COMPARING EMPLOYEE-SUPERVISOR TRAINING PRIORITIES

Comparing Employee-Supervisor Training Priorities

In developing the career field and competency areas, the National Park Service recognized the need to differentiate between the competencies of those employees just entering their careers from those employees with significant experience in their careers and positions. As a result, the NPS developed three (3) performance levels for each career field speciality; entry, developmental and full performance levels. As indicated, supervisors were asked to rate the importance and preparation of the employees in these differing performance levels as part of the survey. To further analyze the data, the supervisor rated training priority for each KSA (knowledge, skill, ability) was compared to the employee rated training priorities for the same KSA within the three (3) performance levels.

The following table summarizes the perceived training needs in the Universal Competencies by comparing NPS supervisor and employee training needs ratings. The abbreviated letters "H, M and L" are used to represent the rank order used throughout the rest of this report of High, Moderate and Low priority training needs. It should be noted employees and supervisors differed significantly in their opinion of the training priority of many Universal Competency areas. The following table provides a global view of the comparisons of employee-supervisor training priorities for Universal Competency KSA’s.

Table 3: A Comparison of Employee-Supervisor

Training Priorities for Universal Competencies

H = High Training Priority M = Moderate Training Priority L= Low Training Priority

KSA Item	KSA Statement/Competency	Employee Priority	Supervisor Entry Level	Supervisor Developmental	Supervisor Full
1	Appreciate how individual job responsibilities affect protection and stewardship of resources in NPS units	M	H	M	L
2	Provide superior customer service to members of the public, other government agencies or private organizations by assessing customer needs, providing information or assistance, resolving problems, and satisfying expectations	L	M	L	L
3	Treat fellow employees fairly and equitably by promoting diversity of culture, experience, age, thoughts, ideas, race, etc. in the workplace	L	M	M	M
4	Employ knowledge of federal ethic and conduct requirements in the utilization of public resources such as budget and property	M	H	H	H
5	Operate as part of a highly functioning team where projects are completed by the actions of small groups and/or individuals	L	H	M	M
6	Demonstrate ability to analyze simple situations, think critically, make sound conclusions, and recommend courses of action to resolve conflicts	L	H	M	M
7	Develop and practice safe work behaviors such as hazard detection and prevention	L	H	M	L
8	Demonstrate a commitment to continuous, personal and professional learning through recognition of strengths and weaknesses, feedback, and the pursuit of continuing education opportunities	M	H	H	H
9	Communicate effectively with the public and others in the workplace utilizing clear, oral presentations, listening skills, and recognition of non-verbal cues	L	H	M	L
10	Utilize principles of effective written communication such as usage of proper English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and succinct, organized thought in daily written correspondence with fellow employees and the public	L	H	M	M
11	Promote resource stewardship to NPS visitors by developing diverse participation opportunities for the public in protection of park resources	M	M	M	M
12	Perform basic computer skills such as word-processing and electronic mail	M	M	M	M
13	Effectively manage changing situations, such as the presentation of new information, changing work conditions, and unexpected obstacles, through the ability to adjust required behavior or work methods	M	H	M	M
14	Develop and sustain cooperative work relationships with fellow employees and external partners such as state, local, and special interest groups in order to accomplish projects compatible with the NPS unit	M	H	M	L
15	Demonstrate accountability through compliance with rules, responsibility and timely completion of assignments, serving as a personal example to other NPS employees	M	H	M	M
16	Demonstrate good physical and mental health practices in order to reduce physical and stress-induced illness in the workplace	M	H	H	H
17	Maintain poise and productivity during stressful situations	M	M	M	L
18	Understand current local, state, and national political influences on individual NPS units	H	H	H	M
19	Understand the organizational structure of the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and the federal government	M	H	M	L
20	Apply knowledge of various aspects of park operations and legal mandates in order to accomplish NPS and park unit missions	M	H	M	L
21	Facilitate complete participation in and use of NPS facilities, programs, and services by individuals with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities	H	H	M	M
22	Articulate NPS policy and legal requirements for providing architectural, programmatic, and interpretive services for all persons with disabilities	H	M	H	M
23	Promote the concept of sustainable resource use through programs and services provided at NPS units	H	H	H	M
24	Understand and apply information from technical material, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs, or tables to specific situations	M	H	M	L
25	Organize and maintain information or information systems in order to gather needed information	M	H	M	M
26	Demonstrate ability to contribute positively to an environment which motivates others to achieve shared goals	M	H	H	M
27	Display professional commitment to the NPS mission through support of resource protection, conservation, and NPS regulations	L	M	M	L
28	Apply effective teamwork skills and abilities in order to affect work output	L	H	M	M
29	Display basic knowledge of NPS strategic planning as it relates to resource stewardship	H	H	H	M

Summary

Analysis and interpretation of Table 3 suggests that a significant "gap" exists between NPS supervisors and employees in their ratings of importance and preparation of employees in the Universal Competencies. The "gap" is found by comparing supervisor rated high or moderate priority training needs with employee ratings for the same KSA items. Where supervisors rank training needs as high or moderate priority through all three (3) developmental levels, and employees rate the training needs as low, a significant gap was found to exist. Analysis of Table 3 shows these training need gaps are limited to six (6) KSA competency statements, as found in Table 4. This table describes the competency items that NPS supervisors emphasized as high training needs. It is recommended that NPS supervisors emphasize the importance of these competency items in their discussions with employees. Training in these six (6) Universal Competency areas is judged to be needed on a regular basis. Development of training deliverable through a variety of techniques (e.g. technology enhanced learning, traditional classroom and NPS-unit level modules), which supports training in these six KSA competency areas is strongly suggested for consideration by NPS training managers.

Table 4: Universal Competency Training Priority Gaps

Between Supervisor and Employee

KSA Item	Competency Statement
5	Operate as part of a highly functioning team where projects are completed by the actions of small groups and/or individuals
6	Demonstrate ability to analyze simple situations, think critically, make sound conclusions, and recommend courses of action to resolve conflicts
7	Develop and practice safe work behaviors such as hazard detection and prevention
10	Utilize principles of effective written communication such as usage of proper English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and succinct, organized thought in daily written correspondence with fellow employees and the public
16	Demonstrate good physical and mental health practices in order to reduce physical and stress-induced illness in the workplace
28	Apply effective teamwork skills and abilities in order to affect work output

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