Temporary Supervisors

DOE-HDBK-1117-99

The extent of required job familiarization depends on the background and experience of the

candidate and should be determined by the maintenance manager on a case-by-case basis.

Job familiarization should consider the areas described in Appendix B. Newly hired supervisors

from outside the facility's work force should be given the opportunity to visit facility areas and

DOE offices to familiarize themselves with responsibilities and functions in various areas.

3.5 Temporary Supervisors

Facility personnel who are temporarily upgraded to perform supervisory duties should also be

provided basic elements of supervisory training. Line and training managers should determine

the training needs for these supervisors based on the individual's education, experience, and

work to be performed (including contracted supervisors). The maintenance manager should

approve the training subjects and topics selected. Items to consider when determining what

training these supervisors need include the following:

The range of duties assigned to the supervisor (for example, all supervisory tasks,

monitoring and reporting only, technical guidance only, select combinations of supervisor

tasks)

If management expects the supervisor to perform a majority of the tasks that a

permanent full-time supervisor typically performs, then it would be appropriate to provide

the training as outlined in Appendices A and B. However, if the supervisor functions only

as a lead mechanic or a technical expert for a specific work assignment, then complete

supervisory training may not be needed.

The supervisor's knowledge of supervisory tasks and management performance

expectations

Interviews and on-the-job demonstrations or simulations with the supervisor candidates

could determine areas in which knowledge and skill improvements are needed. For

example, a candidate may have successfully described the attributes for observing a

work activity but did not know how frequently the maintenance manager expects an

observation to be conducted. In this case, job scope limitations may be all that are

needed until corrections are provided through coaching sessions. However, if the same

candidate could not demonstrate how to access the historical records of the

computerized maintenance system when this task forms a large part of a supervisor's

daily job, then a structured training session may be needed before the candidate is

upgraded or allowed to perform supervisory duties.

The length of time the supervisor is expected to perform supervisory duties

Temporary supervisors are not expected to receive supervisory training unless they will

be used repeatedly as supervisors, or unless they will fulfill the position for an extended

period. Temporary supervisors are expected to receive appropriate coaching for the

functions they provide prior to performing supervisory duties independently. For