With the continuing and likely knock-on effects of Covid changing the face of businesses everywhere, evaluation of training and hiring plans are more important than ever. One of the most prevalent strategies is the focus on cross training instead of re-hiring. This move is greatly beneficial for a wide range of companies and industries, not least because employee cross-training can significantly improve your workforce's productivity as well as saving you money in the long term. Here are several significant advantages of cross-training employees.

What does it mean for an employee to be cross-trained?

Cross-training employees is more than just showing everyone how to use the copier in case your administrative assistant is out of the office. It begins with identifying the primary duties and skills required in a certain area of your organisation, and then training each employee in these abilities so that they can assist when needed.

Cross-training attempts to improve the capabilities of everyone in the firm so that everyone understands what it takes to run the company. Instead of outsourcing or overwhelming one set of employees at busy times, the goal is to empower people to give help from within the organisation.

Excellent investment return

While it is critical to hire people who are capable of performing their tasks successfully, evaluating the talent you already have on staff can significantly improve your bottom line.

Cross-training, when done correctly, allows employees to share their knowledge without having to hire more people. Employee on-boarding costs and time spent recruiting are reduced as a result of this.

Improves employee morale

The idea of a dead-end career is one of the most powerful deterrents to employee effort. If your staff don't see any opportunities for advancement inside your business, they may well look elsewhere, and who could blame them?

When employees are aware that there are prospects for advancement within the organisation, they are more motivated to seek out such chances. Employees that are more driven will seek out more prospects for advancement and mobility in their careers and cross training can be an easy way to clearly identify such individuals.

It boosts productivity

If each department is responsible for identifying key skills to include in a cross-training programme for employees, they will be pushed to consider what is vital and how to best pass on that information.

This action promotes productivity in and of itself, which is especially important in small organisations when each person already has numerous layers of responsibilities. Developing the necessary abilities and figuring out how to communicate them efficiently and effectively can help you streamline every part of your organisation.

Improves the long-term viability of the workforce

Consider a stool's three legs. If one of the legs breaks, the stool is rendered worthless. Consider a corporation where just one employee is familiar with a process or procedure. What if that person goes on maternity leave or becomes sick and needs to take time off?

Even when your resident expert is away, cross-training personnel keeps your organisation running. This ensures the long-term viability of your teams and even companies, especially during times of transformation such as the world is in right now.

Makes your business more adaptable

Cross-training employees may comprise on-the-job training that can help employees discover latent talents, expand their skill sets, and serve as a springboard for furthering your company's goals and objectives.

Regardless of the size or industry, this makes your firm more nimble and responsive. It also allows you to be more flexible when it comes to scheduling and filling last-minute openings.

But it is important not to overdo it with cross-training, make sure your teams are fully functional regardless of whether anyone is out of the office for a time, but let your specialists be specialists. Allowing employees to excel in particular areas is great for moral as well as productivity, being taken away from something you’re good at and take pride in can be highly detrimental when not wholly necessary.

How do you manage your skills gaps in the workplace during and looking towards time after Covid? Let us know your thoughts and strategies.