Award winners are Social Security Administration Office of Appellate Operations (OAO) and U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Patuxent River Chief Technology & Strategic Operations (CTSO) Office Design Thinking & Agile Frameworks Team
Washington, D.C. – October 26, 2023 – Graduate School USA (GSUSA) today presented the W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award to two innovative organizations that have achieved enhanced quality through business processes. This year’s winners are:
- The Social Security Administration Office of Appellate Operations (OAO), for revitalizing its new hire analyst training program in the Human Capital category;
- The U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Chief Technology & Strategic Operations (CTSO) Office’s Design Thinking & Agile Frameworks (DTAF) Team, for implementing a dynamic new training initiative in the Agile Management category.
“These winners have embraced a mindset of continuous improvement and a commitment to high-quality in achieving organizational objectives,” said GSUSA President Pepe Carreras. “We congratulate them for demonstrating remarkable process improvement through initiatives that have measurably benefited their organizations.”
The Social Security Administration’s OAO team devoted significant resources throughout 2022 to re-build its new hire analyst training program, in order to adjust to the significant business process, policy, and human capital management changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic closed OAO’s offices, eliminating its ability to train, mentor, and engage through in-person conversations, and one-on-one, live mentoring. A complete revitalization of training materials and programming was necessary to ensure OAO continued to deliver high quality and timely public service in a fully telework environment.
The U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Chief Technology & Strategic Operations (CTSO) Office’s Design Thinking & Agile Frameworks (DTAF) Team’s initiative focuses on training their workforce across all levels to respond to highly adaptive requirements, problem sets, and rapid capabilities and business process changes. Training and agile coaching were developed and successfully implemented over the past two years with the purpose of solving warfighter problems. Their solution-based approach emphasized identification of the most efficient, agile ways to provide structure, transparency, accountability, and positive outcomes.
The W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award, which recognizes organizations in the U.S. government and military for strategic initiatives that demonstrate excellence and innovation, is named after Dr. W. Edwards Deming, a renowned scholar and former Graduate School USA instructor. The award is open to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as civilian and uniformed branches of the U.S. military. Winners emulate Dr. Deming’s approach by showing tangible, verifiable improvements in their organization’s performance due to strong collaboration across teams and departments.
The awards, which have been given out for 26 years, were presented during a virtual event hosted by GovExec, a leading information services and insights company for government leaders and contractors (GSUSA sponsored the event).
ABOUT GRADUATE SCHOOL USA (GSUSA)
Graduate School USA is a leading training provider to the federal workforce with an extensive portfolio of government agency customers. It serves the federal, state and local government workforce through customized contract training (B2G) and open enrollment (B2C) to government professionals. GSUSA, accredited by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training (ACCET), is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI), which educates service-minded students by providing career-focused higher education and career learning.
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