This is aimed at any new manager or a group of managers looking to enable a cross training programme in their organisation. Coming from a software development and services background, it’s focused mainly on learning new platforms and sharing technical knowledge.
Identify the tasks being performed in each team in an attempt to mark which ones could be successfully performed by other people.
Identify people in the team who are showing interest in learning about the other products or have bandwidth to do so.
Pair up on some projects to aid the learning! Get people talking to clients who are using some of the other products.
Identify who has the competencies to perform the tasks we’ve identified. Work out how much of a persons role can be reasonably shared with other team members.
It’s difficult when you’re busy but in the long run it’ll pay off. Avoid the micro-management but help people get to the correct answer during the cross training by showing examples and explaining your thought process.
People are gonna be busy! Look to reduce workload during cross training and while tasks are being performed. Otherwise, your team may feel resentful about the cross training initiative.
At the end of this initiative, you’ll hopefully have a team that can provide cover when people are on holiday, understand the various products, be comfortable speaking to different clients …all because of the effort they’ve put into learning. So recognise and reward employees that have new skills and/or responsibilities!
During the cross training process, you might find someone is really good at a particular task, so it might be something to consider for their career development.