Cross training… I’m not talking about training for a triathlon. I’m referring to having your employees know more about your company that just what they “do”.
Back in the days when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was fresh out of college I started at the bottom of the color separation food chain… proofing. I worked there for a few months and went to contacting for a few weeks. From contacting I moved to stripping where I stayed for a few years. After stripping I moved into the position of account rep.
While working one Saturday we were finished for the day. Being the senior member in the plant that day I let everyone leave as I packed up the day’s work. As I was preparing the packages for the messenger pick up I noticed a mistake that the QC department had overlooked. The job was for our biggest client, the package was being shipped internationally and we were one a STRICT deadline for delivery.
Because I had worked in so many departments throughout the production process I looked at the error and knew just how to fix it. I went back to the stripped flats and made the corrections, contacted and output new films, created the necessary color proofs and folded blueprints and packed the job in time for Airborne (do they still exist??) to make the pickup.
While this is an extreme case, a little “extra” knowledge can go a long way. Had I not known what I knew (did you follow that?) we would have been late on the deadline and angered our largest (and most lucrative) customer.
So when you are installing that new software or new piece of equipment have everyone that may “need to know” how to use it in on the training sessions. Even if they never have position in that department they may be able to help avoid a missed deadline.
Knowledgeable staff = Prompt and on-time delivery = Happy Customer!!
