by Mark H.
In 1986, I began my employment with
General Dynamics as a technical instructor. During my 25-year career, I enjoyed
varied experiences, traveled quite a bit and, over time and was promoted to
management. The high point of that journey was when I was assigned a special
project for the JSF program. When JSF was in its early stages, we realized a
need to effectively bring new people onto the program. In 2001, I was
privileged to lead a team to develop an innovative process for orienting and
assimilating new employees. That new process was launched in Ft. Worth in
October 2001, and the JSF program at that location saw a growth of roughly 1,000
percent in just a couple of years. My team and I were asked to expand the
process to all programs and all sites. Over the next few months, the process
was modified, facilities were acquired and staff was increased. In June and
July 2002, the onboarding process was expanded to include Marietta and
Palmdale. Not too many years later, the process was again expanded to include
the six smaller Lockheed Martin Aeronautics sites. It was noted as a Lockheed
Martin Best Practice and became the foundation for the current onboarding
process used across the enterprise. Those last 10 years at Lockheed Martin were
the best. I got great fulfillment in seeing our efforts provided the best onboarding
orientation experience possible and new employees excited about starting their
careers at Lockheed Martin.
