NRC Holds FY2020 Commanders Conference

TN, UNITED STATES

06.19.2020

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Preston Jarrett 

Commander, Navy Recruiting Command

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (June 15, 2020) - The 2020 Navy Recruiting Command (NRC) Commander’s Conference was held virtually June 2-4 via conferencing software in order to uphold social distancing and CDC safety guidance during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The conference, usually held bi-annually in Millington, Tennessee, is an event attended by recruiting leadership where Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, Rear Adm. Dennis Velez provides guidance and receives feedback on the general status of Navy recruiting.

This particular conference is both the first to be led by Velez and the first to be held virtually. Velez’s Executive Assistant, Lt. Cmdr. Shaina Hogan, identified that the Commander’s Conference would have to be virtual, and after initiating Microsoft (MS) Teams for small group meetings she directed a phased-approach to using MS Teams with more and larger groups.

“After we successfully held the 30-person NRC Department Head meeting on Teams, the Admiral decided we would maximize usage of the software for all meetings during this max telework environment due to COVID-19,” said Hogan. “Once the groundwork was set, Lt. Cmdr. Jessica Cline and Mr. John Griffiths (both assigned to Commander’s Action Group at NRC) devoted over 150 hours op-testing MS Teams with the 26 Navy Recruiting Districts and Navy Talent Acquisition Groups, and both regional and headquarters staff. Ultimately, we had over 200 people participate in the virtual Commander’s Conference.”

Hogan said that the two-way discussion held during the conference was invaluable, “Our number one job at NRC is to support the recruiters, so we discussed in depth how we will maximize FIT while making FY20 mission, the acceleration and changes of transformation, increased transparency within the organization, and the challenges the NRDs/NTAGs are experiencing and how we can help them. We also saved $150,000 due to the conference being held virtual vice in-person.”

Though much was accomplished, the virtual method did have some drawbacks.

“Unfortunately, we did lose out on the face-to-face networking and collaboration that comes with an in-person Commander’s Conference, and we were unable to have the breakout sessions this time,” said Hogan. “We intend on having at least one Commander’s Conference in-person annually as a way ahead.”

Navy Recruiting Command’s goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy and provide the Navy the Nation needs.

For more news from Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, go to http://www.cnrc.navy.mil. Follow Navy Recruiting on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NavyRecruiting), Twitter (@USNRecruiter) and Instagram (@USNRecruiter).

• Date Taken: 06.19.2020
• Date Posted: 06.19.2020 13:19
• Story ID: 372480
• Location: TN, US