Defining cross-disciplinary skills
Cross-functional skills are general abilities such as communication, time management and problem-solving, which are useful in all professions and sectors.
They enable employees to adapt and perform effectively in different professional environments.
Unlike technical skills, which are specific to a task or trade, transversal skills are general and versatile.
They also differ from transferable skills, which are specific to a branch or sector of activity.
Cross-disciplinary (or transversal) skills are used regardless of sector or profession.
Types of cross-disciplinary skills
Communication skills
Communication skills are essential for interacting effectively with others, whether in a professional or personal setting.
Key communication skills include:
- Active listening This skill involves not only hearing the other person’s words, but also understanding the underlying message, asking pertinent questions and showing empathy.
It helps to establish clear communication and strengthen professional relationships. - Persuasion Persuasion: the ability to convince others of your point of view or to influence them is crucial in many professional contexts, whether to obtain an agreement, sell a product or encourage a change in behavior.
- Negotiation Negotiation is a necessary skill for reaching mutually beneficial agreements.
It requires an understanding of the needs of both parties, the ability to compromise and to reach effective agreements.
Time management skills
Time management is key to maximizing productivity and achieving objectives.
Time management skills include :
- Prioritization Knowing how to identify the most important tasks and prioritize them is essential for effective workload management.
This allows you to focus your energy on tasks with higher added value. - The organization Good organization helps maintain the expected pace of work.
This includes planning tasks, managing the resources to carry them out and creating efficient processes to manage them. - Meeting deadlines The ability to complete tasks on time is imperative to maintain professional credibility and ensure the satisfaction of customers and management.
Problem-solving skills
Problem-solving skills enable us to overcome obstacles and find innovative solutions.
These include :
- Critical thinking The ability to analyze a situation objectively, evaluate different options and make informed decisions is essential for effective problem-solving.
- Creativity being able to think innovativelyout of the boxCreativity: being able to think innovatively “out of the box” and come up with original solutions to complex problems.
- Decision-making Decision-making: the ability to choose the best option from among several alternatives is essential for solving problems quickly and efficiently.
Teamwork skills
Teamwork is at the heart of many professional activities.
Key skills in this area include:
- Collaboration Working in harmony with others, sharing ideas and responsibilities to achieve common goals, is vital to collective success.
- The leadership Leadership: the ability to guide, motivate and inspire a team is essential to achieving the desired results.
A good leader knows how to rally his or her team around a common vision and objectives, but also how to listen to and value the contributions of each individual. - Adaptability Flexibility in the face of change and the ability to adapt quickly to new situations or unforeseen challenges are more necessary than ever to maintain team cohesion and efficiency.
The benefits of cross-disciplinary skills for companies
Increased productivity
Employees with cross-functional skills are often more productive because they can adapt quickly to change, collaborate effectively with colleagues and manage their time optimally.
This reduces interruptions and improves overall work efficiency.
Improved quality of work
Employees with good cross-functional skills are often more satisfied with their work.
They feel more at ease in their working environment, which reduces stress and increases overall satisfaction.
This can also contribute to better talent retention within the organization, as cross-functional skills training facilitates internal mobility and career development for employees.
Better adaptation to change and innovation
Critical thinking and adaptability skills enable employees to solve problems more effectively.
They are able to analyze complex situations, make informed decisions and find innovative solutions.
Adaptability, critical thinking and collaboration are key skills that foster innovation.
These employees, capable of adapting and collaborating effectively, are often the ones who contribute most to innovation within their organization.
Reduce conflict and improve interpersonal relations
Skills such as communication and collaboration foster a harmonious working environment.
Teams whose members possess strong cross-functional skills tend to work better together, leading to greater cohesion, reduced conflict and, consequently, better achievement of common goals.
How to develop cross-functional skills within the company
Training and development programs
First of all, to develop cross-functional skills within the company, it is necessary to identify and assess current skills.
This can be done through interviews, performance appraisals, skills tests and 360-degree feedback.
Once the skills have been identified, it is now possible to set up training programs to develop the missing skills needed by the organization.
This can take the form of workshops, coaching sessions, online training and team building activities.
To help you set up a relevant training plan, you can call on an external consultant such as a timeshare HR.
Grâce à son expertise, il vous aidera par exemple à identifier et prioriser vos besoins en développement des compétences, préparer le cahier des charges des formations validées, rechercher les bons organismes de formation, gérer l’administratif lié à la formation mais aussi accompagner les managers dans l’animation de leurs équipes.
Mentoring and coaching
You can also build on existing cross-functional skills within your organization by setting up a coaching or mentoring program.
This involves your employees teaching each other, without the need for an external coach or trainer.
For example, you could identify that one of your employees is highly organized and ask him to share this skill with his peers through a workshop.
He or she can share organizational tips and methods to inspire colleagues.
Mentoring has the dual advantage of demonstrating concrete applications and strengthening links between employees and teams.
Similarly, if your employees don’t feel like coaches or are not comfortable with public speaking, you can opt to share skills via a collaborative learning tool such as 360 Learning.
L’idée est de permettre à chacun des collaborateurs de devenir concepteur ou éditeur de modules de formation.
Ils peuvent mettre ainsi à contribution leurs compétences transversales, dans des formations conçues pour aider leurs pairs à les développer.
Encouraging a culture of continuous learning
For cross-functional skills to be truly effective, they need to be integrated into the corporate culture.
Promoting a culture of continuous learning, where employees are encouraged to constantly develop their skills, greatly benefits the company, as we have seen: opportunities for internal mobility, career development, improved productivity and quality of work…
Anchoring this in the corporate culture involves training programs and GPEC, but also upstream, right from the recruitment stage.
Integration into the recruitment process
For recruiters, the assessment of cross-disciplinary skills is a parameter that should now be integrated into the recruitment process..
En effet, les responsables RH doivent chercher à identifier ces compétences chez les candidats potentiels à travers des questions comportementales lors des entretiens.
Cela peut notamment être réalisé par le biais de personality tests.
Conclusion
Integrating cross-functional skills into corporate strategy is no longer an option, but a necessity. In a constantly evolving professional world, where technologies and working methods change rapidly, cross-disciplinary skills provide the stability and flexibility essential for navigating this complexity.
By investing in the development of these skills, companies can not only improve their performance, but also create a dynamic and engaging working environment that attracts and retains the best talent.
Whether you need to take stock of existing in-house skills, draw up a skills development plan or provide long-term support on training issues, you can call on consultants specializing in professional training and skills development. They are able to intervene rapidly within your organization to implement the actions needed to make your business more competitive.