Upload
hoangthu
View
215
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi
Human Resource Development Assignment
6th Trimester, Session 2010-12
Group-5 Write-Up
On
MULTI-SKILLING
Submitted to; Submitted by; GROUP-5
Prof. Sajeet Lakra Daksh Agrawal (05)
Administrator, Sneha (14)
XISS, Ranchi Navya Jain (27)
Anand Shankar (37)
Priyanka Srivastava (51)
Pooja Rani (65)
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The matter before you is a culmination of consistent guidance by our respected Prof. Sajeet Lakra and hard work of the team involved in the project.
We take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to our faculty Prof. Sajeet Lakra, for providing us with the guidance to take up a project like this and make a presentation on “Multiskilling”. The study has not only given us an insight into the nuances of Human Resource Development but also proved to be a great learning.
The hard work of the team members has helped us to make this endeavor a success. We take this opportunity also to thank all our team members for their contribution, our friends and family for their unending support.
Thank You
Group V
iii
CONTENTS
S.No. Topics Pg. No.1. Introduction 12. Who Needs to get multiskilled 23. Need for Multiskilling 44. Types of Multiskilling 65. Techniques of Multiskilling 76. Advantages of Multiskilling 177. Barriers to Multiskilling 198. Multiskilling Vs. Work Specialization 209. Case Studies 26
10. Conclusion 3511. Bibliography 37
4
INTRODUCTION
• Organisations typically multiskill with the intent of removing functional barriers and increasing the flexibility of the workforce; it is rarely about the ‘ideals of job enrichment and empowerment’ as advocated by certain humanistic organisational change specialists. (Economist, 1991)
• Multiskilling refers to training workers to be able to undertake a wide range of different jobs, instead of just one.
5
Who needs to get multi-skilled?
It is important to understand who needs to get multi-skilled. Do they need to be
at a particular level or position, or doing a specific work? Interestingly, most
experts do believe that being multi-skilled is level-agnostic. People trained in
technical skills however need to have mastery over more than one platform
necessitated on account of the high level of obsolescence in the field.
The non-technical staff can be trained in support functions to save an organization
considerable cost. Training should preferably be in related/adjacent fields, so that
the existing skills of the employees are appropriately leveraged. “Moreover, as
these employees move into managerial or lead positions, knowledge of related
field aids them while interacting and collaborating with their various
stakeholders.”
Multi-skilling is not so-much about a particular level or category of employees. It
is about a mind-set. It is about skill sets and you would agree therefore that it is
fairly level-agnostic.
6
How it helps employees
Reduction in job insecurity
Greater individual productivity
Better growth prospects
Holistic perspective regarding the
organization’s business
Can achieve his personal goals quicker
Multi-skilling is of particular significance for key teams/leadership in an
organization usually span the middle/mid senior levels with employees who are
responsible for driving operations on the ground. Building multi-skilled
capabilities of the middle rung of people allows organizations to loop in talent for
new business initiatives/ventures.
Benefits to the organization;
Optimal utilization of workforce
Easy deployment of employees across projects
Increased productivity and better quality of
deliverables
Creation of a flexible workforce which is well aware
of the organization’s needs
Fillip to employee engagement
The Need for Multi-skilling
7
In an effort to avoid retrenchment, reduce hiring and increase efficiency,
organizations are seeking a multi-skilled workforce.
In an era of specialization, the downturn has interestingly brought into focus the
necessity of having a multi-skilled workforce. Multi-skilling is currently the big
buzzword. The common belief is that a multi-skilled workforce can avoid
retrenchment and can lead to increased productivity for the organization in a
time of increased severity, which can directly impact the company’s bottom line.
Some would argue of course that there was always a need to be multi-skilled, but
the current economic turmoil has brought the necessity to the forefront.
Possession of an additional skill goes a long way in opening new channels and
opportunities for professionals, particularly at a time when their particular skill
might not be needed by the organization for its business.
It is a healthy trend from the perspective of the company as well as the employee,
since it allows the company to bring about cost-cutting in various forms and more
importantly, an individual does not become indispensable for the company, or
rather a company need not depend on a particular person for doing a specialized
job in which he is an expert. Such a workforce would be self-managed and flexible
according to the requirements of the company. From the perspective of the
employee, multi-tasking would allow them to become diversified and maintain
high levels of motivation and enthusiasm. It would also allow the employees to
get involved in the various aspects of the functioning, work, etc., of their
company, allowing them to be more involved in the performance of their firm and
contributing in preventing lay-offs as well.
8
There are many who believe that multi-skilled employees are a great asset to an
organization, irrespective of industry conditions. In leaner times, a multi-skilled
workforce helps bring in operational efficiency and increased productivity, since a
smaller workforce is required to cater to the scaled down demand. But even
when economic conditions are on the upswing, a multi-skilled workforce helps in
addressing customer demand faster and better.
If an employee enhances his skill sets, albeit in a phased manner, he will be far
more valuable to his company and the company will be a more potent force in the
market. Not only is this relevant in a recession, but also in a booming economy
where companies compete to attract and retain the best business.
9
Types of Multi-skilling
Cordery (1995) classified multi-skilling into 4 types.
1. Vertical Multi-skilling: The extent to which supervisory or administrative
support tasks are learned by individuals.
2. Horizontal Multi-skilling: This is learning skills from another discipline or
function within an organization.
• Skill broadening: Where minor elements and tasks are learned on top of
the predominant activity (major task). So expertise is maintained in the
major task with elements added to increase efficiency.
• Cross skilling/dual skilling: Where another major activity is learned in
addition to the main craft and a person is considered competent to carry
out any activity in these two main disciplines.
3. Depth Multi-skilling: This is the acquisition and application of more
complex, specific skills within the same trade or discipline.
4. Multi-skilled Teams: A multi-skilled team is a group of individuals who
collectively have a range of skills.
• Traditional single skilled individuals collected into one team and
managed by one supervisor, or
• A team of multi-skilled individuals.
The intent is to have a team where the strengths and specialties are
10
combined, which increases the range of skills available to tackle certain
issues.
11
Techniques of Multi-skilling
Multi-skilling can be developed through a variety of techniques which are as
follows:
Coaching and Mentoring
Job-Rotation
Job-Shadowing
Self-Learning
Temping
Team-based Cross-functional projects
Coaching
Coaching is a corrective measure for inadequate performance. Survey by the
International Coach Federation shows that more than 4,000 companies use a
coach for their executives. This method best suits for the people at the top
because if we see on emotional front, when a person reaches the top, he gets
lonely and it becomes difficult to find someone to talk to. It helps in finding out
the executive’s specific developmental needs. The needs can be identified
through 360 degree performance reviews.
12
Procedure of Coaching
The procedure of the coaching is mutually determined by the executive and
coach. The procedure is followed by successive counseling and meetings at the
executive’s convenience by the coach.
1. Understand the participant’s job, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and
resources required to meet the desired expectation
2. Meet the participant and mutually agree on the objective that has to be
achieved
3. Mutually arrive at a plan and schedule
4. At the job, show the participant how to achieve the objectives, observe the
performance and then provide feedback
5. Repeat step 4 until performance improves
For the people at middle level management, coaching is more likely done by the
supervisor; however experts from outside the organization are at times used for
up and coming managers. Again, the personalized approach assists the manger
focus on definite needs and improvement.
13
Mentoring
Mentoring is an ongoing relation between senior manager and junior manager for
the purpose of support and guidance. Mentoring provides guidance and clear
understanding of how the organization goes to achieve its vision and mission to
the junior employee.
The meetings are not as structured and regular than in coaching. Executive
mentoring is generally done by someone inside the company. The executive can
learn a lot from mentoring. By dealing with diverse mentee’s, the executive is
given the chance to grow professionally by developing management skills and
learning how to work with people with diverse background, culture, and language
and personality types.
Executives also have mentors. In cases where the executive is new to the
organization, a senior executive could be assigned as a mentor to assist the new
executive settled into his role. Mentoring is one of the important methods for
preparing them to be future executives. This method allows the mentor to
determine what is required to improve mentee’s performance. Once the mentor
identifies the problem, weakness, and the area that needs to be worked upon,
the mentor can advise relevant training. The mentor can also provide
opportunities to work on special processes and projects that require use of
proficiency.
Some key points on Mentoring
Mentoring focus on attitude development
14
Conducted for management-level employees
Mentoring is done by someone inside the company
It is one-to-one interaction
It helps in identifying weaknesses and focus on the area that needs
improvement
Job Rotation
Rotation involves a series of assignments to different positions or departments for
a specified period. At the end of the cycle the accumulated evaluations will be
used to determine the preparedness of the trainee and if & where the person will
be permanently assigned. For the executive, job rotation takes on different
perspectives. The executive is usually not simply going to another department. In
some vertically integrated organizations, for example, where the supplier is
actually part of same organization or subsidiary, job rotation might be to the
supplier to see how the business operates from the supplier point of view.
Learning how the organization is perceived from the outside broadens the
executive’s outlook on the process of the organization. The rotation might be to a
foreign office to provide a global perspective. This approach allows the manger to
operate in diverse roles and understand the different issues that crop up. If
someone is to be a corporate leader, they must have this type of training. A
recent study indicated that the single most significant factor that leads to leader’s
achievement was the variety of experiences in different departments, business
units, cities, and countries.
15
An organized and helpful way to develop talent for the management or executive
level of the organization is job rotation. It is the process of preparing employees
at a lower level to replace someone at the next higher level. It is generally done
for the designations that are crucial for the effective and efficient functioning of
the organization.
Benefits of Job Rotation
Some of the major benefits of job rotation are:
It provides the employees with opportunities to broaden the horizon of
knowledge, skills, and abilities by working in different departments, business
units, functions, and countries.
Identification of Knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) required.
It determines the areas where improvement is required.
Assessment of the employees who have the potential and caliber for filling the
position.
For the managers being developed into executive roles, rotation to different
functions in the company is regular carried out.
– Train on different tasks/positions
– Often used to train entry-level managers
– Also used to provide back-up in production positions
16
Job Shadowing
Job shadowing is a career exploration activity that offers an opportunity to spend
time with a professional currently working in a person’s career field of interest.
Job shadowing offers a chance to see what it’s actually like working in a specific
job.
The new hire may spend one to five days following the routine of the employee,
learning general job responsibilities, observing how the tasks are carried out, and
getting some insight into methods that allow for efficient handling of the job.
Job shadowing is actually one of the most common of all training techniques for
new employees. Essentially, job shadowing involves spending a period of time
with a seasoned expert, observing everything that he or she does that is related
to the work that is expected to be accomplished as part of the daily routine of
the job. Involving one new employee to act as the observer, and one person to
function as the demonstrator, this allows the new hire a chance to get a handle of
what is involved in performing the tasks associated with the work.
Job shadowing can commence at one of two points in the job training process.
One of the most common is to assign the new hire to an established employee on
the first day. The new hire may spend one to five days following the routine of the
employee, learning general job responsibilities, observing how the tasks are
carried out, and getting some insight into methods that allow for efficient
handling of the job.
17
Another option is to implement the job shadowing after a period of orientation in
a classroom setting has taken place. With this application,
the job shadowing allows the new hire to already have some background into the
workings of the company, with the observation that is picked up
during job shadowing building on that foundation of orientation. The combination
of structured educational classes with the job observation of an employee with
extensive work experience works very well in a number of settings.
The concept of job shadowing has many advantages. First, the new hire may often
feel intimidated about performing tasks for the first time. By allowing the new
person to job shadow a long time employee for a day or two, this can often build
up the confidence of the new employee. Along with this
advantage, job shadowing allows the new hire to see procedures and methods in
actual situations. This can help to bring to life some of the scenarios that were
outlined in the training materials, making them much more real to the new hire
than they were in the safe environment of the classroom.
A third benefit of job shadowing is that the new hire often has a chance to begin
building rapport with other employees, which can help to integrate him or her
into the job team more quickly. Acceptance into the group can often help the new
employee relax and focus on learning the best ways to get things done, rather
than being apprehensive about fitting into the corporate culture.
18
Self Learning
In self-directed learning (SDL), the individual takes the initiative and the
responsibility for what occurs. Individuals select, manage, and assess their own
learning activities, which can be pursued at any time, in any place, through any
means, at any age. In schools, teachers can work toward SDL a stage at a time.
Teaching emphasizes SDL skills, processes, and systems rather than content
coverage and tests. For the individual, SDL involves initiating personal challenge
activities and developing the personal qualities to pursue them successfully.
Temping
Temping means working in short employment stints with a variety of clients,
usually through a temping agency or staffing firm. Although temporary, the
worker bases his/her working life around this kind of work as it offers
increased flexibility and variety. It is a tri-party agreement, between the client
company, the third party vendor and the employee (also known as associate or
temp).
The temp workers work in the facility of the client companies, but receive salary
and benefits from the temp agencies.
Indian companies are home to many unique projects and solutions. Many of these
require people with specific skill sets to deliver them. Hence, organizations are
often faced with the requirement of “knowledge workers” to facilitate the
19
delivery of such projects. This has led to the growth of what is called “short-term
project-based hiring” or “temping”.
While large global organizations follow this recruitment mechanism, in India it is
gradually gaining popularity. Small and medium sized organizations specifically
from the Indian Information Technology (IT) industry are employing temp
workers. These organizations are opting for temping for many reasons some of
which are:
Temps or contract workers are on the payrolls of a third-party staffing
organization and as such organizations do not need to worry about
employment, recruitment and even replacements.
They save on the cost of training as the staffing form typically sends in
batches of knowledge workers according to the project.
They can drastically cut down non-productive staff costs especially when
they do not have the visibility of a similar project in future.
They can reduce the number of staff on bench and hence save on salaries.
They can pay relatively more to contract workers and get work done rather
than recruiting them for long-term and paying perks and retirement
benefits besides huge salaries.
20
Learning by Doing
New forms of learning by doing seem to be emerging. Technology could play a
role in finding innovative ways to enable skills development and greater
understanding of personal actions, reactions and decisions.
21
Advantages of multi-skilling
1. Flexibility
Workers who are able to perform a large number of tasks can fill in for other
workers, increasing workforce flexibility.
2. Communication
Knowledge of various tasks can increase the understanding of other tasks and
improve coordination.
3. Positive effects on innovation
The processes of improving design concepts are easier because of the
individuals ‘multi’ knowledge.
4. Employment security
A multi-skilled workforce is not as threatened if skills become obsolete
because of new technology.
5. Project efficiency
Through increased level of multi-skilling, work can be re-organized so that it
can be performed most efficiently. Multi-skilled workers carry projects
through, sometimes all the way from start to finish often taking ‘project
ownership’.
22
6. Competitive market
Cost saving are passed onto the customer, through the decrease of labor cost
due to reduction of turnaround time and number of workers involved.
7. Management effectiveness
Multi-skilling is most valuable in the areas of management. Here it effects the
reduction of product completion time (e.g. reduced subsequent production
line delays), the decrease of project planning time (e.g. only one employee has
to learn the details of the project), and the cutback of administration costs
(e.g. faster completion of pay claims and materials billing).
23
Barriers to Multi-skilling
• Demotivates intelligent and aggressive employees who seek specific
responsibility.
• Eventually creates a number of employees with limited job knowledge.
• Encourages generalization, more appropriate for developing line managers
than functional staff.
• Sometimes, there is an undercurrent of frustration.
• New jobs, environment and learning can unnerve employees.
• Employees fear not living up to expectations.
• Employees are uncomfortable with the changes and cannot deal with the
conflict of the role and their personality.
24
MULTI-SKILLING vs. WORK SPECIALIZATION
Work SpecializationIt refers to the degree to which tasks in the organization are subdivided into
separate jobs. In work specialization, following are the characteristics:
The entire job is broken down into steps, each step completed by a separate
individual.
Individual workers specialize in doing part of an activity.
Involves repetitive performance of a few skills.
Can be viewed as a means to make the most efficient use of employee's skills.
Some task requires highly developed skills.
Others can be performed by the untrained.
Division of Labor
Makes efficient use of employee’s skills.
Increases employee's skills through repetition.
Less between-job downtime increases productivity.
Specialized training is more efficient.
Allows the use of specialized equipment.
25
By the late 1940’s most manufacturing jobs in industrialized countries were being
done with high work specialization. Management saw this as a means to make the
most efficient use of its employee’s skills.
For much of the first half of this century, managers viewed work specialization as
an unending source of increased productivity. But, by the 1960s there was
increasing evidence that a good thing has been carried too far. The point had
been reached in some jobs where the human diseconomies from specialization –
which surfaced as boredom, fatigue, stress, low productivity, poor quality,
increased absenteeism and high turnover – more than offset the economic
advantages.
26
Work specialization as a theory is in direct contrast to that of multi-skilling. A
comparative study of the two is as follows:
MULTI-SKILLING WORK SPECIALIZATION
• Makes employee stretch to the
limits
• Jobs can become too simplified
• Needs constant support and
thorough guidance throughout
the process of acquiring multiple
skills
• Employees become bored and
tired, safety problems and accident
rates increases
• Being a developmental process
makes it slow
• Absenteeism rises
• Very Sensitive issue, it is
imperative to find right person for
right job in right time
• Quality of work may suffer
• Small businesses by necessity
have multi-skilled people
• Industries employ specialized
workers
27
The parameters for comparison between
Multi-skilling and Work Specialization
There are many parameters for such comparison, some of them being:
1. Quality
The ability of staff to produce high-quality products and services can be affected
by job design. This includes avoiding errors in the short term, but also includes
designing jobs which encourage staff to improve the job itself in such a way as to
make errors less likely.
2. Speed
Sometimes speed of response is the dominant objective to be achieved in job
design. For example, the way in which the jobs of emergency service personnel
are organized (the range of tasks for which they are trained, the sequence of
activities in their approved procedures, the autonomy which they have to decide
on appropriate action, and so on) will go a long way to determine their ability to
respond promptly to emergencies and perhaps save lives.
3. Dependability
Dependable supply of goods and services is usually influenced, in some way, by
job design. For example, in the postal services’ working arrangements, multi-
skilling, accurate use of sorting equipment through good staff-machine interface
28
design, and the ‘design’ of postal staff’s clothing, can all aid dependable delivery
of letters and parcels.
4. Flexibility
Job design can affect the ability of the operation to change the nature of its
activities. New product or service flexibility, mix flexibility, volume flexibility and
delivery flexibility are all dependent to some extent on job design. (See Chapter 2
for a full description of these different types of flexibility). For example, staffs who
have been trained in several tasks (multi-skilling) may find it easier to cope with a
wide variety of models and new product or service introductions.
5. Cost
All the elements of job design described above will have an effect on the
productivity, and therefore the cost, of the job. Productivity in this context means
the ratio of output to labor input: for example, the number of customers served
per hour or the number of products made per worker.
In addition, job design will influence two other particularly important objectives.
6. Health and safety
Whatever else a job design achieves, it must not endanger the well-being of the
person who does the job, other staff of the operation, the customers who might
be present in the operation, or those who use any products made by the
operation.
29
7. Quality of working life
The design of any job should take into account its effect on job security, intrinsic
interest, variety in it, opportunities for development, stress level and attitude of
the person performing the job.
PARAMETERS MULTI-SKILLING WORK SPECIALIZATION
Quality High High
Speed High Moderate
Dependability High Moderate
Flexibility High Low
Cost High Low
Health and safety High Low
Quality of working life Low Moderate
30
CASE STUDIES in MULTI-SKILLING
MULTI-SKILLING INITIATIVE: INDRADHANUSH @ ACC
Concrete
The concept of Indradhanush challenges the theory of ‘one person - one role’.
The aim of this development model is to train people and make them ‘green’ in
multiple competencies. The model includes a carefully crafted Multi-skill index to
measure progress.
As explained by Dr. Tanaya Mishra, Chief People Officer, ACC Concrete, the model
encompasses 3 phases:
1. Plotting a multi-skilled profile for each of the plant personnel.
2. Developmental initiatives through OTJ training.
3. Assessments and remapping.
The company prepared a current status skill matrix for each plant based on
inputs from three different sources:-
a) extracts of the internal dialogue process
b) review ratings from immediate supervisors and reviewers
c) results of 15 different subject assessment papers conducted for
each employee
31
This helped the company maintain objectivity in the overall model.
Each color code had an interpretation:
Red: Not capable of handling the job role even with support.
Yellow: Capable of handling the function under supervision and support.
Green: Capable of handling the function independently.
• Each color box was then assigned a score. Once complete, the whole matrix
was converted into a commonly understood index.
• The programme began with 2.26 index points out of 5. Within the first 6
months, the index moved up by 22 percent.
• By the end of 2010, the target was to achieve an index of 3.5. Efforts were
made using well structured on-the-job training through coaches who are
not only experts in the core subject but also specially trained in coaching
skills.
• The process is now well established and has brought tremendous benefits
to the organization, in terms of helping it maintain its lean and agile
32
structure, which in turn boosts competitiveness.
The whole process has also answered issues related to role enhancement,
increase in operational efficiency, optimization of manpower, better shift
management and leave plans, career development, filling recruitment gaps and
succession planning.
33
CROSS-TRAINING FOR MULTI-SKILLING @ DAISHOWA-MARUBENI INTERNATIONAL (DMI) LTD. PEACE RIVER PULP DIVISION
Background
Peace River Pulp, a Japanese-owned unit, located in the northwest of Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, is a nonunionized mill that was constructed in 1989 as a green-
field plant. The plant started operations in July 1990 and began to produce
hardwood pulp, an aspen-derived product, and softwood pulp, a spruce- and
pine-derived product. Mill production has subsequently improved to the point
where output is 20 percent higher than was originally planned.
Typically, one quarter (1/4) of the total production is softwood pulp and three
quarter (3/4) is hardwood pulp for sale to the world market. Hardwood pulp,
blended with or without softwood pulps makes an excellent printing and writing
grade of paper, providing bulk and a good printing surface.
Workforce
There are approximately 342 permanently employed plant workers, 100
contractually employed workers, and 250 seasonally employed forestry workers.
Sixty percent of the permanently employed workers have had no previous
experience with traditional management systems in the pulping industry, while 30
34
percent came directly from academic institutions and had little or no work
experience.
Cross-functional teams called Home Station Groups (HSGs) have been established,
which depend on a participative style of management. Each of the fifteen HSGs is
responsible for a specific aspect of the manufacturing process, and is composed
of approximately twelve technicians, together representing people from all
process-related departments in the mill. The HSGs are distributed throughout the
six organizational departments of the facility. These are:
Woodlands, which is responsible for harvesting, log hauling, log storage,
and chipping consisting of 12 forestry personnel. Forestry personnel
typically specialize in a specific aspect of their profession, such as
silviculture or chip procurement, and are rotated into a different position
every two to four years.
Operations, which is responsible for monitoring and operating the pulp
manufacturing process. Employees progress through 7-tiered ‘technical
progression’ system, each tier having separate standardized kill set, which
cannot be bypassed.
Technical, that is responsible for process engineering, quality control, and
operation of the environmental and central lab.
Mechanical Maintenance, which is responsible for numerous maintenance
tasks, such as repairing machinery, welding, and pipefitting. Like the
operations department, the maintenance department relies on a technical
35
progression system in which employees advance through seven tiers of
training, after which they are eligible to apply for one of the departmental
lead positions.
Electrical Services and Instrumentation, which is responsible for
instrumentation and process-control maintenance. Every electrician is also
expected to train in instrumentation, and vice versa. Because individuals
trained in both professions can find job opportunities in other industries,
such as oil and gas, this cross-training practice has helped protect the
company from higher turnover.
Engineering, that is responsible for project design and implementation.
Why the need for Multi-skilling at Peace River Pulp Mill?
DMI’s Flexibility in terms of production: Organizational flexibility takes one of two
forms:
− Uniformity flexibility
− Product-range flexibility
• Product-range flexibility refers to a plant’s ability to switch smoothly from an
old product to a novel product; an example would be an automobile assembly
factory where a different car is produced each year. A company requiring this
36
kind of flexibility should focus on educating its workers with general trouble-
shooting skills that are not specific to a particular product.
• Uniformity flexibility refers to a plant’s ability to smoothly switch back and
forth between different products; an example would be a pulp mill, where
production constantly switches from hard wood pulp, an aspen derived
product, to soft wood pulp, a spruce- and pine-derived product. These plants
should focus on educating their employees with skills specific to the
manufacturing process, for they will be of the most benefit. Peace River Mill
hence requires elaborate skill-set in its workforce.
37
Issues in Multi-skilling
1. How many skills to be absorbed by each?
There is a Law of diminishing returns to increased no. of skills through cross-
training. Park(1991) found that the most significant improvement in flexibility
occurred when employees were trained in two sets of skills instead of just one.
Eg. Training in the skills required for pipefitting and welding, rather than just
pipefitting alone.
2. How to improve flexibility?
Skill ‘Chaining’ is the best technique which requires each worker to train in a
unique combination of skills (Brusco and Johns 1998) such that they are the most
productive.
Eg. A pipe-fitter is required in the maintenance department of a pulp mill. Worker
can be trained in both pipe-fitting and welding.
Asymmetric training program is much more conducive to chaining than a
symmetric training program. However, if a training program produces worker skill
sets that are too diverse, it may turn out that too few employees are trained in
the high-workload jobs of the organization.
38
3. Workers should be Generalists or Specialists?
The more extensive the cross-training program, the more difficult it is for
employees to specialize in specific skill sets (Stanislaw et al. 1994). This problem
can be avoided by separating highly specialized jobs from the cross-training
program.
Another solution is to have each worker completely specialize in one skill and
master at least 50 percent of another skill set - Brusco and Johns (1998). They
found that when employees are cross-trained in this way, about 87 percent of the
cost savings available from completely mastering the second skill set were
attained, on average.
4. How to deal with Employee Resistance?
Cross-training for multi-skilling will tend to reduce the ‘that’s not my job’
mentality in the work force (Klein 1998).
Some employees may feel that training, work, and responsibility now required are
not worth the increase in pay being offered. They choose to stay in the positions
they had occupied before the implementation of the initiative. However, as the
cross-training becomes more entrenched in the organizational culture, the
number of employees who refuse to participate begins to decrease.
39
Conclusion
Multi-skilling ensures that workers are idle only when there are no jobs to
complete, not when there are no jobs that a particular worker can complete. It
therefore allows companies like Peace River Pulp to use a ‘minimum-staffed’
strategy—to use only the minimum number of employees necessary to
maintain production.
Multi-skilling is particularly suited to the cost-reduction strategy of Peace River
Pulp because it operates a continuous production system, within which it is
very difficult to divide jobs into individual units. The more knowledgeable
workers are about the whole process, the more proficient they become.
Cross-trained employees are less likely to resist technological innovation, since
it is less likely to be perceived as a threat to their job security if they are used
to moving from one skill to another.
The more extensive the multi-skilling, the more difficult it is for employees to
specialize in specific skill sets. Companies must therefore find a balance
between special skills and a general understanding. One solution is to separate
highly specialized jobs from the cross-training program.
Multi-skilling is particularly important in the pulping industry because of
computerized control systems that require operators to have a well-founded
comprehension of the entire pulping process. Cross-training allows employees
to develop the intellectual mastery that has become a key performance factor.
40
Skill-based pay is the most appropriate system for rewarding multi-skilled
workers, but three problems may arise:
It sometimes results in very high wage levels;
Employees may concentrate too much on acquiring new skills, rather
than on completing their assigned jobs; and
It is difficult to find new challenges for employees who have mastered
all the designated skills.
Only the last problem has arisen at Peace River Pulp, which finds it difficult to
maintain a low turnover rate among its more experienced employees.
41
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Human Resource Development, Jon M. Werner & Randy L. Desimone, Pg. 151-201,Eighth Edition, Cengage Learning India Pvt. Ltd.
• http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ ema_uk_he_slack_opsman_4/17/4472/1144953.cw/index.html (Retrieved February,2012)
• http://www.hrprofessor.com/article6.html (Retrieved February,2012)
• http://hsc.csu.edu.au/ind_tech/ind_study/2530/ Multiskilling.html(Retrieved February,2012)