OCFO Week in Review: Week of December 13–17, 2021

banner for the o.c.f.o week in review for the week of december 13-17, 2021

Announcements

The next issue of the OCFO Week in Review will
be published on Friday, January 7. Happy holidays!

OCFO Job Announcements

No job announcements this week. To feature an opening in the next Week in Review, use the OCFO Week in Review submissions form.

New: Time & Leave Guidance for Christmas & New Year’s Day Holiday

This year, both Christmas and New Year's Day fall on a Saturday. Most employees will observe these holidays on the Friday before — December 24 and 31, respectively.

Employees who are not scheduled to work on Friday, December 24, 2021, or Friday, December 31, 2021, are eligible for an in-lieu-of holiday. For most employees, the in-lieu-of holidays will be observed on Thursday, December 23, 2021, and Thursday, December 30, 2021.

Use the time-reporting code "002-Holiday Observed ” for the calendar holiday or the observed in-lieu-of holiday. Do not place any information into the “Additional TRC,” “Labor Code,” or “Task Code” fields.

Please direct any questions to your HR point of contact.

GSA Starmark

Reminder: Key Dates for Telework and Remote Work Agreements

During the November 30 reentry town hall, GSA leadership referenced key dates and next steps for telework and remote agreements. The GSA Telework During Reentry one-pager is a handy visual guide for keeping track of those key dates.

To help you prepare for reentry, you can find trainings for both supervisors and employees on the left hand side of GSA’s Training and Development Future of Work Learning Resources page.

Please contact your servicing HR specialist if you have any questions. 

festive jan 1

Reminder: Use It or Donate It, Don't Lose It!

Did you know the leave year ends on January 1, 2022? Non-SES employees can carry up to 240 hours of annual leave into the new leave year. Any hours above that limit are considered “use or lose” leave time and will expire January 1, 2022.

Be sure to review your annual leave balances and coordinate with your supervisor when scheduling annual leave. You also have the option of donating annual leave to fellow employees in need through the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP). The VLTP allows you to donate accrued annual leave to individuals facing personal or family medical emergencies. So if you can't use it yourself, consider donating it to someone who can.

Learn more on the pay and leave InSite page or contact your servicing HR specialist if you have any questions.

Reminder: Make Sure You Have an Active GSA Access Card

If you have been using your username and password to log into your computer because your GSA Access Card is expired, you will need to request an access card or renew your existing card by Friday, December 31, 2021.

You can send questions about GSA Access Cards to hspd12.security@gsa.gov.

gsa access card

ICYMI: This Week's Messages from GSA Leadership

12/16: Administrator Carnahan wishes GSA a happy holiday season

12/16: Deputy Administrator Katy Kale announces GSA's new IDEA Champions (including OCFO's own Nancy Hon and Jeff Hyacinthe).

12/14: Administrator Carnahan highlights new customer service and delivery executive order

12/13: Deputy Administrator Katy Kale shares a CFC update and thanks this year's participants

Check out the Messages from Leadership page on InSite, where you can find these and other messages from GSA leaders.

OCFO Activities

cookie baking illustration

Poll Results: Holiday Cookies!

Two weeks ago, we asked which holiday cookies you like most. Since there were so many to choose from, here's a breakdown:

chart for o.c.f.o. week in review poll: holiday cookies

Macarons and macaroons, anise balls, glorios, snowballs, and Reese's peanut butter cup, molasses, and 7-layer cookies all got love, too!

Thanks so much for participating in the final Week in Review poll of 2021. If you haven't already, please take a minute to fill out the Week in Review survey, where you can share your thoughts on the poll and other components of the Week in Review. Happy holidays!

To share ideas for future polls, send us an email.

OCFO Analytics Corner

Welcome to the OCFO Analytics Corner! Each week, the Analytics Community of Practice (A-CoP) team will be sharing events, training, resources, and more. Complete this Google Form to receive more information about the A-CoP or to get involved. 

logo for the merl center

Pros and Cons of Open Data

Are you still on the fence about how much information is too much information to share? The MERL Center has simplified the way to look at information sharing and open data with their list of The Pros and Cons of Open Data. As advocates for open data, their list serves as a guide for things to consider when sharing information publicly, from transparency benefits to security concerns.

Shout Outs

Every week we will feature OCFO colleagues who have been recognized by their peers for their great work and character. This is a quick, easy, and fun way to acknowledge and thank one another. To recognize one (or more) of your peers in the next Week in Review, use the OCFO Shout Outs Google Form.

shout outs

Shout out to April Lee (BR4F) and Courtney Williams (BR4L)!

April Lee and Courtney Williams designed and delivered an interactive virtual BR Zone 4 meeting on December 9. This creative duo hosts these virtual connecting events quarterly. They strive to ensure the Zone is updated on key business and administrative items, and equally importantly they establish fun interactive team building events. In addition, they constantly take a pulse check of what the Zone team is desiring for these events. For example, in response to the team's feedback this FY, we included guest speakers from outside our Zone and a spotlight section to get to know team members. Thanks for all you do, April and Courtney!

Submitted by: Genevieve Gilinger (BR4R)

Trainings & Resources

budget line of business

New Trainings: Upcoming Budget LoB Trainings & Workgroups

January 6: Excel Fundamentals 1: Formatting and Presenting Your Data
January 12: Intro to Excel 2A: Basic Formulas
January 13: Budget Chat: How to Evaluate Complex Budget Proposals
January 20: Intro to Excel 2B: More Formulas
February 2: Intermediate Excel 3A: Preparing Your Data in Excel
February 8: Intermediate Excel 3B: PivotTables
February 17: Intermediate Excel 3C: Visualizing Your Data Through Charts, Graphs, and Customized PivotTables

To sign up, follow the links above and sign in via MAX.gov.

Reminder: Crucial Conversations Training

Crucial Conversations teaches skills for creating alignment and agreement by fostering open dialogue around high-stakes, emotional, or risky topics — at all levels of your organization. By learning how to speak and be heard (and encouraging others to do the same), you’ll surface the best ideas, make the highest-quality decisions, and then act on your decisions with unity and commitment. This is not just another communications class. It’s about results — how to get the results you are after through powerful dialogue.

Register: January 25-27 | June 14-16 | July 19-21

Check out the FY22 Enterprise-wide Training Course List for more training opportunities.