2008 Transport Supervisor Program Kicks Off!

Last year MCI successfully ran the first 'Transport Supervisor Program', a customised program for entry-level managers in transport and logistics. With eight full-day sessions, the course lead to the Certificate IV in Business (Frontline Management) qualification.

As one of MCI's facilitation team working on the program, it was a privilege to work with these hard-working, often neglected managers. Transport is a backbone industry of the Australian economy.

The 2007 program finished in October, this week heralds the beginning of the 2008 Transport Supervisor program. We've just run the first course day in Brisbane and Sydney. It is amazing to see how our frontline managers take to the learning process with gusto and enthusiasm!

One idea that really stood out for me as a training facilitator during our first sessions is the importance of managers having facilitation skills. Even in the transport industry, managers need to have honed their communication skills so they can run toolbox talks, get teams together to plan activities, set ground-rules and make consensus decisions in an environment not usually known for its collaborative management culture.

In our opening course for the program we discuss the importance of setting team goals. I'm reminded of the importance of involving workers to ensure team members feel a sense of involvement in organisational goals. In his book 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People', Steve Covey discusses the importance of involvement in fostering commitment and an emotional connection to the goals of an organisation. Although i think that Covey is somewhat over-quoted, that particular idea really resonates with me. The ability of frontline managers to keep team meetings informal and collaborative can really help them achieve a real sense of buy-in and ownership of the decided outcomes from their team.

I'm looking forward to learning more from our transport supervisors as we roll-out the program over the coming month and a half in all State and Territory capital cities as well as four regional centres.