Cross Training – Many Jobs Where it Worked are Long Gone

      Starting with this PIP, I will examine some tools and techniques which were relevant and effective for process improvement in the past.  Times change though and many aren’t as effective today as they were a few years ago.  The first of these I will look at is cross training.

      The concept of cross training is great.  A fellow employee ‘fills in’ for another employee who is away for a period of time.  The employee who steps up is familiar with the others’ duties and knows the company and customers.  It’s usually more effective than hiring a temporary employee.  Performance may not be 100% the same but for a few days it works out fine.

      There are two problems with this though in the work world of the twenty first century. First many of the jobs which could be performed this easily by another employee are mostly gone.  They were manual intensive manufacturing or clerical jobs. Nearly all have been either automated or outsourced.  Many of those that remain require a higher skill level and permanent familiarity with duties of the position.

      The second is most companies are very lean now.  If an employee is able to do their present job and also a colleagues’ it is going to raise a question in someone’s mind if both are then necessary.  That’s probably unfair but is the world we now live in.  Granted many times cross-trained employees fill in is during times when the volume of work is down which allows this.  But there will be a suspicion in someone’s mind.

      I’m not saying cross training will never work ever again for anyone.  In some cases it will but it is not going to be as easily applied tool today as it once was.

Your First Practical Process Improvement Project – Five Necessary Points

This PIP I’ll dive right in without the usual lead in.  We’ll cover five necessary points to consider and get agreement on before we start a process improvement project.

First, start with a small project. It should not be too big or too ambitious. It should be big enough to be clearly beneficial to your department and the entire organization.  A Goldilocks approach is best.

Second, your organization’s top management must be committed to the project. Not involved but committed. The distinction? RIT quality improvement instructor John Compton described the difference: “To make a bacon and egg breakfast, the chicken was involved but the pig was committed.”

Third, try to find something that “slightly hurts” the organization at this time. A little pain is ideal and for our purposes, it should involve something your department is directly responsible for that affects most if not all of the organization.

Fourth, set up a system to track the cost of the project before you begin. For the type of basic project you should start with, labor is probably the most costly component.  Fifth, review team size and skills.  Keep the team small, no more than four or five individuals, and involve the areas “touched” by the processes you want to improve.

I can’t guarantee any project will be a success but if for your first one you use these five points you will be on the road to delivering results for your department and organization.