General Services Weekly 4-24-24

Team –

I read the passage below on Facebook last week. A friend of mine had posted it, but I’m not sure where it originated. Wherever it came from, it aligned well with the topic I wanted to write about this week. "You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee? 'Because someone bumped into me!!!' Wrong answer. You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out. Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it, until you get rattled. So we have to ask ourselves... 'what's in my cup?' When life gets tough, what spills over? Joy, gratitude, peace and humility? Anger, bitterness, victim mentality and quitting-tendencies? Life provides the cup, YOU choose how to fill it. Today let's work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, resilience, positivity; and kindness, gentleness and love for others." How we react to any given situation shows exactly what’s in our cup. This is true when someone “bumps into us” in life, when we make mistakes, and generally how we show up every day. Are we grouchy about the traffic and the dishes that our significant other left on the counter? Or are we thrilled that the sun came up for us another day, that we’re employed in a job with great people around us, or even genuinely excited about what the day holds for us? Last week, after making an error, a team member came to me a few hours later and owned the issue. This team member not only apologized for the mistake, but voluntarily discussed how to ensure the mistake would not occur again. Regardless of how I felt after the mistake (let me tell you some frustration spilled out of my cup ☹), the subsequent conversation immediately started repairing the trust factor in the relationship. The team member displayed the gratitude and humility they had already put in their cup. Then, the forgiveness and kindness spilled out of my cup. I wish that had been what was on top. So this week, let’s be sure to fill our own cups with all of the wonderful things the author mentions above. Give yourself grace and remind yourself that we all make mistakes, even ourselves! That will help us be more compassionate and forgiving when we could feel wronged. Then, we won’t have to eat crow and own the bad stuff that might spill out. The good stuff will already be on top! Have a great week!

Crystal Wessing
Division Director, General Services

In case you missed last week's edition of GS Weekly, Crystal kicked-off the first GS Weekly contest. Team members were challenged to list all the similarities between a lightbulb and a pencil they could think of in just two minutes. Team members could then email their list to Crystal for a chance to win a gift card. 

Congratulations goes to Tammy Anderson,
our very first GS Weekly contest winner!
(Be sure to contact Carla for your prize, Tammy. 😊)

Check out some of the notable submissions below:

• Both are made from materials sourced from nature
• Both have carbon footprints
• Last a long time
• Reusable
• Facilitate communication (lights for reading and pencils for writing)
• Obtained from a store
• Add brightness (provide light/words of affirmation)
• Give a sense of security (light up dark spaces/provide words of support)
• Both have been around for more than 200 years
• Extremely useful/used in everyday life
• Can feel warmth to the touch once used

• Consumable products, will need to be replaced
• Help others see things visually
• Often sold in multi-packs
• Both found in homes/offices
• Think of the color yellow
• Both are inventions (not naturally occurring) 
• Cannot function as intended without use/placement by a human
• Conduct electricity
• Take a team to manufacture
• Both taken for granted
• Made of several, unique substances
• Have distinct result
• Both can be broken

Keep reading every week for your next chance to win!

• "Shout out to Broc Kohl and the Vehicle Maintenance team for their 6S efforts at the garage in advance of the move. They've streamlined the job ticket and key movement within the office to maximize efficiencies."
  
  ~ Crystal Wessing

• "Shout out to Rylan — Jase was out last week and Rylan did a GREAT job keeping things in line and moving. I also want to give kudos to the entire team at the OA Garage for fixing the F150 for the Park Rangers. It was a challenging issue on the lights, but the team figured it out and was able to take care of it!"
  
  ~Broc Kohl

• "HUGE thank you to everyone who volunteered to help out last week for the Zero Waste Challenge!"
  
  ~ Racheal Ajayi

• "Today, April 24, is Administrative Professionals Day. We have several and they're all incredible! Be sure to celebrate them all!!! I know I'd be lost without Carla Bernskoetter 😊"
  
  ~Crystal Wessing

The team collected recyclables, compostables, and trash for sorting. The items were then weighed and documented to see how close we came to Zero Waste.

The Results are In!

After everything was weighed, our team collected 258.4 pounds of waste in just one afternoon. In total, 39.4% of the total waste was able to be recycled or composted, beating last year's total of 36.4%! 

Thank you to everyone involved in the Zero Waste Challenge and for helping to make our community a cleaner place for all. Check out the video recap below for more highlights from last week's Earth Day celebration!

Episode Four: Distracted Driving

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of vehicle crashes nationwide. Check out the latest episode of "Risky Business" to learn some common causes of distracted driving and how you can help make the roads safer.

In case you missed it, the OA Carpool lot at the old Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) will be relocating to the Scruggs Station facility at 4720 Scruggs Station Road. The new carpool lot will be up an running the week of May 6. To make sure this transition goes smoothly, the State Fleet Management team is asking for volunteers to help move vehicles from the MSP lot to the Scruggs Station facility.

If you are available Friday, May 3, and would like to assist
with the move, please contact Kelly Ocheskey.

The team at Document Solutions was excited to receive their new OCR walkover yesterday.

With this latest investment, team members no longer have to use stacked skids to quickly get from one side of the equipment to the other—Making for a safer, more efficient workspace.

Shout out to everyone who participated in this year's Go-Blue Wellness Walk, including our very own Carla Bernskoetter!

Hosted by the Children's Trust Fund of Missouri, this event is held every April during Child Abuse Prevention Month. Learn more about the Children's Trust Fund and how you can help by visiting ctf4kids.org.

If you haven't done so already, click here to complete the latest QPS. The survey
will close at 11:59 p.m. CST on Friday, April 26, 2024. If you have any questions about the survey, contact the Talent Management Helpdesk at tmhelpdesk@oa.mo.gov or call 573-526-4500.

Click the flier above to learn more.

The Breakthrough Leadership program is designed for dedicated state employees who are building a strong foundation for their careers and have been with the State between six months and three years. This program uses an experiential approach, proven to have an impact on personal growth.

Applications Due
May 3

The Governor's Advisory Council on Quality and Productivity established the Governor's Award for Quality and Productivity (GAQP) in 1988. This team award recognizes service, excellence, efficiency, innovations, process improvement, and employee ingenuity within Missouri government.

Nominations Due
June 28

Inspired by the hit TV show "Shark Tank" and other competitions, the Show Me Challenge is a way for team members in Missouri’s 17 executive departments to identify solutions that improve how we serve our citizens, cut out unnecessary bureaucratic work, and/or save time and money.

Applications Due
July 1

If you would like to recognize a fellow team member in the GS Weekly, please let us know! Contact communications@oa.mo.gov for more information.