| In Conclusion | [Secretary Udall] gave me the opportunity to lead the best educated, most talented, committed cadre of people it has ever been my privelege to know and work with. . . Their rallying call was `for the good of the Service.' They were, like you, inculcated with an ethic of service above self. Never lose it; let no cynic tarnish it.- George Hartzog | |||
| In its first two years, the Compass program has reached nearly
6% of all NPS employees. The survey results presented here strongly indicate
that the program is highly successful. The participant quotes presented
in the sidebars of the preceding pages are but a sampling of dozens of
similar comments that could have been gleaned from course evaluations.
Witty and touching anecdotes from course coordinators about how the course
affected individual participants abound. One course ended with at least
a third of the participants in tears, such was the feeling of bonding and
family engendered.
As might be expected, there were those who felt the course was not worthwhile. Comments were destructive, and so few in number that they can be chalked up to just a few disgruntled employees. Even those that said their job performance had not been improved by Compass II said that it was a good refresher of skills they already possessed. The course coordinators chose the name Compass because, like a compass, the training opportunity provides employees with direction. More importantly, though, the course ensures that all employees, despite their myriad jobs, have the same goal in mind. The winds of chance and the currents of political and social change may adjust our course from time to time, but with the NPS mission as our "magnetic north," we can always rest assured that the direction we are headed in is the right one. |
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