Talent-management teams and human resources departments face challenging tasks of meeting evolving workforce demands with fewer resources; one key strategy they developed amid the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 is focusing more on employee learning. The goal for HR managers here is to build more resilient workforces by developing their skillset through employer-provided training programs.

Cross-training is a great way of teaching employees about the value and purpose of other roles within the organization. It ensures that skills are not limited only to experienced workers, but instead diffuses knowledge throughout your team and reduces risks associated with a lack of qualified individuals for certain tasks or projects. It also helps foster an environment where learning thrives as everyone becomes more knowledgeable about different aspects of their work. This includes job duties they may not have originally envisioned on day one.

Cross-training is critical to the success of any organization. The benefits gained by employees and companies range anywhere from improving overall intelligence within your workforce while fostering a culture based around continuous training through systems such as the Learning Management System (LMS) from Platinum Group.

Importance of Cross-training Employees

1. Motivates employees in their current role

Your employees are constantly learning. If you give them opportunities to learn new skills outside of their formal role, they will feel more motivated and fulfilled because there is always something new to learn in the digital age! 54% of people see developing these types of skills as essential components for keeping up with workplace changes.

Your employees will be more motivated with cross-training as it allows them to learn new skills and the option of choosing what interests them.

Cross-training will create a more intelligent workforce. Giving diverse training opportunities to workers is sure to help individuals build skills to increase their individual value as well as contribute better to the company.

2. Encourages Employees’ Growth Within the Company

Cross-training enables employees to grow both vertically and horizontally within the same company. That way, if they do decide that their current role is not what they want for themselves in terms of responsibility or a future career path, then instead of switching companies where there might be less opportunity – they now have an idea about how far up the ladder they could go at their own place. A recent study found that only 5% of people felt like employers care about how much time was spent on past jobs during recruitment – instead, most feel there is far greater emphasis placed on gaining valuable job skills.

As a company, it is important to develop “T” shaped employees instead of “I”-shaped. According to Forbes, an “I” shape employee moves only vertically on the skills spectrum, while a “T” shape will grow both horizontally and upward in their knowledge of various disciplines like problem-solving or communication. Encourage your employees to remain engaged with what they are currently doing as well as seek out new skills that can help them move up within the company’s hierarchy.

3. Encourages Employees’ Agility

Adaptability and agility are key in the digital age. A wider range of skills will make sure employees can quickly change with changes from one day to the next, without worrying about a lack of talent or resources at your company. With this broader understanding of functions outside their specific role, employees become more capable workers who also have an easier time adapting to sudden changes within companies than those that don’t understand other roles well enough.

4. It Helps Employees to see the Bigger Picture

If you want your company to be successful, it’s important to create a web of information across the organization instead of siloing the knowledge within individual employees. Cross-training employees will not only decentralize knowledge and create opportunities for each employee, but also ensures that all departments are interacting efficiently with one another.

How to Create Effective Employee Training Programs

As a good manager, you need to plan and develop effective training programs for your employees. Remember that just picking up any old online program isn’t going to work – you’ll have no idea if the content is relevant or engaging enough for your team members.

You should instead create an outline of what they will be taught in every session with goals linked back to their needs as well as measurable outcomes; this way it’s easy not only to measure progress but also identify strengths and weaknesses on an individual level during each lesson. This can help pinpoint areas where there may be difficulties such as comprehension issues or lack of motivation so interventions can then follow accordingly.

1. Establish a Learning Culture

For your employees to get the motivation of learning and developing new skills, you need to first trigger their curiosity. This can be done by making them aware of what they don’t know – this should be an ongoing process since a one-time presentation or event might not have the desired impact. Then reward them for their curious learning with more rewards than just a paycheck; offer the opportunity for advancement or even recognition as an expert in their field through awards from you or outside organizations like industry groups.

2. Provide Personalized Programs

Training should be individualized to suit each person’s needs. Training can range from group-based training, where one size fits all, or personalized training that is tailored for different people and backgrounds. A good company will know how best they want their employees trained because it benefits the business as well as the employee themselves in terms of personal satisfaction when receiving a job well done.

3. Connect Employees with Mentors

To make sure that employees are learning new skills more frequently, assign mentors to them. Mentors can help accelerate training by showing their knowledge with hands-on experience and connecting it back in the workplace. This ensures that workers have an increased understanding of how they apply these skills every day at work.

How Platinum Group can Enhance Your Team’s Abilities

To adapt to rapidly shifting workplace requirements, companies will need to upskill, reskill, and cross-train their employees. Acquiring effective training programs and systems will be key if you need to successfully do more with less in regard to talent.

Revolutionize your business and expand your team’s capabilities through our Learning Management System (LMS); it will help you transform the user experience in today’s digital world while you improve your employee workforce through better solutions and services.

ABOUT PLATINUM GROUP

Platinum Group is a human capital management resource with solutions to help you streamline operations so you’ll have time to manage your business. No matter which division you work with: Payroll/HR or Accounting, our team is built upon a foundation of support, service, camaraderie and collaboration that we share both in-house and with our wonderful clients. For more information about Platinum Group, or to schedule a demo of isolved, please visit our website.