There are some interesting questions generated here, particularly with respect to whether or not the benefit of always having trained staff on hand is worth the cost of the time and effort required to accomplish this task.
Please reference the post below.
Negative and Positive Financial Considerations in Cross-training Lab Technicians
The first positive financial consideration in cross training the employees is the increase in patient access to x-ray technicians. In case of temporary disability of one of the x-ray technicians, the cross-trained employees could take up the position, thereby ensuring that the patients have stable care regardless of disabilities of the workforce. This will ensure that the business does not lose clientele because of inaccessibility of service. The other positive financial consideration is the reduction of payroll expenses. With lab technicians who have x-ray technician’s skills, the business overheads are significantly reduced. Finally, there is increase in employee satisfaction because of increased roles and responsibilities. The employees whose roles and responsibilities are increased will perceive that they are working for an organization that has faith in their abilities (Barr, 2015; Kalisch, Curley & Stefanov, 2007).
The negative financial considerations include demoralization of the real x-ray technicians, who might perceive the reduction of their roles and responsibilities as a lack of faith in their abilities. There might be a significant loss of quality of service delivery because cross-trained employees will lack the specialization required to deliver adequate care in a specialized field such as the x-ray technician (Barr, 2015).
Dealing with a Weekend Staffing Crisis
The first step in dealing with a weekend staffing crisis is to engender teamwork among the remaining staff. Establishing a stable and efficient leadership structure would also help to maximize the utilization of the available human resources in the face of a staffing crisis. In critical care settings, it is important to delineate roles among the employees to ensure there is efficiency in operations. Within teams, it is important to ensure there are boundaries within which the employees work. This is especially the case when recruitment of cross-trained employees is necessary. Other steps include ensuring ample coordination and dynamic response to situational changes (Weaver et al., 2012). In the fast-paced environment of critical care settings, such coordination and awareness of situational changes can ensure effective delivery of service.
References
Barr, C. (2015). Advantages and Disadvantages of Cross-Training Employees. Retrieved January
23, 2016 from https://www.bfscapital.com/blog/advantages-disadvantages-cross-training-employees-business/
Kalisch, B. J., Curley, M., & Stefanov, S. (2007). An intervention to enhance nursing staff teamwork
and engagement. Journal of Nursing Administration, 37(2), 77-84.
Markova, T., Mateo, M., & Roth, L. M. (2012). Implementing teams in a patient-centered medical
home residency practice: lessons learned. The Journal of the American Board of Family
Medicine, 25(2), 224-231.
Weaver, S. J., Lyons, R., DiazGranados, D., Rosen, M. A., Salas, E., Oglesby, J., ... & King, H. B
(2010). The anatomy of health care team training and the state of practice: a critical review.
Academic Medicine, 85(11), 1746-1760.
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