Cross-training helps produce team players

The U.S. has seen growing number of employers who reward self-starters and innovative thinkers in the later part of the 20th century into the 21st -- and the Quad-Cities is among the areas struck by this trend.

Professionals are becoming more flexibile and marketable. Cross-training, or, training employees to work in more than one area, has become more common than ever as the economy booms, job availability flourishes and shifts in corporate America remain steady.

At the helm of this trend are human resource professionals, who help train bosses to make transitions to become ``team leaders'' and work to build trust between employees, who will become part of the ``team.''

``The culture of companies really drives what kind of solutions will be most successful,'' said Laura Ford, partner with Kathy Herbst of New Avenues Inc., a consulting firm in Davenport.

The two human resource professionals started the firm six years ago. They have helped more than 150 companies break traditional molds to incorporate new employer-employee models.

```Teaming' previously was more optional,'' Ms. Ford said. ``More and more we're finding that's not just an option, it's a requirement. I think it's because companies are changing so rapidly.''

The ``team approach,'' which involves more group efforts, provides more input from a collection of minds, Ms. Ford said. This collection is more capable of producing ``better solutions,'' she said.

Ms. Ford and her business partner have rolled with the punches to figure out what best works with each situation. They both frequently attend conferences, volunteer their time, network, research and read anything they can about the changing face of the business culture.

As a member of the board of directors for a national consultant's forum, Ms. Ford is able to do some cross-referencing of her own. She listens to the ideas of other professionals to figure out how to better serve her clients in the Quad-Cities.

The 3,500-member forum is part of a larger group, the Society for Human Resource Management, which boasts 150,000 members.

Members of the society discuss ways to keep employees on their toes. The trend is to hire employees who are divergent thinkers and not afraid to tackle new tasks -- with fresh perspectives and new ways of doing things.

Many retirees looking for a part-time job, or a second career, have made the move into consulting. Ms. Ford said human resource professionals must be forward thinkers, willing to investigate several alternatives to deal with problems.

``Some do it because they want the flexibility, or the challenge, or the variety,'' she said. ``You really have to learn by the school of hard knocks in this profession.''