Project Description
Cross-training usually involves the teaching of an employee who was initially hired to perform one job function the expertise and skills of performing other job functions. Cross-training has been successful in the world of sports with the benefits very clear. The same benefits in sports can be realized in the workplace. Cross-training employees enables them to become skilled in tasks outside their usual job schedules and in doing so they become greater assets for the company while in the same time attaining skills and knowledge that benefit them at a personal level ( Nowrouzi, Lightfoot, Carter, Lariviere, Rukholm, Schinke, & Belanger-Gardner, 2015) . Cross-training means improving the proficiency of the employees in roles that are outside their responsibilities. For example, in the organization, the production team needs to be taken through the production sequence with the aim is making sure that each team member can learn how to perform the production process from start to finish.
The cross-training project took place across the organization and among all the teams that that takes part in the production process ( Nowrouzi, Lightfoot, Carter, Lariviere, Rukholm, Schinke, & Belanger-Gardner, 2015) . The handlers of the project determine the gaps in skills among the staff members based on the production sequence. It is after the gaps have been identified that the training is conducted to fill them. Therefore, each member of the team can work and perform satisfactorily in any part of the production process. It also means that an employee working in one part of the production chain can replace a person retiring or leaving the organization in another section.
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Target Audience
The target audience of the project is all the employees working in the organization especially in the production process. All the teams will be expected to take part in the project to make sure that gaps in skills have been filled. The project was designed to make sure that all the employees working in the production process not only understand the whole process, but they also can perform more than one task in the company. Throughput time depends on how employees conduct themselves. The implication is that it can be increased by employees having only a particular set of skills.
Need for the Management Project
The project was developed after the management realized that it was an opportunity that had not been exploited before. The organization realized that it was wasting a lot of money and time in trying to recruit new employees in positions that would have been easily filled by the current employees ( Olivella & Nembhard, 2017) . Normally, it is cheaper to shift employee roles and ensuring that duties are assigned to the existing workforce comparing to conducting a recruitment campaign. Therefore, the organization stands a chance to benefit from cost saving if a cost-saving program is implemented. The project is needed to improve team performance. It was evident that the time taken by the product to get out of the production process was longer and the organization was dealing with high demands from the consumers ( Nowrouzi, Lightfoot, Carter, Lariviere, Rukholm, Schinke, & Belanger-Gardner, 2015) . Cross-training enhancing team performance as can prepare the current employees for additional responsibilities without the company incurring expenses of recruiting, hiring as well as putting up-to-speed a new employee. The current employees are also familiar with the company and the philosophy.
The project is also needed to improve team performance and maintain the high performance even when there is the absence of an employee or some employees ( Olivella, & Nembhard, 2016) . The team’s production levels can only be sustained through cross-training where some employee can replace those absent from work ( Nowrouzi, Lightfoot, Carter, Lariviere, Rukholm, Schinke, & Belanger-Gardner, 2015) . The organization has been hiring temporary workers to fill some of the vacant positions when an employee is on sick leave or taking a vacation ( Sung & Choi, 2014) . The ramp-up time of the temporary employees is a disadvantage to the company. The hiring of temporary employees is also a costly venture that can be averted through the development of a cross-training program. One of the problems identified in the company is the lack of employee motivation especially in the production team ( Nembhard, 2014) . The manufacturing department lacks motivation compared to other departments.
Non-monetary recognition in the company acts as an effective way to foster employee motivation ( Olivella, & Nembhard, 2016) . The training acts as an indication that the company is investing its valuable time and resources to improve the employees through skills. It is also evident through research that employees who feel appreciated about career development are more likely to show job satisfaction and better performance at all times.
Cross-trained employees have been found to have more job satisfaction as compared to those who only have one job or one set of skills. In the organization, the management found the need to invest in the career development of employees by making sure that they are trained on how to grow within the company ( Nowrouzi, Lightfoot, Carter, Lariviere, Rukholm, Schinke, & Belanger-Gardner, 2015) . The cross-training program enables the employees to have a chance of gaining promotion to better-paying jobs after finishing the training and during a vacancy. When employees are invested upon by the employer, they tend to achieve the sense of job security in the organization.
Objectives of the Project
One of the objectives of the project was to reduce the time it takes the organization to produce a product. This requires employees to understand the whole production process to be able to take part in tasks they were not originally hired to perform. The other objective is to attain increased workforce flexibility ( Sung & Choi, 2014) . Therefore, the organization aims at having the ability of the cross-trained employees filling in during peak demands or vacations to reduce the cost initially incurred by the company in hiring temporary employees. The third objective is to attain job satisfaction by making the employees believe the company has faith in their abilities and wants to invest in their long-term future at the company. The fourth objective is to improve the overall work atmosphere in business as the company can make maximum use of the talents and skills among employees.
Success Factors
Any project cannot succeed without the support of the top management. The organization first focused on removing the notion of employees having one job by involving those already performing the job in the program ( Nembhard, 2014) . This was aimed at removing fears that they would be affected negatively by the cross-training program. It was important to communicate to the employees that the project was not meant to eliminate some jobs but to compliment the employees working in the organization.
The business did not expect to have a smooth process when it comes to implementing the project as there is bound to be some resistance from the employees. To ease the resistance, the organization addressed compensation issues arising from the employees ( Sung & Choi, 2014) . The organization was ready to compensate the employees who were increasing their skills. This also encouraged employees to participate in the program ( Sleptchenko, Turan, Pokharel, & ElMekkawy, 2017) . Organizations having such programs should promote employees with improved skills to new grades if the organization uses a graded system.
Strategies Used in Project Implementation
For the organization to be able to use cross-training in improving throughput time, it has to consider the return on investment ( Nembhard, 2014) . Therefore, the organization has to weigh the costs of developing and implementing the program against the benefits emanating from the project. In the end, cross-training demands the existence of a strategic plan even if it is meant to cover a small number of employees.
A cross-training program must be carefully planned and organized. The organization cannot just implement the program abruptly when there is a crisis. The organization had to make many decisions before the program can get started ( Salem & Abdien, 2017) . For example, the company had to identify who would be eligible for training and whether the organization will make the training voluntary or mandatory. According to Yang & Gao (2016), t he organization also had to determine if the training was specifically based on job classification or it was open to all the other classifications. The other determination is whether the training is done internally or externally. Before the implementation of the program, the organization set up a task force that consisted of a part of the management and representatives of the employees ( Voegtlin, Boehm, & Bruch, 2015) . The task force’s role was to research the advantages and disadvantages of the program, on the business, assess the feasibility of setting up a program, and it ensures that a realistic schedule for each position was set up.
The organization also had each department draw a list of the functions and tasks that are necessary to its day-day operations. The various tasks outlined by each department in the production cycle were prioritized to determine which of them would be included in the project. This allowed the project team to match the staff members to the tasks that needed cross-training program ( Salem & Abdien, 2017) . The transformational leadership style in the organization meant that the participating employees were allowed to review the lists of the tasks and functions prioritized in each department ( Peariasamy & Mansor, 2017) . The aim of having them reviews to allow them a chance to identify those tasks they know how to do ( Sung & Choi, 2014) . They also identified those tasks they would like to learn as well as those they would be willing to learn if they benefited the organization. Having the feedback from the employees was a boost to the project manager as he was able to consider both competence and interest in implementing the program ( Voegtlin, Boehm, & Bruch, 2015) .
For effectiveness, the organization adopted the strategy of training several employees in various aspects involving a job to ensure they pitch in when needed. The training was conducted through an on-the-job system where peers conducted much of the training. In some cases, the organization also used supervisors to conduct all the training ( Sung & Choi, 2014) . Those who were selected to act as trainers received information on how they would conduct the training. Those who went through the cross training were given time to absorb the new information ( Voegtlin, Boehm, & Bruch, 2015) . The program manager also ensured the workload of those employees was reduced during the training period and the practice sessions. The project team also developed a system to evaluate newly trained employees.
Evaluation Methods
It is important to evaluate the outcomes of the project to ensure there is an understanding of its effectiveness in attaining the objectives. The evaluation method used or adopted by the organization was to evaluate the trained employees on a regular basis. It was expected that organizational citizenship behavior would improve in the company after the project. The first evaluation done was whether employees developed the habit of helping each other in case one was done with his her tasks in the production process ( Voegtlin, Boehm, & Bruch, 2015) . The fact that they were able to handle any tasks in the production process means that they should be ready to help each other ( Peariasamy & Mansor, 2017) . The other evaluation to be made was on the reduction in the time taken to produce different products.
After training, the expectation was that the organization would be able to fill any gaps in the production process in case an employee was absent or on vacation. A reduction in the time spent producing the products indicates success in the project. The benefits that come with cross-training can also be used as an indicator of the project’s success ( Voegtlin, Boehm, & Bruch, 2015) . For example, increased schedule flexibility indicates that the organization has more options in each department or position. There is also the subsequent job satisfaction that comes with cross-training that indicates the project succeeded if the rate of turnover reduced.
Just like in sports, cross-training at the workplace bears many advantages to the business. For example, the company can improve team performance using cross-training. The gaps in skills found in the production process are filled through the process of cross-training. An employee can learn the work of employees and in the process be able to help them when the need arises. Consequently, the organization can promote the well-being of the employees leading to job satisfaction and consequently reduced turnover. Having the employees trained implies that the employer believes in their abilities and is looking forward to investing in their long-term stay in the organization. Training fosters employee motivation, as they are more confident in the skills they have towards helping the organization achieve its goals and mission. Improvement in skills set among employees reduces the cost incurred by the company in hiring temporary employees to fill vacant positions due to either sick leaves or vacation.
References
Nembhard, D. (2014). Cross training efficiency and flexibility with process change. International Journal of Operations & Production Management , 34 (11), 1417-1439.
Nowrouzi, B., Lightfoot, N., Carter, L., Lariviere, M., Rukholm, E., Schinke, R., & Belanger-Gardner, D. (2015). The relationship between quality of work life and location of cross-training among obstetric nurses in urban northeastern Ontario, Canada: a population-based cross-sectional study. International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health , 28 (3), 571-586.
Olivella, J., & Nembhard, D. (2017). Cross-training policies for team cost and robustness. Computers & Industrial Engineering , 111 , 79-88.
Olivella, J., & Nembhard, D. (2016). Calibrating cross-training to meet demand mix variation and employee absence. European Journal of Operational Research , 248 (2), 462-472.
Peariasamy, T., & Mansor, N. N. A. (2017). On-the-job knowledge sharing: how to train employees to share job knowledge. Jurnal Kemanusiaan , 6 (2).
Salem, I. E. B., & Abdien, M. K. (2017). Implementation of employee cross-training during perilous conditions in hotels. Tourism Management Perspectives , 23 , 68-74.
Sleptchenko, A., Turan, H. H., Pokharel, S., & ElMekkawy, T. Y. (2017). Cross-training policies for repair shops with spare part inventories. International Journal of Production Economics .
Sung, S. Y., & Choi, J. N. (2014). Do organizations spend wisely on employees? Effects of training and development investments in learning and innovation in organizations. Journal of organizational behavior , 35 (3), 393-412.
Voegtlin, C., Boehm, S. A., & Bruch, H. (2015). How to empower employees: using training to enhance work units’ collective empowerment. International Journal of Manpower , 36 (3), 354-373.
Yang, C., & Gao, J. (2016). Balancing mixed-model assembly lines using adjacent cross-training in a demand variation environment. Computers & Operations Research , 65 , 139-148.
