The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Human Resource professionals know that the quality of the relationship between employees and their immediate supervisor is the primary factor that determines the employee’s performance, productivity, and morale. The best way to recruit and retain employees is for an employer to develop the organization’s leadership skills from top to bottom.

This course will be an essential tool for those employers who understand the value of developing and retaining their internal talent while not creating more problems than they solve. The concepts presented here will get the learner off to a safe start while gaining experience regardless if the organization is public, private, or volunteer. We say “safe” as in avoiding errors that can create problems now or in the future. The model for this course is the typical high school drivers’ education program where (in theory) you learn just enough to start driving safely with minimal risk to yourself and others while you gain experience.

Many employers do not even attempt the basic learn-to-drive-before-you-get-into-traffic concept when making promotions into first level supervisory positions. They select the best technician in a particular job function on the false assumption that the person who knows most about the work is the natural person to lead the work. Unfortunately, very few employers are willing to invest the resources necessary to develop their new leaders but are willing to risk the expense associated with high turnover, low morale, minimal productivity, and poor customer service, which inevitably result. This on-the-job-training approach to developing leadership skills usually leads to disaster.

Completing this course is like having an experienced mentor to help you understand the workplace from a position of “been there, done that” to guide your employees' development in a logical sequence of looking inward at themselves, then outward at the people around them, and finally, at the subtleties of the work, itself. While we do not pretend it will guarantee success, we will promise that the learner will address many of the key issues that business authors and thinkers have identified as critical for professional growth. There is a suggested reading list at the end of the course for those who want to delve more deeply into the topics presented here.

The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of sixty-three (63) questions at the end of the course to obtain PDH credits.

State Board Acceptance

This course can be used by professional engineers to fulfill PDH requirements mandated by state and provincial licensing boards. Decatur Professional Development is an approved provider of continuing education in all states that pre-approve course providers. In all other states that mandate continuing education for engineers, it is the individual engineer's responsibility to determine the suitability of activities for PDH credit. The state boards typically accept online* courses that cover technical, managerial** or ethical content and which are relevant to the practice of engineering. The course must have a clear purpose or objective with a content that will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge of the licensee's field of practice. For questions about your mandatory PDH requirements, visit the website of your state licensing board.

*Online courses are accepted by all state licensing boards that mandate continuing education. Other than New York (which limits online courses to 18 PDH) and Iowa (which limits online courses to 6 PDH), there are no limits placed by other states on the number of hours that can be earned through online continuing education. Consult with your state licensing board if you have any questions about the acceptability of online courses.

**The New York State Board of Engineers does not accept general office management courses, but will accept project management courses that are offered by an approved provider and that are technical in nature and contribute to the engineer's professional practice.

Please Note: Continuing Education credits for this course are awarded as PDH (Professional Development Hour Credits).