We’ve built such a stigma around the “That’s not my job.” mentality that often managers and employees alike are crossing job performance boundaries that they should not. The workforce is a competitive environment, and for the most part people genuinely want to succeed at their job and please their peers, but multi-tasking is best left to the computer systems.
Learning Is Good
Of course, the ability to step outside of a role when needed is a valuable thing. Employees love to be cross-trained, and often find enjoyment in increasing their value within an organization. It is perfectly acceptable to setup times and structures that enable an employee to work within other departments, and at other tasks, but it becomes dangerous when a manager is using an employee as a “jack-of-all-trades” resource without properly training and compensating them.
Take The Time
Take the time to invest planning and resources into your organizational development and staff. If you can define what is being done when, and clearly spell it out for everyone, you’ll eliminate burnout and protect the careers of everyone involved.
Maybe Sara works in sales Wednesday through Friday, but assists Jane in accounting on Mondays and Tuesdays; if Sara has a better idea of how to prepare for her work week, her productivity will improve and so will yours.
Apples To Apples
Human resources are not robots; they are valuable assets willing to work hard for you. Much like your IT infrastructure works to support your employees, they work to support you and the business. So, make sure that they are running smoothly, and have good virus protection. 🙂