Cross Training

Definition:

Teaching your employees the skills and responsibilities of another position at your company to increase their effectiveness

Whenever possible, and especially when your business has just a few employees, look for people when hiring that you can cross-train into different job responsibilities. A welder who has taken college courses in engineering and a secretary with human resources experience could be beneficial to your business. Cross-trained employees can fill in when others are ill, on vacation or quit unexpectedly, helping you keep costs down and business moving.

Related Content

Product Development

The overall process of strategy, organization, concept generation, product and marketing plan creation and evaluation, and commercialization of a new product

Exit Interview

The formal conversation that takes place between an employee and an HR or other manager to determine the reason(s) the employee is leaving

Primary Market Research

Iinformation that comes directly from the source--that is, potential customers. You can compile this information yourself or hire someone else to gather it for you via surveys, focus groups and other methods.

Credit Policy

Guidelines that spell out how to decide which customers are sold on open account, the exact payment terms, the limits set on outstanding balances and how to deal with delinquent accounts

Mergers

The combination of one or more corporations, LLCs, or other business entities into a single business entity; the joining of two or more companies to achieve greater efficiencies of scale and productivity

Subchapter S Corporation

A special form of corporation that allows the protection of limited liability but direct flow-through of profits and losses