Academy of Marketing Studies Journal Volume 26, Issue 5, 2022
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Citation Information: Bhatia, S. & Shrivastava, S. (2022). Cross Training And Its Impact On Employees In Manufacturing Industry.
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 26(5), 1-6.
CROSS TRAINING AND ITS IMPACT ON EMPLOYEES
IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
Swati Bhatia, Asian Business School
Shipra Shrivastava, Asian Business School
ABSTRACT
Every industry will have a specific job description for each role or each employee. This is
the traditional way of working in the industry. This method is changed after cross-training is
introduced where employees are trained for various skills and for job functions that lie within
their work domain. The effect of cross-training on Work performance and benefits to the employee
are studied in this paper. The aim of this work is to study the perception of cross-training, work
performance, and benefits to the employees working in the manufacturing industry.
Keywords: Cross Training, Work Life, Perception, Employees.
INTRODUCTION
These days the cross-training is used as a tool that helps to improve the productivity of the
employees and also helps employers to retain skilled employees. It is no more considered as a
temporary solution.
Cross-training is defined as the training given to an employee to learn a different task that is
being performed by another employee in the same department. This type of training might be
mutual in many cases. Worker A learns the skills of worker B and B learns what is being
performed by worker A. This is self-explanatory that this training method is called cross-training.
This is not only suitable for workers and low-level employees but also useful for the managers to
manage the workforce by learning and understanding the tasks being performed by the employees.
If the manager knows the depth and time taken to perform each task, he can manage the team well
and achieve efficiency Stanca (2008).
There is no limitation of the position in the industry to be cross-trained. The current world is
becoming a global village and the competition is becoming high in every field. It is mandatory to
improve the efficiency of all the employees at the workplace to face the competition. Many
industries are implementing different techniques to reduce costs, like outsourcing and downsizing,
etc. Such things will affect the good relationship between the workers and employer. Employees
will not get the feel of job security and may not be loyal to the employer. This affects the mutual
gain. Employees will think in such a way that what they will gain by working in an organization
while the employer will think to extract the maximum output from the employees to achieve the
profit from the business Bhatia (2020).
Work-life balance is also an important factor for the employees. When their personal needs
are not met, they will plan to leave the organization which increases the attrition rate. Many of
organizations can afford expensive solutions to bring down the attrition rate. A small organization
cannot afford such solutions but plan to increase the confidence level in the employees and
provides them with the job security. Cross-training they makes them to learn many skills that help
to improve job security. This improves the social contract between the employee and employer
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Citation Information: Bhatia, S. & Shrivastava, S. (2022). Cross Training And Its Impact On Employees In Manufacturing Industry.
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 26(5), 1-6.
that benefits both the employee and employer Mosca et al. (2007).
The important aim of cross-training is to develop the skills of the employees. Again the
development of the employee and implementation of cross-training depends on the nature of
business and the goals of the organization. Hence the cross-training methods are customized for
every organization but not generalized to all the industries Bhatia (2020).
The employees who undergo the cross-training will get an overall understating of the
organization and they will be exposed to understand the full view of their organization goals. The
analysis of the needs of the employee and employer can be done either by the employee or
employer. The strengths and weaknesses of the employees are to be listed out before starting the
cross-training. The capabilities of every employee are to be analyzed to know what and all an
employee can perform to achieve the organizational goals Deepa & Thenmozhi (2018).
Benefits of Cross-Training
The benefits of cross-training can be classified as benefits to employees and the employer.
1. An employee can step into the tasks of another employee if he goes on unplanned leave or absent
from work thus the continuity of the work will be there.
2. A new employee can be trained by any of the cross-trained employees, no need to provide a special
trainer.
3. The busy work schedules can be shared by cross-trained employees.
4. Even if one or two employees go on leave, the production will run uninterruptedly.
5. The flexibility will be high throughout the company.
6. Cross-training will create a workforce of versatile working
7. The number of different tasks is reduced as each employee can perform multiple tasks thus reducing
the work jurisdiction.
8. Stagnation of the work in the company is prevented.
9. The productivity in the organization will be enhanced.
10. The teamwork will be improved with good coordination among the employees
11. Family-friendly policies will be developed to balance work and personal life.
12. A learning organization will be developed.
13. The marketability of the organization will be improved.
14. The retention rate will be increased that helps to reduce the costs of new recruitment.
15. The employees will be motivated and committed. Opportunities for employee promotion will be
increased. Employees will be able to understand the goals of the organization.
16. Employees will develop self-esteem.
17. The chances of getting rewarded and recognized will be more. Employees will be able to support
their
colleagues during needy times.
18. Marketability of the multi-skilled employees will be more both internally and externally compared to
non cross-trained employees.
19. The flexibility of substituting the employees in the place of absentees saves the costs of deploying
the
temporarily recruited employees.
20. All the employees will understand the relation between the departments and will be able to
understand and handle any work of any department.
21. The differences between the employees of different departments or divisions will be eliminated as all
the employees know something of everything.
22. The hidden talents of the employees will be brought out.
23. The growth of the employees is guaranteed.
24. All these factors are the positive outcomes of implementing cross-training in an organization.
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal Volume 26, Issue 5, 2022
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Citation Information: Bhatia, S. & Shrivastava, S. (2022). Cross Training And Its Impact On Employees In Manufacturing Industry.
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 26(5), 1-6.
Objective of Study
1. To assess the perception of things that influence the cross-training of the staff.
2. To determine the Relationship between Cross-training and Benefits to employees Table 1.

Table reveals the perception of the need for cross-training in the view of an employee. The
mean value of the variables calculated in the need for cross-training in the view of the employee
are: Cross-training helps the employees to perform the job efficiently is 3.57, Job becomes much
more interesting after being cross-trained is 3.73, Creativity improved after attending crosstraining is 3.81, Employees feel encouraged to try better methods is 3.86, Able to learn latest
trends and improve knowledge is 3.61, Can get better recognition from management after
attaining multiple skills is 3.08, Knowing only one skill makes the job highly routine and
predictable is 3.66, Current job involves knowing a number of different tasks is 3.73, Organization
respects employees who provide new ideas and knowledge is 3.74 and Superior expresses his/her
3.51. Employees feel encouraged to try better methods is the key aspect for the need for crosstraining in the employee perceptive Raheja (2015).
The respondents agreed that their creativity can improve after attending cross-training,
organization respects employees for providing new ideas and knowledge, their job becomes much
more interesting after being cross-trained, their current job involves knowing a number of various
tasks, they know only one skill makes the job highly routine and predictable, they are able to learn
latest trends and improve knowledge and Cross-training helps the employees to perform their job
more efficiently Slomp & Molleman (2002).
However, the respondents showed lesser agreement towards their superior expresses
confidence in the job effectively and they can get better recognition from management after
attaining multiple skills Table 2.
**Significant at 1% level.
A significant correlation (r=0.604) is found between Cross-training and Benefits to

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Citation Information: Bhatia, S. & Shrivastava, S. (2022). Cross Training And Its Impact On Employees In Manufacturing Industry.
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 26(5), 1-6.
employee and it is observed positive Sekhar et al. (2017). Here in this situation this is observed
that improvement through Cross-training enhances the benefits to the employee in the
Manufacturing industry.
Cross-training is a preparatory tool to handle the absence of a skilled employee. The team
which has undergone the cross-training will handle the risk during fluctuating workflows with
their flexibility. It helps the lower-level employee to move up the career ladder with the help of
multiple skills. In both ways, it is useful for the organization Banerjee & Shivaji (2016).
Durability
A company is said to be not sustainable if only one skilled person is available for one task.
Cross-training helps in such situations to bring sustainability by assisting with multi-skilled
employees.
Agility
Employees will gain professional development through cross-training in the organization. It
is a favourable condition for both the employee and employer, as the employees will get
opportunities to learn many things and the employer will gain by getting prepared to face any
unexpected challenges.
Flexibility
Organizations with cross-trained employees can easily manage the disruptions and easily
recover from such situations. They can handle the transitions smoothly as they are well versed in
all sorts of skills that are needed for the production.
Teamwork
Employees will build a strong relationship with the co-employees in all the teams as they
will visit all teams and interact with many teams during the process of cross-training. By building
a good relationship with all the teams they will be able to share the knowledge. The teams will be
able to understand the overall picture of the organization.
Efficiency
Cross-training makes the teams to revise their work, the way they perform the work will be
refined while training others. They learn while teaching as they will face many questions from the
trainee employees. This makes them become masters of their skills thus enhancing the overall
efficiency of the individual and also the teams.
Many of the human resource managers and other team heads will have a wrong notation that
the employee motivation can be achieved by providing them monitory benefits. They will realize
that the rewards and monitory perks are not the key reasons to motivate the employees. The
working environment, professional management, valuing employee services, and making them to
develop their career are the key sources to motivate the employees Sultana et al. (2012).
The lack of motivation and morale in the employees will result in increased turnover in the
organization. The employees performing the same tasks every day will make them static and
demotivates them which results in a turnover. Cross-training them to do different tasks day in, day
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal Volume 26, Issue 5, 2022
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Citation Information: Bhatia, S. & Shrivastava, S. (2022). Cross Training And Its Impact On Employees In Manufacturing Industry.
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 26(5), 1-6.
out makes them enthusiastic and motivates them to show interest in the work which in turn avoid
the turnover Colombo & Stanca (2008).
Successful Cross-Training Plan
To gain the benefits of a cross-training program, a step by step process is to be defined
carefully and then implemented as per the plan. Every business may not get the defined benefits
out of the cross-training. Small businesses may achieve success out of the cross-training compared
to big businesses. The number of divisions, type of technology used also plays role in achieving
success. The program will become successful if employees are also allowed to take part in the
planning. A few steps that are mandatory for every organisation to implement a successful crosstraining program are listed below.
1. The number and type of tasks in the company are to be listed out.
2. The jobs that can be performed successfully by others are to be identified.
3. Identify the team members who are willing to learn new things. Someone who is not interested cannot
be forced to attend cross-training which may give negative results.
4. Find out the team members who have the competency to perform the identified tasks.
5. Identify the teams among which cross-training is to be conducted. The front office team can be trained
for supervising the housekeeping and vice-versa. This depends upon the nature of the work they are
doing. That means, the skills to be trained, learning capabilities, and learning needs are to be matched.
6. A training process and the trainer needs to be defined. The employee currently performing the task or his
supervisor can train the team who are willing to learn.
7. The workload for the person under training is to be reduced to make him learn comfortably otherwise he
will feel work pressure and may not perform well.
8. Sufficient time has to be given to learn and then practice the skills. The skills need to be trained
frequently, the people who have learned may not remember forever.
9. The employees who have undergone cross-training and performing well are to be recognized and
rewarded.
10. The cross-training should be made as a part of the employee career development program
11. Management should allocate sufficient funds and training facilities to conduct the cross-training.
12. Employees should be made to understand that their value in the organization will increase after
undergoing cross-training.
CONCLUSION
Cross-training makes the employees learn multiple skills that make them support the coemployees during needy times. Especially in small businesses, the unpredictability can be
managed by the cross-trained In small companies, all the employees will be trained as the number
of employees is limited and each employee needs to do a number of tasks. In manufacturing
companies, it is necessary to train employees to learn multi-skills. If anyone’s task stops, that
affects the entire production line as all the functions in a manufacturing environment are
interdependent. The process of making the employees learn many skills bring collective success to
the industry. When the employees share their work and knowledge, confidence will be developed
and they take pride in sharing such work experiences. Thus, the support and cooperation among
the employees will be improved.
Thus, the implementation of cross-training in the manufacturing industry with multiple or
diverse functional units becomes beneficial to the employees both financially and for the
development of the career.
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Citation Information: Bhatia, S. & Shrivastava, S. (2022). Cross Training And Its Impact On Employees In Manufacturing Industry.
Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 26(5), 1-6.
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