Take time with your staff. 1

[Tejanorey]

I see that it has worked with my staff and hope this idea helps somebody out there. We take time (usually) a thursday on the afternoon and have at least 2 of our co-workers to give a class on what they do on their job. Now doing this may not seem all that of a big deal but try it out. You will get results like this...
-Other Co-workers will understand what each other do and learn out to work better with each other.
-Will enable to have the co-workers interact and become a better working enviroment.
-You will understand what your co-workers are actually doing. (the Co-workers might not figure this out at the moment)
-Build confidence amongts each other, because as we know not all of us are "great" speakers..
-Will help you evaluate your co-workers for advancement and such..
-The benefits are limitless if you take advantage of this type of program.. Tejanorey

"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army."
- Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings to keep the enemy from immediately fleeing

 

[shelron]

Another benefit will be "employee buy-in".

Most people want to be part of a team that is achieving a worthy goal. (success)

Finding value in ones work is an important and crucial element in the morale and productivity of any unit.

 

[KornGeek]

Some other nice side-effects:
1) It helps make sure your understanding of the job coincides with theirs.
2) It forces people to actively think about what they do. This can help remind people about what things are more important for them to get done, and what things they tend to get drawn into that aren't their main focus.

Just my 2 cents:
I personally don't enjoy these things. I tend to think about what other things I need to be doing and view activities such as these as "time wasters." Not to mention, I've had similar activities lead to "headcount reduction" where the exercise was a way to determine who got the axe.