Cross training creates a better company

RCS Influencer Jake Magalsky says that, with cross training, there is much less unhealthy friction in collaboration and time is spent more efficiently.

Cross training employees has many valuable benefits for a company. The greatest return from cross training is empathy. Empathy is putting yourself in someone else's position and feeling what they are feeling. This is exactly what cross training does. It's walking a mile in another's shoes.

There are always going to be friction points between the departments of sales, operations, and finance. If these aren't dealt with properly they can cause great dissention and polarization in a company of any size. Cross training departments will create empathy where potential for friction once existed.

It is natural for us all to place blame on another department when things don't go according to plan. The classic example is in the handoff communication between sales and operations. When a project goes over budget and profits start eroding, the production team may attempt to place blame on the sales team for “underselling the job.” Conversely, the sales team may attempt to blame operations for dwindling profits on a project claiming that they were inefficient or “milked the job”.

After a little cross training in the other department a person often will return with a different perspective. Perhaps they will see the struggle from the other side and blame will begin to turn into collaboration between the two departments. There is much less unhealthy friction in collaboration and more time is spent getting work done more efficiently.

A final example may drive home this point.

Bookkeepers often struggle to get receipts turned in from team members in a timely fashion. It can feel like an uphill, unending battle. With a little cross training, field employees can get a better sense of what's going on and why it matters behind the scenes. They may start to realize that missing receipts lead to delays in reconciling the financials and bank statements in a timely fashion. They may even start to see how not turning in receipts can affect them personally as it delays reimbursements and perhaps even payroll. What it really does is open their eyes to the “why” of what they've been asked to do.

Another benefit to cross training is that it can open people up to other departments and positions in the company that they may be better suited for. This can lead to a career change within the company that they already work at! That career change comes with automatic, built in empathy and oftentimes a greater level of respect from peers. Also, the company gets to keep a good employee that may have otherwise quit and moved on. Win-win!

Ultimately it's worth the time and energy that it takes to cross train people and in doing so, create a better company.