It's Possible To Be 'Professional And Polite And Still Get The Job Done'

The initial system-wide training of Engage! - a mandatory skills training program for all TSA workers - will be complete in a few weeks. The idea is to open the eyes of screeners to the philosophy that it's possible to be "professional and polite, and still get the job done."

Amid overwhelming negative criticism of its workers, starting last October the TSA has taken steps to train screeners to use a more professional approach to their job. All 50,000 workers are required to attend the intensive two-day course, and MSNBC correspondent Harriet Baskas was recently invited to take a look behind the scenes.

Class started bright and early at 5 am with opening remarks from a local TSA manager, who explained that although the nature of their business isn't to "do whatever you can to make the customer happy," it's certainly possible to be "professional and polite, and still get the job done… It's all about how we approach it."

Baskas explained, "TSA is now encouraging and expecting all employees to go beyond their 'stick to the manual' training. The assignment now: to think more critically; to draw on the accumulated skills of co-workers; and to do as much as possible to make passengers feel more comfortable and involved as 'stakeholders' in the security process.

"Much of what was discussed in this class seems like common-sense advice," Baskas wrote. "And the role-playing, team-building and confidence-instilling exercises that are a big part of the Engage! experience aren't all that different from what many of us go through in organizational retreats and workshops in the business or nonprofit world. But there are some obvious and not-so-obvious differences here.

"For example, at your office that corny team-building exercise may make it easier to get along with that irritating co-worker. But at the airport, like in an operating room, a focused, well-oiled team can save lives.

Baskas concluded, "So while I left the Engage! class alarmed by the idea of how un-engaged and 'by the book' the TSA training has been, I'm packing for my next trip a bit more reassured by the idea of a more engaged TSA workforce and by the 'Aha!' statements some TSA workers expressed in class."

FMI: www.tsa.gov