Developing cross-functional skills helps generate understanding and align organizational goals.
Developing cross-functional knowledge and skills helps generate understanding and align organizational goals. For example, developing financial awareness skills across the business helps employees to understand why finance departments define certain processes. Ultimately, they are more likely to adhere to these, as they understand why it is important. The result is processes that are more efficient and a better bottom line.
There are also skills that every area of the business should possess; every employee has customers whether they are internal or external. Therefore, it stands to reason that everyone should possess customer service skills; internal and external customers should all receive the same level of respect and quality of service. Excellent customer service internally helps build relationships and respect throughout the organization.
Project management skills are now a fundamental skill as many of us either manage or have some involvement in projects of differing size and scale. Employees can develop these skills based on the business requirement; a project manager or project management office within an organization may want to use recognized methodologies and therefore, attain project management qualifications. Whereas those working in a marketing department coordinating small projects, for example, would work more efficiently and productively if they developed fundamental project management skills and applied these to their role.
This thinking is applicable across the various disciplines or functions – finance, sales, marketing, procurement, human resources, IT.
Employees must also continuously develop their digital skills; technology is evolving at a fast pace. Keeping up-to-date with traditional IT skills as well as developing other digital skills, for example, using collaborative tools or creating videos to share business communications is imperative. Fundamentally, everyone needs to be able to understand the potential impact of new technologies on their industry, organization, and job role.