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JBSA News
NEWS | Nov. 12, 2015

U.S. Army South committed to supervisor development

U.S. Army South Public Affairs

At U.S. Army South on Fort Sam Houston, Department of the Army civilian employees and military personnel work together every day to accomplish the mission. However, the rules and regulations for civilian and military personnel are very different and supervisors must know what to do when it comes to civilians.

The Department of the Army has mandated all supervisors take an online course, which covers the entire spectrum of supervisor development and gives managers a general outline.

In addition to the online course, Army South conducted its first supervisor development course Oct. 27-28 at the Army South headquarters to provide military and civilian managers with the training and information needed in order to execute their duties and responsibilities as supervisors of civilian employees.

“This course is Army South-centric and provides the face-to-face knowledge that has been lost from online courses,” said Army South human resourses specialist Nicole Smith. “It is tailored to our command and allows supervisors the opportunity to ask questions and acquire knowledge they would not get from the online course.”

There are misunderstanding about civilian employees and supervisors’ relationship and the supervisors’ role as a leader. The course provided the opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on specific supervisory situations.

Maj. Chris Folk, Army South political military affairs division chief, is new to a supervisory role to four civilian employees and said the class was very beneficial.

“I learned the availability of resources within our command and knowing where to go to facilitate our role as supervisors,” Folk said. 

Throughout the course, participants learned the process in hiring and firing civilians, disciplinary actions, leave, awards and benefits. Participants also learned what it takes to have an effective and functional relationship between employees and                supervisors.

According to Bill Maner, Army South chief program guide branch, the course provided him with the latest information and resources on the supervisory role.

“I learned the function of supervisors is to remove obstacles by having honest and open communication with employees and to promote honesty and trust within the office,” said Maner, who has five years of experience supervising civilians within the  command. 

As a trainer and civilian human resources expert in the command, Smith is confident any supervisor who takes the course will benefit and improve their ability to manage and lead their employees.

“Our hope is that they will at least walk away with a better understanding of how to supervise civilians and know who the key players are when they need assistance,” Smith said.