Supervisor Training & Transition Guide

Supervisor Fundamentals

Supervisor Fundamentals, is designed to help supervisors and managers with the core foundations for managing people at Berkeley Lab. For other employee and staff development training and resources, visit: learning.lbl.gov.

California law requires all supervisors to complete two hours of sexual harassment prevention training every two years. Berkeley Lab supervisors are automatically registered for the online UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for Supervisors and Faculty course that is coordinated by the University of California Office of President (UCOP). Supervisors will receive an email to access the course and confirm the deadline for completion.

SAFE

The SAFE program teaches fundamental skills for managing safety challenges, communication, and team dynamics, and provides an opportunity for supervisors and managers to practice responding to real-life scenarios to ensure safe and effective management of Lab activities.

Understanding FMLA, CFRA, PDL and ADA

Understanding FMLA, CFRA, PDL and ADA is a guide for supervisors that was developed by Berkeley Lab’s Integrated Disability & Absence Management (IDAM) team in the Environmental Health & Safety Division. This .pdf guide is designed to help supervisors better understand the various protected leaves of absences, accommodations requests, and their role in supporting their direct reports.

Work Planning and Controls(WPC) Program

The Work Planning and Controls(WPC) Program is designed to implement Berkeley Lab’s Integrated Safety Management Program (ISM) program including providing safety training appropriate to job requirements.

Core Financial Management Training

Core Financial Management Training, provided by Office of the Chief Financial Officer to help supervisors and managers understand Berkeley Lab’s complex financial accountability and cost allowability requirements.

Laboratory Electronic Timekeeping System (LETS)

Laboratory Electronic Timekeeping System (LETS) – Take the Approver Training to learn about supervisor responsibilities and how to approve time cards for both monthly-paid and hourly-paid employees.

Supervisors should consult their direct manager to determine if there are other require training for their role.

Discuss with your manager ways to get quickly up to speed in your new supervisory role:

Review your new position description.
Discuss and understand performance goals and determine your first priorities in your new role.
Confirm your understanding of the full scope of your responsibilities.
Discuss safety hazards to watch for and protocols to address them.
Review any current program or projects and be aware of timelines, milestones and work deliverables/expectations for each team member.
Discussing how to ensure a smooth transition to your new role.

Meet with the outgoing supervisor, if available:

If you are backfilling a supervisor role, it’s often helpful to have a transition period with the exiting supervisor.

Obtain the status of projects, assignments, outstanding issues, opportunities.
Ask what information, resources or tools will be helpful or critical to know.
Solicit suggestions on how to make a smooth transition into the role.
Review team members’ performance and learn their perspective on strengths and development areas. Be mindful that you should meet with each team member individually to discuss their own strengths and development areas.

Meet your new team:

Familiarize yourself with Berkeley Lab culture, the mission of your division and of your partners, and peruse Berkeley Lab and division websites if you are new to Berkeley Lab
Meet with your team as a group and then individually
Get to know your employees and learn their skills, experiences and career aspirations.
You may want to review your direct reports’ past performance reviews. You can get them from the prior supervisor or your HR Division Partner.

Develop a collaborative relationship with your HR Division Partner:

Meet with your HR Division Partner
Learn what HR’s role is and how HR can support and advise you on people related matters.
Learn about HR procedures and resources for hiring, supervising, developing and managing appointments Many of these resources can be found on the Berkeley Lab Onboarding Program website or the HR main website.
Discuss where you might be challenged as a new supervisor and seek advice on how to address these challenges.

Keep your supervisor informed:

Ask your manager what they want to be kept informed about and how often, such as:

General progress on projects/assignments, and the status of your employees’ role and involvement.
Budget management expectations or if there are any funding changes (whether upward or downward) that are pending or anticipated. (See Core Financial Management Training listed above.)
Staffing and workload: whether current staffing levels are sufficient to deliver on commitments, and if not, what additional resources may be needed and how they will be utilized.
Other recommended training or resources needed to support employee effectiveness and program or project progress.
Issues with an employee and what you’re doing to address and resolve the issue(s).Issues with others and what you’re doing to address and resolve the issue(s).
Outcomes, reactions, and benefits after identified issues are resolved.
Succession planning needs based upon expected retirements or other turnover; steps being taken to hire or backfill internally to protect against anticipated loss in knowledge, skills or expertise.
Opportunities for employee or division involvement in other programs or projects.

Let your manager know about your own needs:

Information or feedback your manager can provide that will be useful.
Training, developmental assignments or external experiences that will support your ongoing professional development.
When their involvement is needed to resolve issues with others.

Supervising employees who were once peers:

It’s not uncommon for someone to get a promotion or accept a role where they become the supervisor of individuals or a team where they were once a peer. The transition from supervisor to peer can be tricky, so here are some tips to help make this transition as smooth as possible.

Talk with the employees about the change in your role:

Explain your general responsibilities as their supervisor and share your management approach and leadership style. Note: Check out LinkedIn Learning to learn more about leadership styles.
Talk about how you’ll support their efforts within the division and/or with collaboration partners.
Describe what changes may occur under your supervision (if any at all), and what they can expect to remain the same.
Acknowledge that some may need time to adjust to your new role as their supervisor.

Be accessible and follow through on commitments:

Have an “open door” policy so people can come to you when it’s convenient for them.
Encourage your staff to come to you at any time with ideas, questions or concerns.
Honor your commitments; follow up on unfinished business and act on the things you’ve agreed to do.
Share with your team how you’ll keep them updated and informed about Berkeley Lab or division initiatives.

Be consistent and fair:

Hold all employees similarly accountable for meeting expectations.
Balance your time among all employees to avoid perceptions of favoritism.
Discuss career development with your team members and provide individuals with opportunities to work on new projects or interesting assignments.
Treat everyone with respect.
For more resources in this space, see IDEAs In Action or reach out to your HR Division Partner.

Listen with an open mind:

Be flexible to different approaches versus doing things “your way”.
Ask employees for their ideas about how they would approach, address or handle situations.
Use employees’ ideas and input as much as possible (someone may have a better way), and recognize their contributions.

Know what’s appropriate to discuss with your employees:

Discussions about poor performance, employee conduct issues, individuals on family leave or dealing with health matters should not be discussed with your direct reports.
In some cases early discussions about workforce planning or staff changes may be sensitive topics, so check with your management team when it’s appropriate to provide staff updates.
If your employee raises a topic that is appropriate for you to discuss with them, express empathy and listen. If needed, encourage the employee to seek out appropriate Berkeley Lab resources.
Avoid initiating conversations that are inappropriate to have with employees.
If you don’t know what is “off limits,” feel free to reach out to your HR Division Partner to better understand about topics that may be inappropriate to discuss with employees as their supervisor.

Plan changes carefully:

Make changes gradually to allow people time to adjust.
Keep your manager aware if you are interested in making changes, so that you have the full support of your division’s leadership.
Communicate reasons for change and the benefits to be gained.
Be flexible in approaches to work.