Over time we have seen a direct
link between the training our
junior employees received and
tangible morale improvements.
Development consultancy has delivered
a two-day ‘Supervisor’s Toolkit’ to around
70 staff at NRW’s Belmont headquarters in
Western Australia and more recently onsite
in Middlemount, central Queensland. The
training is incorporated in the broader
NRW Supervisor Development program,
which is aligned with the Certificate IV in
Frontline Management.
“Today’s workplaces pose a range of
challenges that can be overwhelming
for new leaders if they don’t have the
knowledge, skills and confidence to
deal with them effectively,” says AMMA
principal employee relations consultant
Peter Robertson, who included some
workplace relations training in the package.
“The course teaches NRW’s people
such principles as time management right
through to managing the performance
of others, dealing with conflict and even
decision making.
“These may seem like basic
competencies, but putting them into
practice with people you work alongside
everyday can be very challenging. The
participants were keen to learn and gained
a great deal of knowledge from the course.”
NRW employee Greg Smith supervises
a team of people working in maintenance
and says the training helped him to hone
the people-management side of this job.
“One of the most beneficial parts of the
training was actually the team building
exercise,” Smith explains.
“Professional development is often
something that can be overlooked in
the big picture, but as people progress
through an organisation, their technical
skills become less relevant in their job
while their people skills and emotional
intelligence become more important to
getting the most out of their reports.
“So it is very important that people
are provided the opportunity to develop
these skills.”
Rademeyer is noticing a difference
in the way NRW’s supervisors conduct
themselves in the workplace since taking
the course, noting a clear return on the
company’s investment.
“Over time we have seen a direct
link between the training our junior
employees received and tangible morale
improvements,” he says.
“They are taking the supervisory tools
back to the workplace and that’s because
there is a good correlation between what
they learn in training and the practical
application onsite.”
The next step for NRW in its journey
of effective and cost-efficient workforce
development is to work with AMMA’s
Registered Training Organisation in
building the capacity of its internal
operator trainers.
RP
RESOURCE
PEOPLE
SUMMER 2014-15
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