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FORT NOVOSEL, Ala. - “Our goal at Fort Novosel is to build world class supervisors, which will in turn, build world class employees,” said John Watson, deputy to the garrison commander, speaking at the August 18th Supervisor Stand Down Day (SSDD) for garrison leaders at the Spiritual Life Center.
This event, a revitalization of the first SSDD that was held in 2019, was comprised of discussions and teachings given by Watson and other subject matter experts to expand the personal and professional growth of the people that are leading others within the Garrison.
Keith Wilbur, USAG Fort Novosel workforce development specialist, planned and executed the SSDD. He said that another goal of the program is to educate garrison supervisors on current laws, policies, and best practices so they can have the skills and knowledge necessary to be effective leaders and keep employees engaged and satisfied with their work and feel valued and respected.
Leaders first learned about the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act from Craig Tuttle, Fort Novosel’s Equal Employment Opportunity director.
Tuttle highlighted the importance of this topic. He said, “This law was put in effect on June 27th, 2023. It provides supervisors with critical information in the processing of reasonable accommodations for our pregnant workers who suffer from a pregnancy related disability. Prior to this act, it was difficult to provide much needed accommodations for short term disabilities associated with Pregnancy. Not only is it critical information for our supervisor’s, but it provides a huge benefit to our workforce in the way of accommodating pregnancy related disabilities.”
Watson then conducted a session on building cohesive teams. The session culminated with a rousing game of SHARP Jeopardy, facilitated by Mary Ann Lobdell, Army Community Service.
Watson said that it is vital for supervisors to come together in a forum where they can discuss best practices, trends, and lessons learned. He said that he is working to “strengthen the culture” and “build cohesive and collaborative teams across the garrison” and the Supervisor Stand Down is just one part of the plan.
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