Development and Evaluation of Counseling Training for Commanders to Enhance U.S. Army Company Grade Officer Career Continuance

We developed and evaluated a retention counseling training program targeted at influencing factors identified as important to company grade officers? retention decisions. Training was given to Company Commanders, Battalion Commanders, XOs, and S3s in four brigades. The impact of training was evaluat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Johnson, Jeff W, Houston, Janis S, Foldes, Hannah J, Cullen, Michael J, Stellmack, Amy L, Ervin, Kelly S, Schneider, Robert J, Duehr, Emily E
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ARMY TRAINING
BRIGADE LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS
CAREER CONTINUANCE
CAREERS
COMPANY GRADE OFFICER RETENTION
COUNSELING
DECISION MAKING
FEEDBACK
MILITARY COMMANDERS
Military Forces and Organizations
OFFICER COUNSELING TRAINING
OFFICER RETENTION TRAINING
PE622782
PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT
Personnel Management and Labor Relations
PERSONNEL RETENTION
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Summary:We developed and evaluated a retention counseling training program targeted at influencing factors identified as important to company grade officers? retention decisions. Training was given to Company Commanders, Battalion Commanders, XOs, and S3s in four brigades. The impact of training was evaluated by administering pre- and post-surveys (four months after training) to company grade officers under the trainees? command. Trainee feedback was used to revise the training program. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for Time 1 satisfaction demonstrated that both the quantity and rated quality of counseling were related to Time 2 satisfaction levels on many factors believed to have the strongest connection to career continuance. Among those who received counseling from someone we trained, there was a significant increase in intention to stay in the Army from Time 1 to Time 2. The training focused on the importance of conducting informal counseling in addition to formal counseling, and results showed that both types of counseling interact to influence variables such as career satisfaction, leadership satisfaction, and morale. Recommendations are made to introduce training similar to that used in this intervention to officers early in their career, with periodic retraining of the counseling strategies and behaviors throughout an officer?s career.