Supervisors play key role in career counseling

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Victor Tennant
  • 14th Flying Training Wing
Quick! What is your role in career counseling as a supervisor? Do you have to be a supervisor to provide career counseling? What does career counseling mean to you? How does career counseling tie into any retention problems the Air Force faces today?

If you can answer every question above, you have mastered one of the main roles of being a supervisor and leader. If you are one of the many who question why you have to know career counseling, then you should brush up on this important duty.

As a front-line supervisor and leader you must promote a "career mindset." It is one of your NCO responsibilities.

Several years ago, the Air Force did away with base career advisors and transferred those responsibilities to front-line supervisors, first sergeants and commanders. Today, due to the increased operations tempo throughout the Air Force and force reductions during the '90s, career advisors are back.

The Air Force has realized supervisors, first sergeants and commanders often don't have enough time or detailed information to provide definitive answers about career decisions to help guide our airmen. Providing that type of advice requires specialized knowledge and training.

When there weren't any career advisors, many airmen had to make the critical decision of "Should I stay or should I go?" without proper guidance and necessary information. It became obvious there was an urgent need to fill this void, so the Air Force responded by creating career assistance advisor positions at each installation.

As the career assistance advisor at my base, it's my responsibility to help supervisors, first sergeants and commanders get out the right information on the benefits of making the Air Force a career. The ways I do this are by briefing airman leadership school classes; conducting informed decision briefings; and speaking to groups at enlisted professional development courses, first term airmen center classes and commander's calls.

This is my role, but what about yours as a supervisor and leader?

According to the most recent Air Force exit survey, three of the top five reasons members are leaving the Air Force are directly related to our supervisors and leaders. The reasons are "lack of recognition of one's efforts, lack of leadership at the unit level and lack of job satisfaction."

These three cost areas cost the Air Force years of experience and thousands of dollars in training every time an airman walks out the door and into the civilian workforce. As supervisors and leaders, we must address these issues head on.

Not surprisingly, these three responses are also mentioned numerous times in civilian job satisfaction questionnaires. Apparently, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Think about what kept you in the Air Force. Was it a mentor? Was it patriotism or personal or professional pride? Whatever the reason, it was positive or you wouldn't be here today.

We are part of the most powerful Air Force in the world, an organization that stands second to none in several areas including tax-free allowances, free health care, family support programs, educational benefits, promotion opportunities and the only retirement program in America where, after 20 years, you don't pay a penny to collect a retirement check for the rest of your life.

Expose your airmen to these and other military benefits. Don't leave them to find out for themselves. It is time we, as supervisors and leaders, stand up and enthusiastically talk to our young troops about all the positive reasons, both personal and professional, why we made the military a career.

Your comments, thoughts and guidance on what led you to stay in the Air Force will not only affect the individual you're counseling, but could ultimately affect your entire workcenter.

Career counseling should be a daily, weekly or monthly activity. As a minimum, career counseling should happen twice a year during mandatory feedback sessions. The general NCO responsibilities section of Air Force Instruction 36-2618, The Enlisted Force Structure, mandates you provide an "Air Force Benefits Fact Sheet" and discuss this with the individual. You can find this sheet at www.afpc.randolph.af.mil.com under "Enlisted Benefits."

Learn everything you can about our benefits and entitlements, and share this information during counseling sessions. Remember, you've been in the Air Force for several years and know about many of the benefits. Many junior personnel aren't aware of some of their benefits. This is where you come in. This is why your role as a supervisor and leader is so critical in successful career counseling.

Admittedly, the Air Force isn't for everyone. I'll be the first to admit that military life includes much stress on the person and their family. Yet, the closeness of the military family is one of those intangibles to think about when people consider their future.

We owe it to our junior personnel to help them make an informed decision based on facts and the intangibles. If they still choose to separate, thank them for doing their country a great service and wish them luck in their future.

If an individual chooses to reenlist, don't take it for granted. Also take time to thank him or her. They, along with their family, have just made one of the most important decisions of their life, and, hopefully, you played a small role in this commitment by providing them with good career counseling. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)