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News | July 19, 2018

Contract management office hosts diversity training, communication workshop

By DCMA Lockheed Martin Moorestown

Defense Contract Management Agency Lockheed Martin Moorestown welcomed Cynthia Burrows on June 27 for a team-building workshop entitled, "Communication: Do you Hear and See What I Hear and See?" The workshop focused on communicating effectively, understanding different perspectives, and problem-solving skills.

Burrows is a senior Equal Employment Office specialist at the Environmental Protection Agency in Philadelphia and is the current chairperson of the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board’s Partners In Equality Council.

“Communication helps team members to build a culture that incorporates differences, develop multicultural teams, recruit and retain a diverse organization, resolve conflict between employees, reduce turnover and promote productivity,” said Navy Capt. David Rhone, LM Moorestown’s commander.

During the workshop, Burrows explained how important communication is on the job.

“The ability to communicate effectively in the workplace is an essential life skill and everyone has their own style that they naturally adapt and develop to suit the different environments they operate in,” said Burrows.

In addition to the presentation, Burrows led the participants in a group activity based on the books, Zoom and Re-Zoom by Istvan Banyai. The group had to piece together a story from a set of images. Each participant was given an image. Without looking at each other’s images, the group had to put the images in sequence. After the activity, the group discussed the types of communication methods used, difficulties experienced, and the employees who emerged as leaders.

The workshop was coordinated by the contract management office’s Diversity and Cultural Awareness Council.

“While our office does not have our own local EEO specialist, we can take advantage of the local federal resources and opportunities available,” said Courtney Bieberfeld, the council’s coordinator who is also a quality assurance specialist. “We met Ms. Burrows at the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board’s 2017 EEO and diversity day of training. Since so many of us enjoyed her presentation there, we invited her to conduct something similar here. We were pleased that 22 of our teammates across all functional groups chose to participate.”

Bieberfeld said the office's council wants to ensure employees receive various training throughout the year to work even better as a team and support their customers.

“The council is committed to the mission of the agency’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which is to facilitate the evolution of DCMA’s culture as one that values the uniqueness and contribution of each employee,” she said. “Our council further aims to sustain a constituency of highly engaged employees. Communication is key.”