Strength Through Cross-Training
There are countless benefits and almost no downsides, yet many business leaders struggle to prioritize cross-training. Why? Because we have a thousand other competing priorities, and as long as the work gets done, we ignore the essential but non-urgent task of cross-training. Whether it be our work responsibilities or those of a highly trusted and capable teammate, we allow for silos to develop.
I've heard a few stories in recent months that reminded me just how dangerous this can be. A company that took over a year to terminate a key employee who had turned toxic towards the organization. The reason for the delay? She had protected her role so tightly that there was very little insight into how she performed complex tasks that were critical to the organization. In another business, the unexpected passing of the founder/owner left the next generation to pick up the pieces and, in the midst of grief, figure out what and how their dad took care of some critical responsibilities. A third company told me about a key employee who was in a severe accident. He was in the ICU for several days and in recovery for months. This employee was left trying to work from his hospital bed while recovering from major surgery because no one else on the team was trained on several of his responsibilities.
If you think about your organization, are there any tasks that only you, as the leader, can complete? Do you have any teammates who either intentionally or unintentionally built silos around their work? If you answered yes, here are a few tips I've learned from other business leaders on making your business and teams more secure:
Share knowledge. Anything you do, someone else must know how to do. One way to sell this concept to your team is to simply remind them that it's necessary for the organization's health and for their peace of mind. If they are sick or on vacation or experiencing a family emergency, it's to their benefit to have someone cover the work so they don't come back to a mountain of backlogged tasks.
Document key tasks. If it's a computer-related task, simply make a "how to" video using a screen and voice recorder. Write down the steps if it's a physical task or have someone record a video. Keep these documents in a central place where your leadership team can access them if/when needed. Review them occasionally because if your organization is constantly improving, this resource library can quickly become outdated.
Look for opportunities to upskill. Are there any tasks that your more senior employees could share or delegate to other teammates? Adjusting roles and responsibilities can give your junior teammates the opportunity to learn something new while giving your senior staff the opportunity to focus more on what they do best. Plus, you benefit from having multiple people trained on the task.
Leverage vacations. Make it a goal to ensure that the bulk (if not all) of your employee's work is covered while they are on vacation. Summer vacation season is an excellent time to do a test run when you are in control of the situation (as opposed to when someone gives notice, is terminated, or has a medical emergency). Leading up to a planned vacation, ask what work needs to be covered while you or others are gone? Who on the team is trained to cover those tasks? Are there any responsibilities that you aren't sure who to delegate to? Avoid letting your employee say, "Well, I'll just let that go and take care of it when I get back." Especially if the reason for that response is "No one else knows how to do that." Now is a great time to break down any silos that may have developed.
And as you look at your team and your business for isolation areas, don't forget to look at your own workload. What would it look like to head on a vacation this summer knowing that your team will handle everything? What if there was no need to check email or voicemail or take care of business functions? What if you were the model for your team on how best to cross-train and collaborate? My guess is that your team will embrace the opportunity and rise to the occasion, and your family will love having you fully present for the adventures you have planned.