Cross training employees involves teaching staff members the skills and responsibilities of other roles in the practice. This allows the practice to stay managed if someone is absent, and ensures long term success by having multiple employees able to handle various tasks. It also creates an all-star team by promoting opportunities within the practice, boosts morale, improves workflow efficiencies, and increases teamwork across departments. The document provides tips for practices to get started with cross training, such as identifying tasks for cross training, selecting employees to take them on, developing a training process, testing simulations, and providing feedback.

1. Why You Need to
Cross Train Your Staff

2. Cross training employees involves teaching staff
members the skills and responsibilities of another
area in your practice.
What is Cross Training?

3. Having employees that are
knowledgeable in multiple
areas, makes it much more
manageable for you practice
to stay on top of things if
someone is out sick, takes a
vacation, or unexpectedly
quits.
Why Do I Need
to Cross Train?

4. How Will My Practice Benefit
From Cross Training Staff?

5. Ensure Long
Term Success
When you have multiple
employees that can handle various
tasks within your office, they can
help cover responsibilities, that
way you won't have to spend extra
money hiring a temp employee.
Allowing your employees to
constantly learn new tasks and
responsibilities is a great way to
enhance their career development.
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6. Create an
All-Star Team
When you have employees with
expanded skill sets, you have the
opportunity to promote within your
practice if someone leaves, which
will make both you and your
employees happy.
Plus, you'll boost morale within your
practice because your staff will feel
valued as they see you investing in
their personal skills.
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7. Cross training makes it easier for
you to spot inefficiencies in your
workflow.
As employees explain the processes
behind their tasks and procedures in
your practice, they will be forced to
look deeply at the way they
complete those tasks.
This allows for discoveries and
suggestions for improvement.
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Improve
Workflow

8. Cross training provides your staff with the ability and
opportunity to collaborate across departments.
As they begin to understand how the various roles connect
across your practice, you'll be able to eliminate the "that's
not my job" mentality.
4 Increase Teamwork

9. Tips to Get Started with Cross Training
1. Identify tasks that could be taken on by others.
2. Identify who has the skills, or the potential to develop the
skills to take on those tasks.
3. Develop a training process with realistic expectations.
You yourself can train, or the person who currently
handles the task can train their peer.
4. Test your success by running simulations where one staff
member is absent.
5. Give feedback, and recognize your staff members who
are putting forth effort during training and reward them.