REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- The federal employee is living in a culture of declining budgets, changing mission requirements and only eight hours to make a difference and many employees use resiliency innately to overcome these challenges. However, resiliency can still be learned and strengthened.
Valerie Francis and Robin Warren, two master resilience trainers at Army Materiel Command, have instituted new ways to attract civilians to resiliency training, which is not a training requirement, unlike uniformed personnel.
They began by shortening the traditional three-day training standard, while ensuring that all 12 core skills are covered, Francis explained.
"We tied the class to continuous learning points, which allowed participants to receive professional development credits for attending the class," Warren added.
Both of which made the training more attractive to AMC's more than 90 percent civilian staff. Yet, civilian buy-in is still one of their biggest challenges, so they tackled training from a different aspect --one team and directorate at a time.
"We targeted specific sections, starting with the directors," Warren explained.
"One thing the Inspector General of AMC did was make the training mandatory within his staff section and attaching the training to the monthly team meetings," Warren explained. "And we've received positive feedback that the training helped with their communication and problem solving during their inspections."
It doesn't stop there. The team continues to brainstorm ways to advertise and get civilians involved because they personally believe in the program.
"Having gone through the master resiliency training program and having put the skills to work in my own personal and professional life, I can say -- it does work," Francis said.
"I truly believe that if we get people to take the first step that they'll get hooked," Warren said. "It's not just a lecture it's actually practicing skills, its learning from others, and learning about yourself."
Francis and Warren have taught 46 classes within Headquarters AMC, which included approximately 350 participants.
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