LEADING AN AGILE WORKFORCE


IN TIMES OF CRISIS


USACE made employee welfare its top priority during the pandemic.


by Gwendolyn L. Miller and Dr. Tiffanie A. Nichols


City District Contracting Office, expressed his disbelief, “Having two young kids, I was certainly shocked when our school district decided to close schools this past spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “At first, I was worried because I wasn’t sure how my family would be able to continue our children’s education for the rest of the school year while I continued to work full time.”


A 106 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2020


Two overarching questions guided our response to these events: What do leaders do when their tradi- tional organization is faced with a completely virtual working environment? More importantly, how do you holistically support your staff in a time of such uncertainty and fear? Tackling these questions allowed us to view the problem from multiple angles, with the ultimate goal of meeting the mission while ensur- ing the safety of our workforce. We undertook several initiatives in response to these questions, including establishing a Morale Committee to engage with our workforce in an authentic and connected manner, forming a Welcome Wagon for additional support with onboarding new employees, holding weekly Chief of Contracting Office town hall events, and providing logistics support for work schedule flexibil- ity, equipment for home use and connectivity.


WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER One of the greatest concerns of USACE leaders, while moving to a completely virtual environment, was the possibility of a disjointed and disconnected team. In a recent article in Chief Executive, “Maintaining Your Team’s Morale and Productivity During Covid-19”, Denise Graziano asserts that one way to increase


year ago, no one could have predicted an almost 100 percent virtual work environment throughout the world because of a pandemic. Every aspect of daily life has been impacted— schooling of children, caring for elderly relatives and shopping for household essentials—with little exception. Michael Dolly, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Kansas


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