Original Date: 07/10/2006
Revision Date: / /

Tobyhanna Army Depot has implemented the Leadership Development Program that provides selected program participants with the necessary tools and practical experience to build strong and effective work teams. The program also includes a new employee orientation program and a mentoring program for depot supervisors to enhance their individual growth and on-the-job effectiveness by fostering their development through the mentoring process.

Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) implemented the Leadership Development Program (LDP) to ensure that its leaders have the skills and practical experience necessary to build strong and effective work teams. Selected participants will be given a program package to guide them through a series of training courses, college courses, and developmental assignments geared toward preparing employees for potential supervisory and managerial positions. After accepting a new supervisory position, employees must complete a shadowing assignment with a mentor to gain insight into the role of a leader. Potential candidates are also given a checklist that exposes the new supervisor to multiple personnel issues, the basics of TYAD’s internal automated systems, and a forum for meeting the technical experts responsible for each area. The New Supervisor Checklist (Figure 3-2) is to be placed on the organization’s action register and completed within two weeks of appointment to a new position. The checklist is the roadmap provided for completing the LDP.

Leadership candidates are also required to complete six formal training classes that include Supervisory Development Correspondence, Human Resources for Supervisors, Working Capital Funds, Effective Briefing, Diversity Training for Supervisors, and Fundamentals of Business Writing. These formal training classes cover the fundamental skills that new supervisors need to begin their management career.

TYAD also provides new employee orientation and mentoring. The objective of the New Employee Orientation Program is to provide a training session for all new employees within the first week of employment that offers complete and uniform information about TYAD, its organizational structure, mission, functions and policies, compensation, benefits, services, work requirements, standards, rules, safe work habits, and desirable employee- management relations.

The Mentoring Program provides TYAD leadership with an effective way for supervisors to enhance their individual growth and productivity by fostering new leader development through the mentoring process. Each individual selected to participate in the program will be assigned a mentor to help facilitate and guide the individual in need of mentoring. This program is designed to develop future leaders and managers. The Mentoring Program provides the tools necessary for future leaders to reach their full potential. TYAD believes the more educated its leaders become today, the greater their impact will be in the future.

A Primary Team and its representatives are given full responsibility and ownership of the LDP. The individual and collective efforts of the team and its representatives along with those of program participants support the development of the program and ensure its success.

Training teams gather feedback on training effectiveness by interviewing employees and observing what skill sets are needed. This allows TYAD to prepare the appropriate training courses that are useful to the workforce and support the depot in its goal of making leadership development a top priority.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.