Cross-train the task only one person can currently do

Look for a task dependency, not a job title

A shop may have several experienced employees but only one person who can complete the weekly stock export or explain an unusual order process. Start with the work, not an instruction that everybody should be able to do everything.

Ask what happened the last time that person was absent. Was work delayed, did someone guess or did a manager have to intervene? Use the answer to choose one priority. Experienced staff's difficulty explaining habitual knowledge is itself a training problem, as a small-shop lead's Reddit account illustrates.

Choose the right person and scope

Select someone whose role, availability and existing skills make the additional task sensible. Discuss what the training involves and how it fits their work. Cross-training should not become an unspoken expansion of responsibility without time, support or the appropriate arrangements.

Define a bounded capability. For example, a colleague might learn to prepare the stock report while a manager retains responsibility for approving adjustments. HSE's training guidance includes people taking on extra responsibilities; assess the instruction and supervision needed for the actual change.

Further reading: HSE: information, training and supervision

Turn the expert's process into a teaching session

Ask the current expert to explain the inputs, decisions and exceptions, then demonstrate the task. Have the learner perform a suitable example while the expert observes. Capture unclear points in the instruction as they arise.

Original example: an independent gift shop's buyer alone knows how to prepare a supplier order file. A second employee learns how to gather the approved quantities and check item codes, but the buyer or manager still approves the final order. This creates useful cover without pretending that learning the file process transfers purchasing authority.

Cross-training plan
Task currently dependent on one person:
Business consequence if delayed:
Learner and trainer:
Scope the learner will cover:
Decisions retained by the manager:
Supervised practice date:
Observed standard:
Next real use of the skill:

Make the backup perform the work again

A single demonstration followed by months without practice is weak cover. Plan an ordinary occasion for the second person to carry out the task with suitable support. Let the original expert review the result rather than taking the work back automatically.

Record any exception the learner has not encountered. A person can be competent at the normal process while still needing help when the supplier changes format. Keeping that distinction visible is more useful than a blanket 'trained' label.

Review whether the dependency actually reduced

Ask whether the second person can now complete the agreed task using the reference and approved support route. If they still need the expert for every decision, identify which part was never taught or which authority remains intentionally restricted.

Move to the next dependency only after the first one works. A long skills matrix full of aspirational names can conceal the same single-person risk it was meant to solve. The useful outcome is a demonstrated capability with a current instruction and a realistic chance to practise it.