Fort Rucker leadership invested time and resources into building its bench and enhancing its talent management efforts when it hosted a supervisor stand down Oct. 4 at The Landing.
The need arose from a recent influx of new leaders across the post, and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James C. McConville's prioritization of people being the centerpiece of the Army, according to Chester M. Witkowski, deputy to the garrison commander.
"A lot of times we get caught up in the rapid pace of day-to-day operations, and sometimes we lose focus on coming together collectively and looking at strategic objectives and setting baseline standards," he said. "So, that's one of the things I wanted to do with the stand down -- get people away from their computers and disengage from electronics for a little while, and really focus on discussions and leadership development."
He also wanted to ensure new and experienced supervisors alike understand the tenets of different programs within the Army, in order to help them be better and more efficient supervisors.
Event organizer Thyais Scott, workforce development specialist with the garrison directorate of human resources, arranged for various briefs and discussions on a variety of programs throughout the day, including equal employment opportunity, civilian hiring policies, employee development, sexual harassment and assault prevention, labor relations, legal policies and resourcing.
"Our goal was to provide a space for supervisors of all levels to have an understanding of our garrison as a whole and provide them with information that they aren't typically exposed to," Scott said. "Also, we wanted to provide a safe space for supervisors to share their experiences and have dialogue about specific topics."
Further, supervisors were asked to use what they learned back at their workplaces, Witkowski said. "With this knowledge and after these discussions, they can go back and have a greater impact on their workforce and developing their employees."
Recent feedback Witkowski has received indicates that Fort Rucker leadership is on track to meet its goals.
"Supervisors were impressed that we took the time to stand down for a day and really invest in them, which hasn't been done here in recent memory," he said, adding that the level of leadership involvement in the stand down also made an impact.
William G. Kidd, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence deputy to the commanding general; Command Sgt. Maj. Brian N. Hauke, Aviation Branch command sergeant major; and Col. Whitney B. Gardner, garrison commander, all took part in the stand down.
"When (supervisors at the stand down) saw leaders from throughout Fort Rucker participating and speaking, it really showed that leadership is investing its time in developing these leaders -- whether they've been a leader for a month or whether they've been a leader for 20 years," Witkowski added.
One of those providing positive feedback, and also a briefer at the stand down, was Michelle Hood, Fort Rucker EEO officer, who said she felt leadership was right on target with the effort.
"Managers and supervisors need to keep up to date with current information, such as the training that is available to their employees, and their roles and responsibilities as leaders," she said. "So, whether it was EEO or resources or training, I feel that the stand down was a great way to get all of that information out to the supervisors and managers all at once, and also give them a chance to ask any questions they may have had."
Hood said that what leadership is doing reminds her of a quote she likes.
"Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to," is the quote, attributed to Richard Branson, British business magnate, she said.
"I think that this is a good way to start at the top in getting the supervisors and managers the best information that we can get them and then ensuring it trickles down to the employees," Hood added.
All of that positive feedback led Witkowski to making the stand down a quarterly event, although it will likely be shortened, he said.
"Going forward, we probably won't have a full-day session. We'll probably have half-day sessions and maybe do one full day annually," he said, adding that managers seemed interested in learning more about civilian personnel hiring systems, human resources regulations, budgeting and command plans. "They also seem to really want to learn more about employee development, and hiring and retaining employees, so that will be our focus for next couple of sessions."
Witkowski said the event wouldn't have been successful without help from agencies across in the installation, including USAACE, the civilian personnel advisory center and legal office.
"This was a total Fort Rucker event," he said.
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