CULTIVATING ESPRIT DE CORPS


to adopt such policies in order to remain competitive in mission execution, talent acquisition and employee retention. Te ripple effect is that organizations in outly- ing areas, like the Corps district office in Vicksburg, Mississippi, may not move as quickly toward remote work or telework because the local conditions do not incen- tivize nontraditional workplace initiatives.


COMPETING FOR TALENT Leaders in Vicksburg should recognize the necessity of change by adopting some of the approaches that the higher local- ity pay organizations are using in order to remain competitive for top talent. Tey will need to embrace these changes in order to retain their top talent that may drift toward the more expansive policies that these other organizations offer. Te best course of action is to follow Te Army People Strategy by placing the recruiting, retention and well-being of all employees at the forefront with a timeline that works for all organizational cultures involved.


Additionally, the Corps of Engineers faces decisions about training. Traditionally, training within the Corps is run by the Corps of Engineers Learning Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Tis center coordi- nates with experts within the Corps and serves as a hub to connect the demand for training with the facilitators. During the pandemic, the learning system went 100 percent virtual. Te impact for the Corps was unforeseen cost savings.


Typically, the tuition is not expensive, but districts spend twice that amount to get the individual to the training location. Once tuition, travel and TDY expenses are combined, the Corps spends more than $45 million a year just to ensure that train- ing occurs in a physical location. During the pandemic, the cost savings resulted in more than $30 million that could be reallocated to more virtual training or


124 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2021


NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY


The Corps of Engineers operates more than 600 dams and 250 navigation locks, and supports over 12,000 miles of commercial inland navigation and more than 900 harbors—addressing all components of navigation for a waterway almost half the circumference of the Earth. (Photo by Carol Vernon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District)


CORPS STEM


Kaspala Garrett and Neil Tugaoen, left, engineers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, answer students’ questions during a presentation Feb. 22 at BASIS Phoenix Central Elementary School. Government employees in the Phoenix metro area receive locality pay of 20.12 percent in addition to their salary. Allowing employees to work remotely from less expensive areas may allow the Corps to reallocate that funding to training or projects. (Photo by Robert DeDeaux, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center)


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