Use Cross-Training to Improve Flexibility

03/05/07

Do one thing. Do it well. That may work as a General Motors’ marketing slogan, but not as a training philosophy. In fact, many companies are replacing traditional “one person/one task” training with cross-training. The results often speak for themselves.

For example, when The St. Paul Companies cut their print shop staff and cross-trained the remaining printers to run several presses, the cost of the average print job decreased nine percent and productivity increased eight percent.

Kurt Manufacturing Company, which makes machine vises, cross-trained operators to both run and maintain their equipment and decide which co-workers would run specific machines within their production cells. When coupled with teamwork and work-cell production methods, cross-training helped the company decrease the traveling distance for parts from 4,985 feet to a mere 180 feet and reduced the number of forklift moves from forty-four to only one.

Wilton Armetale, a maker of metal cooking and serving dishes, cross-trained workers in the order entry and customer service departments to handle all the jobs previously done in each area. Despite reducing the number of employees in both departments, customer satisfaction and employee performance increased.

Alumni of Dana Corporation’s cross-training programs at some locations may work in a variety of departments, including receiving, assembly, testing, and shipping—with a corresponding pay raise.

Cross Training—Why Do It?
As some of these examples confirm, cross-training offers a combination of benefits:

Cross-trained employees may be allowed to schedule their own work assignments and rotate among the jobs they’re qualified for with little direction from management.

Supervisors have more leeway when assigning work or finding substitutes for employees who are out sick or on vacation. In addition, cross-trained employees who are working on seasonal or downsized projects can be reassigned to other areas, which minimizes layoffs.

Thanks to their broader perspective, cross-trained workers can produce more innovative suggestions for improving policies, procedures, processes, and work flow.

Employees typically applaud the change of pace connected with doing an assortment of tasks. Higher pay rates and greater job security are morale boosters, too.

Practical Cross-Training Methods
If cross-training sounds like your cup of tea, here are two main ways to make it happen.

Use peers as trainers. The most economical approach is to have your people cross-train each other. This method, which can be done during slack work periods, also fosters a spirit of teamwork. Be prepared for some objections from senior employees, however, who may balk at teaching their hard-learned tricks of the trade to less experienced colleagues unless they get paid for it. Don’t expect something for nothing.

You’ll also need to reconcile your training and production priorities. If you emphasize peer teaching, productivity will likely fall off. On the other hand, stressing productivity will cause workers to treat cross-training as a nuisance or something they’ll get around to “real soon now.” You’ve got to find some middle ground.

Consider a formal program. Although peer trainers may be the only practical option for smaller firms, companies with larger training budgets might be able to afford a formal cross-training program. This approach will probably require guidance from an outside consultant, of course, as well as participation from the human resources department and supervisors in departments that are targeted for cross-training. It’s also helpful to find out how other companies (especially competitors, customers, and suppliers) designed and launched their cross-training programs and what they’d do differently if they were starting over.

Whichever route you take, you’ll need to assess and record each new skill your employees learn and decide if and when they’ll need refresher training.

And don’t forget to revise pay scales to reward their value-added know-how.