Access the essential membership for Modern Managers
Organizations will often have a mixture of different types of roles, from those which are relatively unskilled to those which are highly specialized. However, the fast-paced nature of modern organizations, it can be a huge advantage to organizations for employees to have a clear understanding of more than one function of the organization. This article looks at multi-skilling; what it is and how it can benefit both employer and employees.
What Is Multi-Skilling?
Multi-skilling is a process where employees learn new skills in a job in addition to those for which they were originally hired. It allows the employee to develop their abilities and be able to undertake a wider range of responsibilities.
Why Is Multi-Skilling Desirable?
Flexibility is a key strength for an organization. The ability to cope easily and effectively with changing factors helps ensure that it can adapt to unexpected events or changing circumstances, both in the short and longer term.
When employees are able to fulfill a larger number of responsibilities across sectors, it allows leaders to react quickly to issues as they arise.
For employees, multi-skilling provides an opportunity to expand their skillset and knowledge. It is a useful tool in helping employees become more productive. It also provides variety for employees and prevents them from becoming stale in the role they originally were designated.
When Does Multi-Skilling Prove Useful?
Here are some circumstances in which having multiskilled employees can prove significantly beneficial:
- During periods of prolonged or high levels of absence
- During change management programs
- When an organization is involved in mergers or acquisitions
- During periods of growth
- When staffing levels are reduced, e.g. during a recruitment freeze or redundancy program
Absence
If an organization has to deal with the long-term illness of a key employee or a sudden high volume of absence, having employees who can perform the duties of absent colleagues can prevent a reduction in team/organizational productivity.
Change management programs
When an organization is introducing significant change, having employees who are able to adapt and respond to arising issues can help speed up the change process. It can also reduce the need to hire externally for what may only be a short-term requirement.
Mergers and acquisitions
When an organization merges or acquires another organization, there is often an immediate need for employees to move between the two businesses to help facilitate the transition. This can leave gaps within departments which will often need to be filled. Employees who are multi-skilled are well placed to fill such skills gaps.
Growth
When organizations experience periods of rapid growth, expansion can happen at such an accelerated pace that organizational resources are stretched. When this happens, employees who are multiskilled can cope with additional tasks which may arise as a result of growth.
Reductions in staffing levels
Sadly, circumstances within an organization can lead to a downsizing of the workforce. When this happens, the responsibilities of the staff who are leaving are often distributed to remaining employees. Departments undergo periods of having to carry out the same functions with less available employees. In these circumstances, having multiskilled employees who can complete a wide range of tasks is an advantage.
What Are the Benefits of Multi-Skilling?
Multi-skilling can benefit both organizations and employees. Here are some of the main positives:
- Flexibility – An employee who has skills in a number of different areas can be deployed across various duties, increasing the organization’s ability to react to changing circumstances
- Collaboration – An employee who has knowledge of skills utilized in various departments can help facilitate increased collaboration between departments
- Understanding – Multiskilled employees are aware of the skills required to perform tasks in other departments/teams, which can lead to an improved understanding of how each department interacts
- Efficiency – Having multiskilled employees means an organization can complete tasks quickly without having to move projects between various specialists
- Employee development/retention – An employee who can develop their skillset in an organization may be less inclined to look externally for development opportunities
- Increased job security – An employee with a wide range of skills is more valuable to an organization and less at risk of their role becoming obsolete
How to Encourage Multi-Skilling
There are certain things a leader or manager can do to encourage multi-skilling. Here are a few of the key methods:
Offer significant training
Having training designed to encourage employees to be versatile can widen their skillset. Although an employee may not use a skill every day in their designated role, it is important nonetheless to give them a broad knowledge. Making sure that training is offered to as many employees as possible will mean that a company can move employees to different areas of the organization. In periods where there is a demand for more resources, for example when a department faces extra demands due to seasonal circumstances, the organization can be confident they have employees with the skills to handle the extra responsibilities.
Introduce shadowing
Having employees shadow colleagues from other departments not only broadens their skillsets, but also allows them to gain a clearer understanding of how other departments operate. This can benefit the employee when it comes to cross-team collaboration.
Have succession plans
Putting succession plans in place will allow you to avoid becoming too reliant on a single employee or team. If only a few employees know how to perform a critical aspect of business, then the organization's output will be significantly affected should that employee leave or take a long-term absence from the organization. Being aware of this allows a leader to counter it by helping ensure others within the organization are given the skills to step into these roles as and when circumstances dictate.
Discourage strict role demarcation
Each employee will have set roles and responsibilities. By encouraging employees to think beyond their immediate role, however leaders and managers can help ensure that their employees are far more flexible and responsive to business needs. This also helps employees to consider the organization's needs as a whole rather than the narrower concerns of their team or department. This may also help foster a strong sense of community within the larger organization.
Expand existing skills
Although employees are usually recruited for the specific skills required by their assigned role, they may also have experience in other areas which could prove useful to the organization at certain times. By being aware of these skills and encouraging the employee to expand them, you can help team members become active and productive in different areas of the business. By asking employees about work history and interests, you can find out which skills they may possess in addition to those they use on a daily basis.
What Are the Downsides of Multi-Skilling?
While multi-skilling can prove beneficial to teams, departments and the wider organization, there can be negative implications. For example it may:
- Lead to employees becoming overburdened and overwhelmed at the number of different 'hats' they are expected to wear
- Result in many tasks and projects being completed, but not to a particularly high standard
- Prevent employees from fulfilling the position for which they originally applied, or from carving out a more specialized role for themselves
Such issues can be avoided by ensuring employees' workloads are monitored and managed, and by arranging regular meetings with team members to ensure that they are satisfied and coping with their role.
Conclusion
Multi-skilling is a process which encourages flexibility and adaptability. It is therefore beneficial to organizations which have to cope with fast-paced, often reactive environments. Multiskilling can help individuals widen their skillset and become more rounded as employees. By helping to facilitate this, you can ensure that the benefits of the process are mutual.
