Lackland Air Force Base, Texas –
The 37th Training Wing was honored at the Pentagon March 23 for winning the 2006 General Counsel Alternative Dispute Resolution Award for Workplace Disputes among large organizations.
The winners, selected by Air Force General Counsel Mary L. Walker, were commended for making significant contributions to further the goals of Air Force ADR policy and the Air Force ADR Program.
"Team Lackland continues to excel, and I am pleased that our people are being recognized at the top," said. Brig. Gen. Darrell Jones, commander of the 37th Training Wing. "This award clearly shows the concerted efforts of many team members."
The ADR organizational awards recognize that strong and effective ADR programs involve several players, including legal, personnel, EEO, commanders and their staffs, management, and unions, according to the general counsel.
Lackland's ADR Program, managed by Norman Jacobson, was credited with making great strides over the past few years incorporating ADR and other informal dispute resolution processes into its civilian personnel dispute resolution processes and showing dramatic improvements in both utilization and settlement rates.
"I'm thrilled for the program, and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to manage AETC's (Air Education and Training Command's) largest ADR Program," said Mr. Jacobson. "It says a lot about everybody here at Lackland who worked diligently to resolve almost 80 percent of the complaints brought to the table." According to Mr. Jacobson, resolving complaints in the informal stage has saved the Air Force more than $500,000 in fiscal year 2006.
"I think it's also important to note that, where ADR succeeds to resolve a dispute at an early stage, the parties are able to put the matter behind them and refocus their attention to the mission - that's critical," said Mr. Jacobson.
Winning the award for best small organization (less than 100 workplace disputes annually) was the Air Armament Center, Eglin AFB, Fla.
The presentation noted that the Eglin and Lackland ADR programs work closely with other ADR stakeholders to ensure a high degree of interaction and cooperation to proactively identify and resolve disputes as early as possible and at the lowest possible organizational levels, using fewer resources.
(Lilly Flores-Janecek, Talespinner staff writer, contributed to this article.)