(Published January 19, 2009)
Recently, a co-worker of mine took some time off after he slipped on the stairs and did some damage to his foot. While Scott was out, we received phone calls from employees wanting to know about the specific benefit program he managed. We realized to our own surprise that we had to make them wait for Scott to return. It was rather a shock to discover that no one knew how to do what he did, except him.
Since that rather frightening discovery, Scott has given a presentation on his benefit program to the Benefits staff. This afternoon, I saw him training another co-worker on the subject. If he's ever out again, we won't be caught short like we were this time. This has led us to examine our cross-training situation: Are there other areas where we're likely to hit the same problem?
We've been lucky. Where we have found holes in our cross-training, everyone involved has been willing to cooperate. But that's not always the case. I've encountered situations where people were proud of being the only one who knew how to do something. To them, that was job security, and they kept the knowledge to themselves, fighting any effort to give that knowledge to someone else. It is sometimes necessary to point out to them that no one is indispensable. I've been known to ask people what they thought we would do if they were to walk out onto the street and get hit by a bus.
On the flip side, I've had to deal with people who didn't want to learn anything new. They had found their comfort level and they didn't want to expand. Their mindset was that they were hired to do X and asking them to do Y was beyond the scope of their employment. With these employees, usually the little phrase "other duties as assigned" comes in handy.
The bottom line is that when cross-training is needed, it's needed. You may not have the luxury of allowing people to choose whether to learn or not learn. No one can afford to have only one employee with certain knowledge. In a previous position, my then-employer ended up being fined by the IRS when the only employee with certain information had to have emergency surgery, and, as a result, we were out of compliance with a particular federal regulation until she returned.
The ones who have the information may need to be reassured that they are not being asked to give up their "uniqueness" because their job is in jeopardy. It may occasionally be necessary to make it clear to other employees that they become a back-up on a particular duty or else they find new employment, period. However you address it, I cannot emphasize enough the necessity of cross-training. It may or may not cause you compliance issues, but there should never be a situation when only one employee has knowledge of procedures or policies. You never know where that bus may strike!
Catherine Bannon is an HR consultant in Marshfield, MA (catherine.bannon@gmail.com). Bannon worked for 10 years in HR management before starting her consulting practice.
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