The Importance of Cross-Training in the Workplace

The Importance of Cross-Training in the Workplace

CGD 218 Visual Literacy in Business

Ashford University

The Importance of Cross-Training in the Workplace

My message is based on my experience in the workforce. I have been employed at many jobs that just had one person that was responsible for their own job. Although other co-workers knew what other employees’ jobs were, they were unable to perform those jobs. My message is to put together a guide that covers the importance of cross-training and the necessary steps to cross-train properly. “Cross-training saves payroll dollars because you don’t need a dedicated staff person for each type of job. Instead, you have a well-rounded team of individuals who can use their varied skills for whatever purpose is most urgent at the moment, interfacing and filling in for each other (D. Gartenstein, 2018, March 15).” It would be ideal that everyone in a particular department is successfully cross-trained on their co-workers’ jobs and feels comfortable performing someone else’s job on any given day. The message is intended for semi-corporate and corporate workers as this is my current professional industry.

Essentially, I would create a PowerPoint presentation that outlines how the cross-training process would work. My instructions in the presentation will be in the Helvetica font size 12 and size 14 for the title. This font is most commonly used in professional presentations and I would like to ensure that my message is perceived as professional by my peers. I would also insert a video that shows an example of what could happen when your employees are cross-trained versus not cross-trained.

I feel that providing step by step instructions will be the most beneficial to the department. Having steps are easier to follow and it ensures that everyone is on the same page. I believe showing a video highlighting different scenarios will keep everyone engaged in the presentation as well as receive a better understanding of the message within the presentation. I also thought about just providing the department with a Word document that outlines the steps to cross-training to include screen shots of how to perform their co-workers job. I decided not to go this direction because I didn’t feel that it would keep the employees engaged or get them excited about the new procedures.

PowerPoint presentations can be fun depending on how you create your presentation. You can keep it simple by just showing words and graphs, or you can insert clip art as well as videos to enhance your presentation. You can insert links to web pages and animate your slides to create a cartoon. PowerPoint is an entertaining way to keep your audience engaged as well get your concept through to the audience. I feel like this is the most effective way for my cross-training message to get through to employers and employees.

References

Ryan, W. (2012). Visual literacy: learning to see [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-crosstraining-improving-team-performance-33216.html by Devra Gartenstein; Updated March 15, 2018

Kyrnin, J. (2017, July 5). What is typography? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-typography-3467428

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2014/09/15/cross-training-your-best-defense-against-indispensable-employees/#30d6d8487d90https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2014/09/15/cross-training-your-best-defense-against-indispensable-employees/#30d6d8487d90