Sheryl Stephen

Cross training can be a good idea. It may be worth doing and it may even be worth doing right. View cross training as you would any other project. It is an investment. There are costs, and there are potential benefits. Evaluate both. If you determine that the benefits will significantly outweigh the costs:
• Make sure you can afford all the costs (all negative impacts, not just $)
• Know what benefits you want to realize (based on business needs)
• Plan the cross training program to minimize the costs (negative impacts) and maximize the benefits (positive impacts).

Do’s
1. Do realize that cross training is an investment and handle it as one. Do make sure that your trainers have what they need to do the classroom or OJT training effectively.
2. Decide up front how you will offset the reduction in effective work force strength.
3. Do plan cross training as a project and make sure that you cross train the right numbers in the right skills
4. Do expect and accept a drop in productivity by your OJT trainers. It is unavoidable if they are doing a good job of training.
5. Do get some input from the work force on how to implement cross training. Remember that they will be the ones doing the training and the learning. You need their ideas, buy-in, and talents and energy to make the program successful.
6. Do package the cross training as an opportunity. Incentivize people to develop their second skill set and recognize/reward them for accomplishment.
7. Do use cross training or multi-skilling as a means to enhance people’s identity and self image.
8. Do consider your cross-skill needs. Also consider your needs for Specialists.
9. Do leave some options for those who can not or do not want to cross train. Consider how they can serve the organization as specialists, trainers, or by providing other valuable services.
10. Do consider what you need to do to keep people "up-to-date" and qualified in their primary skill while on extended periods of duty in their secondary skills, and vise-versa.
11. Do consider additional safeguards and defenses to help compensate for pitfalls with a multi-skilled workforce, (greater breadth, but less depth and familiarity.) Consider: Procedures/checklists, "just-in-time training," improved equipment/system labeling, additional supervisory oversight.
12. Do continue to provide training in the primary skill.

Don’ts
1. Don’t try to get the gains now and invest later. It won’t work. Don’t assume that your best craftsmen are natural born trainers.
2. Don’t think that cross training will offset staffing reductions. Initially, it will magnify them.
3. Don’t over do it so that people will be loosing their skills after they’ve been trained because they haven’t used them. (You wouldn’t spend money on "excess capacity" in other systems.)
4. Don’t expect immediate increases in productivity just because you have decided to start cross training.
5. Don’t just shove cross training on your people and expect them to be excited about it. Getting heir help in developing the program will:
• improve their acceptance of it. If it’s theirs, they’ll make it work!
• give you some good ideas on how to do it.
6. Don’t threaten, punish or present the cross training process as a potential "take-away."
7. Don’t allow cross training to kill your peoples’ identity or pride
8. Don’t cross train because it is in vogue. Don’t assume that everyone has to be multi-skilled.
9. Don’t try to shove everyone through the same mold.
10. Don’t assume they will stay "fresh" in either their primary or secondary skills if they are away from them for extended periods.
11. Don’t assume that a cross-skilled work force will have the same level of expertise on "everything" that they had in their specialty.
12. Don’t cross train at the expense of training in the primary skill. Craft people will be less effective in their primary function, and will be much less effective as cross trainers.

Contact Management Training Systems, Inc. for more information.