FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- Northern Regional Medical Command senior leadership attended a full-day of dignity and respect training May 13 to improve staff relationships and promote teambuilding as a means to improve customer service.
When Brig. Gen. Robert D. Tenhet became commanding general of the region last year, one of his priorities was to establish a Dignity and Respect Cell to improve the workplace environment by ensuring all employees understand the importance of treating each other professionally.
According to Tenhet, there is a direct correlation between employees who are working in a positive work environment and the performance of their jobs, which translates into providing better customer service. That's the goal of this training.
"Our customers are our patients," Tenhet said. Although we do not engage with our patients directly, everything we do at the headquarters in support of our military treatment facilities impacts the patients. We as a headquarters' staff must remember that every day."
The Dignity and Respect (D&R) Cell is comprised of the Headquarters' Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) director, Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program manager, Equal Opportunity advisor and the region's Chaplain. Four very distinct organizations with different purposes, but at the core within all of their missions is the betterment of work and personal lives of the Soldiers, civilians and families they serve.
Willie Day, EEO director, was the target of the general's aim to stand-up this unique cell focused on relationship building. The retired Army command sergeant major accepted the challenge and began to establish the foundation of this diverse organization.
While the Army provides numerous training opportunities to its Soldiers and civilians that emphasize dignity and respect, there is none that addresses it to the level where it becomes memorable and actionable. That was the challenge to Day -- find training that will do just that.
The "Connecting with Respect" training consisted of seven units designed to explain and understand the emotional state that is triggered by our behaviors around each other. According to the training manual, "Practicing respect on a consistent basis is an emotional competency that requires increased awareness and practice. But the effort is worth it."
This unique approach in the training curriculum's captured Day's interest. "It teaches us to understand how our brains are wired due to our experiences, our cultures and influences, which directly impact how we interact with others at work and in our personal lives," Day said.
"This training was very beneficial in supporting the general's vision," Day said. "I hope the participants take what they learned and apply the concepts taught, especially toward daily interactions with their peers and employees. We often get so caught up in our daily business, and we forget that the most valuable resource is our people."
Sgt. 1st Class Aisha Austin, NRMC's SHARP manager and D&R member, was impressed with the training and thinks it will be valuable to all staff, but requires buy-in by all to be effective.
"I truly believe that the training will only be effective if we continue to practice what so many became excited about, "Austin said. " This shouldn't be a one-time thing. We need constant reminders and examples of what right looks like."
Although the organizational senior leaders were the benefactors of this training, the remaining Headquarters' employees will also receive the training in the near future. Of course, future training will be tailored toward employee needs as this training was for supervisors.
"This training is the first step in creating our Regional Ethos," Tenhet said. The three elements canons or elements of the ethos are take care of our customer, take care of each other and take care of ourselves," Tenhet said.
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