VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. –
The Virginia Department of Military Affairs conducted its second Supervisor Course Sept. 18-20, 2018, at Camp Pendleton State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach.
The three-day course focused on teaching supervisors how to manage state staff, with an emphasis on state human resources and safety requirements, pay and benefits management, evaluations and discipline. It included practical training on leadership, communication, and teambuilding.
The theme of the training is to demonstrate to the supervisors “What Right Looks Like” and is focused on the unique aspects of supervising state staff, according to Tim White, a human resources trainer for the Virginia Department of Military Affairs.
The course is a top priority and was developed to ensure that supervisors of state employees are empowered with the tools and knowledge related to organizational improvements at their level, White said. As a result, all DMA supervisors will be required to complete the course in the next 12-15 months.
DMA leadership created the course as a result of a strategic planning working group, which identified supervisor training as a gap across the team, according to Walt Mercer, DMA chief operations officer.
The second course graduated 23 state supervisors from the 203rd RED HORSE, Commonwealth ChalleNGe Youth Academy and the Camp Pendleton staff. Although most of the students were state employees, several Active Guard and Reserve personnel from across DMA who supervise state employees also graduated from the class.
“I am very excited not only to see that we are better preparing our leadership through this training, but also that our students in both classes we have held so far have made it clear that the content was relevant and helpful to them,” Mercer said. “In the end it’s about improvement of the organization and that starts with people and leadership.”