It is always a welcome opportunity and a great privilege to occupy variety of roles and see both sides of the coin. It provides us to view the WHOLE PICTURE. You cannot fully grasp the whole concept unless you have the actual experience...
I consider myself extremely lucky as one of the few who have experience both roles, being a WRITER (when I was still a JUNIOR Officer) OF THE JUSTIFICATION and being an INSPECTOR (now that I am already a FIELD GRADE Officer) for the PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE MODEL BASE and the COMMANDING GENERAL, PAF STREAMER AWARDS.
I gained deep insights from those experiences on how units capture the awards…
Allow me to share with you my 10 simple tips that might propel your unit to become a strong competitor for these awards…
1. KNOW THE PARAMETERS or RATING CRITERIA. Get the POLICY that clearly defines the parameters. Do not rely on the previous written justification alone. In tagalog “MARAMING NAMAMATAY SA VAULTFILES”. Or in this situation, maraming natatalo dahil sa vaultfiles kasi baka mali ang vaultfiles. So, the best thing to do is GET A COPY OF THE POLICY (CIRCULAR or STANDING OPERATING PROCEDURE) which is the basis of the ratings. After knowing the listed parameters, be familiarized with the weight of the ratings for each parameter. This is the most common source of failure for organizations/units, they do not know the real basis of the rating. This is just like walking in the dark of preparation towards defeat and waste of resources. CLEANLINESS is just one of the CRITERIA. Cleanliness alone cannot win the award. MISSION ACCOMPLISHMENT alone cannot win the award. On the other hand, ACCIDENTS, INCIDENTS and UNRESOLVED CASES will not mean you are already out of the contention for the award. FOCUS your PREPARATION with all the PARAMETERS or CRITERIA stated in the written policy.
2. DESIGNATE A COMPETENT AND COMMITTED TEAM. Identify the personalities who have the experiences, skills and knowledge in preparing the written justification and the actual preparation. If you really want to become successful in any endeavor of the organization, maximize the talents and skills of your human resource.
3. KNOW THE COVERAGE OR INCLUSIVE DATES OF THE RATING PERIOD. This will ensure the inclusion of all the needed data while avoiding the data which are outside the inclusive dates. The written justification should only include the data and pictures in the said inclusive period.
4. ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE CHECKLIST OF REQUIREMENTS AND IDENTIFY THE CONCERNED INDIVIDUALS AND OFFICES WHO WILL TAKE CHARGE OF EACH REQUIREMENT. After knowing the parameters and inclusive dates, the designated team should create a checklist of requirements and pinpoint the responsible individuals who have the knowledge of things to be prepared in details. The preparation should be regularly inspected by the WORKING TEAM to ensure alignment and coordination between the justification and actual situation.
5. SET A MASTER SCHEDULE (TIMELINE). Timely preparation is very important. Put first things first. Learn to prioritize. Refer to the parameters if time or logistical constraint is at stake. Focus on the parameters with more weight or higher points. But if the time and resources are adequately available, prepare everything by setting the proper scheduling and preparation. REMINDER: SUBMIT ON TIME! THERE IS A DEDUCTION FOR LATE SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION!
6. ALIGN THE JUSTIFICATION WITH THE ACTUAL PREPARATION. Do not put something on the written justification that is not true. If the status of the areas or documents to be inspected based on the parameters are below standard, improve them to gain maximum if not perfect points. But never put something on the justification that the ocular inspection will reveal that you just lying or "bolahizing". On the other hand, put in writing everything that can be found which will essentially help to get the maximum points. Alignment and adjustment are two significant keywords to capture the awards.
7. CONDUCT A COORDINATING CONFERENCE INVOLVING CONCERNED STAFF BASED ON THE SET PARAMETERS. Involve all concerned offices and individuals to completely capture all the preparations based on the set parameters as stipulated in the policy. It is very disappointing and certainly will give a negative impression for the rater if you will be asked a question like this, "SIR, KASAMA BA ANG OFFICE NAMIN SA DAPAT ININSPECT OR KASAMA BA SA CRITERIA ANG PAG INSPECT NG MGA RECORDS?" It simply means one thing, there is no coordination or the offices concerned are not properly informed that they are part of the inspection.
8. VISUALIZE THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS FROM THE ARRIVAL UNTIL THE DEPARTURE OF THE INSPECTION TEAM. The power of imagination and creativity is very significant. Imagine every movement of the team members. Imagine what they will see, what they will hear, what they will feel, and what they will not. Prepare everything accordingly from the arrival honors (if there is any), up to the briefing, seating arrangement, billeting (if the team will stay overnight), mess facilities and all other areas to be prepared. Although, some of these things are not part of the criteria, but it will show the level of preparation or the lack of preparedness.
9. CONDUCT REHEARSAL OF THE INSPECTION AND TABLE TOP EXERCISES BASED ON THE PARAMETERS. If time permits, conduct inspection to all offices and places that should be inspected. Apply a scientific approach of the conduct of the rehearsal of the inspection utilizing previous data and by conducting research from individuals within the organization with previous experiences either as inspection team member/s or as part of the team who prepared the previous inspections.
10. PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE QUESTIONS BASED ON THE WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION AND THE PLACES AND DOCUMENTS TO BE INSPECTED. Anticipate possible questions by rehearsing the briefing presentation, assimilating the inspection and windshield tour, brainstorming and conduct of table top exercises, and visualizing the movement of the inspection team from arrival to departure. Question can also be anticipated by knowing the principal and alternate members of the INSPECTION TEAM. If a team member or more is familiar with your unit, he or she might be asking question based on his previous position or point of interest in the unit. It is very important that concerned staff personnel in your unit is knowledgeable about the written justification and the level of actual preparation to maintain proper coordination and alignment and to respond to the question in the right perspective.
These are just 10 tips according to my experiences and knowledge. But there are still many things that can be added to the list to ensure SUCCESS in capturing these awards.
But please remember that winning the award is just ICING ON THE CAKE, the findings and the results of the INSPECTION can be used to improve the organization in accomplishing the mission.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHMENT and LOOKING INTO THE WELFARE OF THE PERSONNEL are still the best GUIDING COMPASS in ensuring success in LEADING and MANAGING our ORGANIZATION.
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