee morale, organizations are trialing different methods to solve these challenges. Cross training employees has many benefits beyond covering a colleague’s work when they’re off sick. Let’s look at the benefits of cross training employees in your workplace.
Note: Ready to transform your cross-training initiatives? Fuel50’s talent marketplace can help you create visible opportunities, track progress, and build a more versatile workforce. Request a demo today.
What is employee cross training?
Cross training – also known as cross learning, cross functional training, upskilling, or reskilling – involves providing opportunities to employees to learn new skills and have new work experiences that contribute to their career growth and development. Employee cross training is a strategic approach to enhance workforce versatility and skill sets.
Organizations are finding that gig work – short term projects – is an excellent way for employees to learn new skills on the job and get access to experiences that they wouldn’t otherwise have. To cross train employees, it is important to involve teams in the decision-making process, ensuring that the benefits are maximized and the necessary procedures and resources are documented for effective implementation.
Why is cross training important?
Of the 50% of Americans who want to make career changes, 39% want a raise or promotion, and 33% want to switch industries. However, internal research has shown that half of respondents believed it was easier to get a new job outside of their current organisation, and another 22% said that lateral moves (moving to a different team or discipline) were discouraged.
For organizations concerned about their employee retention and attrition metrics, ensuring that there are visible cross training opportunities within the organization is an excellent way to boost retention. Cross training can significantly reduce employee turnover by fostering skill development and job satisfaction.
Cross training helps develop employee versatility and promotes an agile work environment. Cross trained employees can enhance innovation, productivity, and operational efficiency.
8 Benefits of Cross Training Employees
- Builds an agile, future-ready workforce. From a workforce planning perspective, cross training workers goes beyond simply covering for a sick employee. Cross-trained employees enhance creativity, flexibility, and productivity by filling skills gaps, mitigating future gaps, and ensuring your organization can pivot in response to industry demands.
- Boosts return on investment. Instead of spending money outsourcing work to specialist or hiring a contingent worker, you can mobilize your existing skilled talent into the empty role and backfill with junior, easier to find staff.
- Improves employee engagement. Most employees want to learn and grow – providing cross training opportunities supports their personal and professional growth, increasing motivation and a sense of job satisfaction.
- Improves employee retention. If employees can see a future and opportunities to grow within a company, they are more likely to feel challenged and engaged. Creating a culture of continuous learning can increase job satisfaction, and they are more likely to stay long-term.
- Increases collaboration. Cross training involves collaborating with colleagues from different departments, which can boost engagement and comradery. Once employees have more diverse skill sets, they can also work across more projects with different colleagues, improving collaboration and teamwork.
- Increases productivity. Skills gaps decrease productivity as employees either need to find ways to do something or wait for a skilled person to complete their part. Enabling employees to perform tasks beyond their usual job responsibilities increases productivity and efficiency.
- Boosts innovation. Once the employee is upskilled, they return to their usual role with new hard and soft skills and a new perspective, which can foster innovation. Cross training involves teaching employees to perform tasks outside their primary job duties, enhancing their skill set and making them more versatile and valuable to the organization.
- Amplify succession planning. Prioritising internal mobility over external hiring is a lot more cost-effective and the onboarding time is significantly reduced. One of the benefits of cross training employees is that managers can share their skills and experience, priming specific employees for managerial roles. Even if cross training doesn’t lead to a promotion, it will reveal who in the organization has the aptitude and appetite to learn.
Read more: Kick start your succession planning strategy
How to effectively plan and implement cross training programs?
Effective planning and implementation of a cross training program are crucial to its success. Here are some steps to follow:
- Define the goals and objectives: Start by clearly defining what you aim to achieve with your cross training program. Identify the specific skills and knowledge you want your employees to acquire. This clarity will guide the entire process and ensure that the training is aligned with your organizational needs.
- Identify the target audience: Determine which employees will benefit most from the cross training program. Assess their current skills and identify any knowledge gaps. This targeted approach ensures that the training is relevant and impactful.
- Develop a training plan: Create a comprehensive training plan that outlines the content, delivery methods, and evaluation criteria. This plan should be detailed and structured, providing a clear roadmap for the training process.
- Choose the right training methods: Select the most effective training methods for your program. This could include on-the-job training, instructor-led sessions, and peer-to-peer learning. Using a variety of methods caters to different learning styles and keeps the training engaging.
- Provide feedback and evaluation: Regularly provide feedback to employees on their performance and progress. This helps them understand their strengths and areas for improvement. Additionally, evaluate the overall effectiveness of the training program and make necessary adjustments to ensure it meets its goals.
By following these steps, you can implement a cross training program that not only enhances your employees’ skills but also contributes to the overall success of your organization.
Best Practices for Cross Training
Here are some best practices for cross training employees:
- Make it a part of your company culture: Integrate cross training into your company culture. Encourage employees to take ownership of their learning and development. When cross training becomes a norm, it fosters a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.
- Provide opportunities for growth and development: Offer ample opportunities for employees to grow and develop new skills. Recognize and reward their achievements to motivate them further. This not only boosts morale but also encourages a proactive approach to learning.
- Use a variety of training methods: Employ a mix of training methods such as on-the-job training, instructor-led sessions, and peer-to-peer learning. This variety caters to different learning preferences and keeps the training dynamic and engaging.
- Evaluate and adjust: Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of your cross training program. Gather feedback from participants and make necessary adjustments to ensure the program remains relevant and effective. This iterative approach helps in fine-tuning the training to better meet organizational goals.
- Communicate the benefits: Clearly communicate the benefits of cross training to your employees. Highlight how it provides opportunities to learn new skills, take on new challenges, and advance their careers. When employees understand the value, they are more likely to engage fully with the program.
By following these best practices, you can create a cross training program that is not only effective but also engaging and beneficial for both employees and the organization.
Turn your organization into a cross-training powerhouse with Fuel50
While many organizations understand the value of cross-training, implementing an effective program can be challenging without the right tools. Fuel50’s talent marketplace platform offers several features that make cross-training initiatives more streamlined and successful.
Create visibility into cross-training opportunities
Fuel50’s skill-based marketplace goes beyond traditional job boards. It maps the skills across your organization, allowing employees to discover opportunities that match their interests and capabilities, even if they’re in different departments.
The platform shows employees exactly what skills they need for different roles and identifies the ones they already have from their current position. This transparency helps employees see potential career moves they might never have considered otherwise.
For example, a marketing analyst with strong data skills might discover project opportunities in the business intelligence team, or a customer service representative with great people skills could find mentoring opportunities in HR.
Enable experiential learning through gigs
Fuel50’s gig marketplace transforms cross-training from theoretical learning into practical experience. Rather than just reading about or observing different roles, employees can take on short-term projects that build new skills while contributing real value to the organization.
For instance, a finance team member interested in project management could take on a small project lead role while maintaining their primary responsibilities. This hands-on experience provides real-world learning that’s far more effective than traditional training methods.
Track skill development and progress
One of the challenges in cross-training is measuring its effectiveness. Fuel50 addresses this by providing comprehensive skills tracking and development metrics. The platform monitors how employees’ skill sets expand through their cross-training experiences, providing concrete data on program success.
This tracking isn’t just about checking boxes. The platform helps identify which cross-training initiatives are most effective and where employees might need additional support. It also helps organizations spot emerging talent who show aptitude in new areas.
Support mentorship and knowledge sharing
Cross-training is most effective when experienced employees can share their knowledge with others. Fuel50’s mentoring features facilitate these connections, matching employees who want to learn specific skills with those who can teach them.
The platform doesn’t just create random pairings. It uses skill and interest data to suggest mentorship matches that benefit both parties, creating sustainable knowledge-sharing relationships across the organization.
Drive data-informed cross-training decisions
Fuel50’s analytics capabilities help organizations make strategic decisions about their cross-training initiatives. The platform provides insights into which skills are most in demand, where skill gaps exist, and how cross-training efforts are impacting organizational capability.
This data-driven approach ensures that cross-training programs align with business needs while supporting employee growth. Instead of guessing which cross-training opportunities to offer, organizations can make informed decisions based on real workforce data.
Note: Ready to transform your cross-training initiatives? Fuel50’s talent marketplace can help you create visible opportunities, track progress, and build a more versatile workforce. Request a demo today.
Final thoughts on an effective cross training program
With so many advantages to cross training, it should be an HR priority in 2024. To cross train employees effectively, it is crucial to document procedures thoroughly. While you may experience a short term loss in productivity, the long term gains from cross training and gig work are well worth it. Find out how to develop a cross training plan for your organization.
Note: Ready to transform your cross-training initiatives? Fuel50’s talent marketplace can help you create visible opportunities, track progress, and build a more versatile workforce. Request a demo today.
