Manufacturers tap into supervisory training

To help West acclimate to his supervisor duties, ReGen Technologies sent him to leadership boot camp at Missouri State University’s Management Development Institute.

West completed two boot camp sessions, earning his supervision certificate in June 2007.

MDI, an outreach of MSU’s College of Business Administration, offers professional education for individuals and corporate clients to enhance careers and foster work-force development, according to Director Marilyn Martin, Ed.D.

Martin said the institute, which will celebrate three decades of service in 2009, provides three options that allow participants to earn supervision certificates, which MDI has offered for more than a decade.

Completion times range from up to two years for a series of daylong training seminars through Essentials of High Performance Supervision, which combines core curriculum with other scheduled courses, or 12 weeks for the evening lineup, Essentials of Effective Supervision, which must be combined with additional daylong training seminars for certification.

Local employers, however, asked for training and certification in a shorter timeframe, so MDI added the boot camp training courses – one held in summer, and one in winter. Both must be taken to earn the supervision certificate, but that process takes less than 10 days.

The summer version, Supervision Boot Camp Front-Line Series, takes five days to complete – and this summer’s session kicks off June 9. In November, MDI offers the Supervision Boot Camp Leadership Series, which is a three-and-a-half day course.

The boot camp programs, like all of MDI’s supervisory training, focus on helping participants improve their interpersonal skills, such as coaching or managing conflict, Martin said.

“Supervisors are often promoted into that role because they were skilled in their work, but they may not be skilled or experienced in managing people,” Martin said. “They are eager to learn the skills that allow them to be better supervisors and provide them with confidence to be a better supervisor.”

That was certainly the case for ReGen’s West, who supervises 15 warehouse stock keepers for the John Deere engine remanufacturer at a facility in Springfield’s Partnership Industrial Center.

West said communication skills training has helped him deal with those he leads and those to whom he must answer.

“I’m still on their side in their job, but yet, I’m also on management’s side making sure everything gets done,” said West, a nine-year ReGen employee.

Beyond communication, West cites time-management skills as an important component of his boot camp training.

“We went over how to keep a meeting going without wasting time, and … that really helped me a bunch,” he said. “I have to do so much in a limited time span, and it helped me a lot to see how it works (to) prioritize job duties.”

Boot camp sessions are what MDI calls action-learning workshops, Martin said, because they include case studies, planning exercises, self-assessments and simulations to help participants understand course materials and how they apply to individual workplaces.

Other topics addressed include decision-making, problem-solving, conflict resolution and bargaining strategies.

MDI’s courses can be taken individually – without a supervision certificate – Martin said, but she noted that most participants will go ahead and complete certificate requirements to the benefit of their employers. “When you improve the supervisor’s confidence and self-esteem, it is reflected in the organization’s efficiency and operations, which then translates to the bottom line,” she said.

Mandi Ramaeker, employee development manager at Paul Mueller Co., said the Springfield-based stainless-steel equipment manufacturer has sent 37 people through Essentials of Effective Supervision.

“We usually require them to follow up and do the four one-day courses to complete their supervision certificate,” Ramaeker said.

Ramaeker said her company likes Essentials primarily because the wide variety of topics it covers fits well with Paul Mueller’s preference to promote from within.

“If you have a person who is very good at their current occupation and they’re also very personable and good at motivating employees, but maybe need to get some help in areas like legal issues that supervisors need to be aware of … they can catch that … as well as honing current skills,” she added.

MDI’s course catalog will be released July 1, Martin said, and registration for courses including the November boot camp session will begin at that time.

She noted, however, that the supervisory training isn’t just for manufacturers.

“We have a wide variety of participation from health care, government, manufacturing and education,” Martin said.

Supervisor Training

Registration for the 2008–09 school year begins July 1 for Missouri State University’s Management Development Institute, www.mdi.missouristate.edu.

Some of the institute’s most popular courses – and their fee requirements – are:

Essentials of Effective Supervision (12 weeks) $595

Essentials of High Performance Supervision (daylong seminar, must be combined with eight other seminars for a supervision certificate) $189

Supervision Boot Camp Front Line Series (5 days) $995

Supervision Boot Camp Leadership Series (3 1/2 days) $695

Source: Management Development Institute [[In-content Ad]]