The Impact of Cross-Training and Workload on Team Functioning: A Replication and Extension of Initial Findings

Abstract

Although previous research has shown that cross-training team members improves team performance, a number of questions remain concerning the nature of cross-training. The current study provides an extension of previous cross-training research by investigating two theoretical issues: the nature of cross-training and the joint impact of cross-training and workload on team functioning. The study examined 40 three-person teams performing a simulated radar task. Results indicated that positional rotation was an effective cross-training method for highly interdependent tasks, that cross-trained teams developed a greater degree of interpositional knowledge than did teams that were not cross-trained, and that cross-training was important only under high-workload performance conditions. The current study suggests that the type of cross-training necessary to improve team performance may be related to the nature of the task and that cross-training may be effective in allowing teams to coordinate implicitly—that is, without the need to communicate overtly. Taken together with previous work, the results of this study indicate strong support for the efficacy of cross-training as a means to help teams perform well. Potential applications of this research include training for military, medical, and aviation teams

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Cannon-Bowers, J. A. , Tannenbaum, S. I. , Salas, E. , & Volpe, C. E. (1995). Defining team competencies and establishing team training requirements. In R. Guzzo & E. Salas (Eds.), Team effectiveness and decision making in organizations (pp. 333–380). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dwyer, D. J. , Hall, J. K. , Volpe, C. E. , Cannon-Bowers, J. A. , & Salas, E. (1992). A performance assessment task for examining tactical decision making under stress (Special Report 92-002). Orlando, FL: Naval Systems Center.

Guzzo, R. A. , & Salas, E. (Eds.). (1995). Team effectiveness and decision making in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hackman, J. R. (Ed.). (1990). Groups that work (And those that don't): Creating conditions for effective teamwork. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Inzana, C. M. , Driskell, J. E. , Salas, E. & Johnston, J. H. (1996). The effects of preparatory information on enhancing performance under stress. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 429–435.

Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1976). Evaluation of training. In R. L. Craig (Ed.), Training and development handbook (2nd ed., pp. 18-1–18-27). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kleinman, D. L. , & Serfaty, D. (1989). Team performance assessment in distributed decision making. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Interactive Networked Simulation for Training (pp. 22–27). Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida.

Kraiger, K. , Ford, J. K. , & Salas, E. (1993). Application of cognitive, skill-based, and affective theories of learning outcomes to new methods of training evaluation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 311–328.

Prince, C. & Salas, E. (1993). Training and research for teamwork in the military aircrew. In E. L. Wiener , B. G. Kanki , & R. L. Helmreich (Eds.), Cockpit resource management (pp. 337–366). Orlando, FL: Academic.

10.

Salas, E. & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (1997). Methods, tools, and strategies for team training. In M. A. Quinones & A. Ehrenstein (Eds.), Training for a rapidly changing workplace: Applications of psychological research (pp. 249–279). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

11.

Salas, E. , Cannon-Bowers, J. A. , & Johnston, J. H. (1997). How can you turn a team of experts into an expert team? Emerging training strategies. In C. Zsambok & G. Klein (Eds.), Naturalistic decision making (pp. 359–370). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

12.

Volpe, C. E. , Cannon-Bowers, J. A. , Salas, E. , & Spector, P. (1995). The impact of cross-training on team functioning. Human Factors, 38, 87–100.

13.

Weaver, J. L. , Bowers, C. A. , Salas, E. & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (1995). Networked simulations: New paradigms for team performance research. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 27(1), 12–24.