Photo By Thomas Kreidel | NAVSUP FLCN Code 200 Norfolk Office From left to right (back row): Cohort 1 –...... read more read more
AVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Norfolk Contracting Department (Code 200) recently created a new division to better address onboarding, developing and training all new developmental employees.
The Business Management, Learning and Development (BML&D) Division (Code 205) was implemented in October 2022 – coinciding with the start of Fiscal Year 2023. As part of Code 205, there is one business management (BM) branch and two learning and development (L&D) branches.
Code 200 is the fourth largest contracting office in the Navy, enhancing readiness by providing acquisition, contracting support, and contract management support to a wide array of Fleet, Shore Infrastructure, and Echelon I and II organizations. Employees are located in Norfolk, Va., Mechanicsburg, Pa., Philadelphia, Pa., Groton, Ct. and Arlington Va. Developmental employees make up 22 percent of the approximately 270 members of the Code 200 staff, with the department hiring approximately 40 every year.
This new division was created to address training for these new employees that had often been inefficient, inconsistent, and ineffective. In addition to their responsibilities training new employees, first line supervisors process an average of 380 contract actions a year. As a result, attrition within overburdened supervisors and journeymen has become prevalent over the years.
The BM branch is responsible for providing administrative support to Code 200, including hiring and onboarding of all new personnel. Going forward, new developmental employees will onboard in cohorts and spend their first year in Code 205 where they will acquire structured training before being reassigned to their next division within Code 200.
Cohort 1 started in the third quarter of FY22 and consists of 15 new developmental employees. Cohort 2 began onboarding in the first quarter of FY23 and will continue through the second quarter of FY23.
The L&D branches are responsible for the development and training of all new developmental employees for Code 200. From the fourth quarter of FY22 through the first quarter of FY23, the L&D leadership team created training modules to provide a contracting foundation and structured training regime to Cohort 1 and all future cohorts.
The playbook for this effort is the Contracting Foundations Program, designed to teach brand new employees the basic concepts, vernacular, and overall big picture of what it means to be a contract specialist. This is built so that contracting professionals receive the necessary foundation to build their future career.
The L&D leadership team structured the training modules to cover the topics outlined in the Contracting Foundations Roadmap. From administrative topics about who we are, to what our culture is all about, to the life of a contract specialist, to the technical contracting topics, these training modules will give the new developmental employees a strong foundation in this exciting career field.
“The training provided has been interactive, broken up into digestible parts, and followed up by exercises based on real-life contracting scenarios. Given I am new to contracting, this approach allows me to confidently learn the material from the ground up while navigating this new career field”, said Ian Tupaz, a member of Cohort One in Norfolk, Va.
As the training topics progressed, the L&D leadership team encourage Cohort 1 to work in groups to accomplish the module exercises and build relationships. Given this career field is so unique and ever changing, these relationships can go a long way in improving the culture and ensuring contracting personnel is always evolving.
“The Code 205 leadership team has implemented a family-like atmosphere within this program and this has been conducive in allowing me to understand the training being provided, ask questions if/when needed, and provide feedback along the way”, said Betsy Groft, a Cohort One member in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
As part of the training module creation, the L&D leadership team worked tirelessly to ensure each presentation contained valuable information for the cohort.
“The training modules have been extremely beneficial and the facilitators provide real-life examples based off their experiences to go along with the material being presented”, said Joseph Krawczyk, a Cohort One member in Philadelphia.
The goal of the program is to make more efficient and effective training for all new developmental employees so they can be more productive by their second year. This also makes for more productive first line supervisors, who can now spend their day focused on mission requirements and existing workload. It also allows for consistent messaging and training, improved job satisfaction and retention within a department spread over several sites.
“I had the privilege of sitting in on one of the training modules and I found the material was presented in a very logical and “user-friendly” way for all contracting personnel regardless of experience,” said Mary-Lou Dickens, a division director in Philadelphia. “In addition to the facilitators having the technical contracting knowledge, I was impressed with their enthusiasm for the job and desire to provide the interns with the tools and skill sets that are needed to perform this job. I am very optimistic that this program is going to be very successful in training and developing well-rounded 1102’s at all sites throughout Code 200.”
With this structured approach of this new program, NAVSUP FLC Norfolk Code 200 can expect to be set up for success for many years to come.
| Date Taken: | 10.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.05.2023 15:12 |
| Story ID: | 455308 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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