Cross-train your employees to boost productivity and morale

Every year, big companies spend billions of dollars to help employees upgrade their skills and capabilities. Small companies need to do the same, but on a much smaller budget. Even if you can’t afford to bring in outside trainers, you can start by cross-training your employees so they can deal with more than one job.

Cross-training boosts morale and productivity. It allows your staffers to cover for each other during vacations or sick leaves. It also enhances the value of every employee because they are able to learn new skills and handle more than one job. Best of all, everyone benefits by seeing how they do their job affects everyone else’s job. Seeing the big picture lets people work together to meet company goals.

Another perk: If co-workers truly understand each other’s duties, they may be inspired to dream up better ways to streamline operations.

Cross-training requires an action plan and a sincere desire on everyone’s part to create a more productive workplace.

So, here’s how to get started:

1. First, ask everyone on your staff to write down their job description. You may be very surprised at what they submit to you. In many cases, a person morphs the job they were hired to do into something very different. Playing to your strengths and avoiding tough tasks is just human nature.

2. After reviewing all the job descriptions, revise everyone’s responsibilities to better fit your organizational structure and management goals. This realignment is extremely important. Start by making some simple tweaks so you don’t create a lot of anxiety. But don’t back off, because realigning the organization chart is the first step toward successfully cross-training employees. When you complete the new org chart, set up individual meetings to discuss the changes. Then, share the information so people can see how their jobs intersect or overlap.

3. Assign a few key managers or employees to cross-train someone to do their job. Remember, cross-trained people don’t have to work in the same department. Think out of the box. How about training your warehouse manager to answer the phone or update your website? Maybe you can train your sales manager to deal with customer service issues? (Zappos.com, known for its stellar customer service, requires everyone, including top executives, to work in the inbound call center, especially during the holiday season.)

4. Everyone should learn how to fill in for someone else. If you don’t get enough volunteers, go back to assigning people to cover specific jobs. Remember, the person filling in for a co-worker doesn’t have to do everything the regular employee does – they still have to do their own job. But they do need to keep things running smoothly enough to avoid major delays in service or other problems.

5. Set aside time during the normal workday for the actual cross-training. Unless you want to pay overtime, the training should all be done during the regular work week.

6. Before the end of this year, ask people to submit their vacation requests. Post the schedule on your internal website or on a bulletin board. Consider accepting vacation requests on a first-come, first-served basis. This is more equitable than basing requests on seniority. Encourage people to schedule personal days off in advance, when possible.

7. Be patient. Cross-training takes time but will help everyone expand their skills and improve overall operations.