ATS has established an ATS University.  While it is anticipated this will grow over time, its first priority will be those employees at the supervisor level.  The course for supervisors will be called Leadership 201.  Over time, Leadership 101 for Leads and Leadership 301 for Managers will be added.

The decision was made to first focus on supervisors given the great impact they have on the day-to-day operation.  The supervisors are the ones working most closely with the agents in "getting the job done safely."

A Manager of Leadership Development was hired whose sole purpose is the development and implementation of the ATS University.  The course takes place in St. Louis, Missouri, where the corporate office is located.  This will allow for senior management to meet the supervisors and stress the importance of the course and expectations of the supervisors.  The focus is to develop the people and leadership skills of supervisors.  Not only to make them better supervisors, but also to better prepare them for potential promotional opportunities.

The course begins with a Prep Course which is sent to the students before they arrive in STL.  This Prep Course will give some understanding of basic leadership concepts and help prepare the student so they come to the class with some prepared.  Included are topics such as The Art of Leadership, Accepting the Leadership Role, Communication, Team Building, and Delegation.  The Prep Course also includes Self Examinations to help the student understand individual strong points as well as areas for improvement.  Exercises for the student to complete are also included.

The Leadership 201 course will be over the course of four days.  The course is only 25% lecture with the remainder of the time between exercises and enrichment activities.  Included are such topics as Verbal Communication, Effective Listening, Team Building, Roles and Responsibilities, Motivation, Conflict Management, Delegation, Problem Solving, Goal Setting, Coaching/Counseling, Reward/Discipline, Performance Feedback and Agent Reviews.  These topics are tied into Safety and Safety itself is a separate topic.

Each student develops, in conjunction with their manager, a Plan of Action to work on those areas that are more challenging for the supervisor.  The Manager of Leadership Development will follow up with the students to check on their progress and to also be a coach.  Supervisor performance reviews have been modified to capture the expectations of the position regarding leadership and people skills.