We’ve all seen it happen.
An employee is standing around on a jobsite. Maybe he’s waiting for material to run through a brush chipper while the other crew members are taking down another tree. Meanwhile, the stump from the first removal is ready for grinding.
Or a crew is shorthanded or even shut down for the day because the only person who can climb is out sick.
One potential solution for both of these problems is to cross-train employees. If that first crew member knew how to run the stump grinder, he could do that job and the crew would be more productive. In the second scenario, if a tree service has multiple crews, some shuffling around could lead to that absent crew member’s spot being filled.
Here are five ways your company could benefit from cross-training employees.
- Increase flexibility — Continuing the thought above, cross-training employees can limit the amount of time crew members stand around and also keep crews running at full strength, allowing for improved efficiency and productivity.
- Optimize staffing —There are ups and downs in the tree care industry. Companies may staff up when it gets busy and then cut back when it’s slow. This may involve hiring full-time, part-time or seasonal employees, or some combination thereof. Being able to mix and match personnel to crews can help keep a company at an ideal staffing level. For example, if you suddenly get a lot of tree removals, you can move some employees off plant health care duties to help climb or operate machinery rather than hiring new staffers.
- Beat the forecast — It’s just a fact of life that tree care employees have to deal with the weather. If conditions are so bad you cannot climb but you can still remove brush and grind stumps, having crew members with a variety of skill sets can keep you working when other companies are shut down for the day.
- Stay fresh — Some tree care jobs are more physically demanding than others. Think of a climber versus someone hauling material with a loader. Being able to rotate your crew members may keep them fresh and improve overall productivity.
- Boost morale — Cross-training employees shows them that you care about their professional growth, and happy employees often go the extra mile for their employers. They also may reward them with their loyalty. In an industry where finding and retaining employees is among the greatest challenges, this is a nice bonus.