Why You Should Ask Your Boss for a Chance to Cross-train

CAREER CORNER

We all want to make ourselves valuable to our employers and show we are capable of doing more than our current role. But just how do we get the opportunity to show our true talents and abilities? A great way to do this is to ask your boss for cross-training opportunities.

Here are some leveraging points you can use to help sell the idea of cross-training to your employer:

Keep productivity up even when an employee is absent

Why not start with the best reason? We all know that employees get sick or go on vacation and can have the occasional leave of absence due to injury or family emergency. When an employee has been cross-trained, they can more easily cover staff when these instances pop up. This can help with any potential dips in productivity without requiring the organization to consider hiring temp help.

Leverage internal talent and reduce costs

Factoring in recruiting, salary, taxes, benefits, space and onboarding, hiring new employees usually costs 1.2 to 1.4 times the salary of a current employee - according to MIT's Sloan School of Management. Focusing on teaching new skills to current employees can reduce these costs significantly.

Groom employees for management, promotions, or additional responsibilities

The best managers are employees who have learned about all sides of their team's tasks. Cross-training grooms employees with the technical know-how needed to manage a team. This also helps teach other important skills like communication, vision and conflict resolution.

Motivate by investing in career growth

What employer doesn't want to boost motivation? A good way to do that is to give employees ample opportunity to grow. Providing crosstraining opportunities is a great non-monetary reward and portrays management investment in employee career growth.

Do you think these pointers could help you create opportunities to grow at your company? Just be sure to have a plan before you start the conversation and you could be cross-training in no time.