Most organizations don’t have a succession plan or a cross-training program in effect right now. And they are missing out on all the many benefits that can come with cross-training employees to succeed within their organization; listed below are a few of them.
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Employees See a Real Career Path at Your Organization
Did you know that 78% of employees would stay with an organization longer if they saw a genuine career path with the organization and that 85% of executives are not confident in their leadership pipelines?
When you combine your cross-training initiatives with your organization’s succession plan, your employees will simultaneously be acquiring new skills that help them in their current roles while helping them recognize how those newly acquired skills will help them achieve more and do more challenging work with your organization long term. For example, you can cross-train employees in various skills so that they can have the skills they need to be supervisors or managers at your organization.
Employees Get Real On-the-Job Experience
Eighty-seven percent of companies claim that they don’t do an excellent job developing leaders at all levels. And this is most likely because employers don’t provide their soon-to-be leaders or managers with many hands-on opportunities to learn new skills before promoting them. Instead, their succession plan (if they have one at all) is based on hypothetical situations and roles instead of progressive and commonsense training programs.
If your employees become trainees first and are cross-trained in various skills and departments in more hands-on learning environments before being promoted, they’ll be much better equipped to handle the responsibilities of their new leadership roles. And they are much more likely to feel confident in their new roles, gain the respect from their staff, and essentially be more effective leaders.
Employees Will Be Happier and More Productive at Work
Sixty-six percent of employees in the United States claim that they aren’t engaged at work. And 36% of employees claim that they would give up $5,000 a year to be happier at work.
If your employees see a clear career path at your organization and are consistently challenged with cross-training opportunities as they follow their desired career paths, they will be happier and more productive at work. Essentially, if they know that their current role will lead somewhere within your organization, and they’re constantly learning valuable skills that will help them today and in those future roles, they’ll be much more eager to learn new skills and implement them in their current roles too.
If you haven’t created or implemented a succession plan yet, consider merging it with your cross-training programs for maximum efficiency and positive and lasting effects.