REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command leadership recognized its "Tigers" for helping the command come up with solutions to work force issues.
Col. Dewey A. Granger, USASMDC/ARSTRAT chief of staff, recognized 32 Tiger Team members during a ceremony at the command's headquarters Sept. 4.
"I would like to say 'Thank You' for participating," Granger said. "I know you took time out of your busy schedules to do this and you didn't have to. You could have just come into work and do your jobs, but you go out of your way to make a difference."
He talked about why the Tiger Team is important to the SMDC workforce and how team members have gone above and beyond in helping make the command a better place.
"When we stood this up, we weren't even sure how we were going to address issues. We weren't sure how the Tiger Team concept would even fit. I think we have been very successful," Granger said.
At the beginning of the year, Lt. Gen. David L. Mann, SMDC commanding general, directed the establishment of the CG's Workforce Survey Tiger Team after the completion of the CG's Workforce Survey, and the group had its first meeting Jan. 23. The team includes military and civilian personnel stationed at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., and at Redstone Arsenal. Since the first meeting, the team has met biweekly via VTC.
The goal of the Tiger Team is to make positive changes to improve the working environment and increase work force engagement in SMDC. Through analysis of the results of the CG's Workforce Survey, the team identified opportunities for improvement, researched the root causes of these issues, and developed recommendations for action.
As the first iteration of this team in the command, the Tiger Team focused on three improvement areas; Senior Leader Communication, Mission Accomplishment and Resource Management, and People-Focused issues.
Candace Holcomb, chief of the Business Initiatives Office, said one of the reasons for the Tiger Team formation was that the command's personnel were tired of providing feedback on surveys but not seeing anything change from their input.
"The CG's Workforce Survey Tiger Team is made up of volunteers from Huntsville and Colorado Springs, all committed to helping improve the command and making it a better place to work," Holcomb said. "I'm very proud to be working with such a dedicated group of people. The awards received on Sept. 4 were to thank these initial volunteers for their efforts on the Tiger Team. They have made a positive impact in SMDC."
Holcomb said the commanding general has directed another work force survey to be conducted in the September and October timeframe. The results from this survey will assess the improvements in workforce climate and identify other areas to address going forward. The Tiger Team will re-form in fiscal year 2015 to tackle those issues.
The working groups meet as necessary to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities, discuss the recommendations they are working on, and refine recommendations based on their research. When a recommendation is ready, they present it to the full Tiger Team at one of its biweekly meetings. If the recommendation is accepted by the full team, it is either implemented by the chief of staff or, if necessary, forwarded to the commanding general for approval. If not accepted, the working group revises the recommendation and presents it again for review.
"I wanted to help make a difference in the posture, the morale and attitude of the employees within the command," said Tiger Team member Donnie Ghee from SMDC G-3. "We have most definitely made improvements and there is always room to make more. I would suggest employees volunteer to become a Tiger Team member so their voice is heard and their recommendations will be brought forward to the command leadership."
The Tiger Team members recognized are: working group leaders Tisha Crespin, Ghee, Mike Miller, Tom Potter, Jim Schlichting and Letitia Weaver; and team members Phyllis Baez, Fred Beck, Wayne Bracy, Todd Buckhouse, Brent Campbell, Joseph Dinoto, Pamela Fuhrman, Carol Garth, Lisa Gilbert, Mark Hubbs, Sara Jennings, Robert Jones, LaJeannia Lacey, Mike Lee, Anner Lynch, Susan McRae, Sean Moudy, Kim Ouattara, Ronald Parks, Simone Philson, Kara Pleasant, Abby Ricks, Glenn Robertson, Thea Stewart, Philip Williams and Devinti Williams.
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