The Clock is Ticking… Make Time to Take Your Mandatory Training!
Due Monday, October 31:
- Accountability for GSA Property
- Continuity of Operations Awareness
- Enhancing Customer Experience
- Ethics
- Telework and Remote Work
- Records Management
These courses are now available in Online University.
Training tip: To access your mandatory training, click on My Learning on the Online University home page. Once you're on the transcript page, click on the Open Curriculum button next to GSA 2022 Mandatory Refresher Training for Employees. On that page you'll find your required training.
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Reminder! Take Steps to Benefit from Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Before Oct. 31 Deadline
An update to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, called the Limited PSLF Waiver, will help student loan borrowers more easily get their loans forgiven. If you haven’t already applied for PSLF, you must submit a PSLF form and consolidate your non-direct federal student loans (if you have them) by October 31 to get the benefit.
The waiver will allow borrowers to gain additional PSLF credit, even if you were told previously that you had the wrong loan type or the wrong repayment plan. In addition, past periods of repayment will now count whether or not you made that payment on time, for the full amount due, or on a qualifying repayment plan. The Department of Education will even count certain periods of forbearance toward PSLF.
To take advantage of the waiver, you need to:
1. Register for an FSA ID (if you don’t already have one).
2. Consolidate your non-direct federal student loans (if you have them) into a Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify for PSLF.
3. Certify your employment by submitting a PSLF form. Use the PSLF Help Tool to generate a PDF, which you'll need to sign (read more about signature requirements) and date before sending to OHRM. For OCFO, forms should be sent to Lakita Rivero.
4. Submit the form to the PSLF servicer as instructed on the printed PDF document.
Once you have submitted a PSLF form and consolidated into the Direct Loan program, you will be automatically opted into the waiver. This means that, if you qualify, you will lock in the benefits of the waiver and start accruing credit towards PSLF.
Just a few minutes of your time may save you thousands of dollars on your student loans. Remember, you need to take the steps necessary to qualify for the Limited PSLF Waiver before October 31, 2022.
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Put Performance Closeout on Your End-of-Year Checklist
Get a head start on your end-of-year performance closeout by checking out these trainings and job aids from the Office of Human Resource Management:
Job Aids
- Performance Planning
- Performance End of Year
- Giving and Receiving Feedback on Performance
- Writing Strong Accomplishment Narratives
Trainings (register via Online University)
- Performance Management Training for Supervisors & Managers (October 13 and 26)
- Employee Self-assessments (October 18)
FY22 performance appraisals and FY23 performance plans must be discussed and completed in HR Links by November 14.
ICYMI: This Week's Messages from GSA Leadership
No messages this week. Check out the Messages from Leadership page on InSite, where you can find past messages from GSA leaders.
New! New MRAS Automation Gets Agencies the Info They Need in Minutes, Not Hours
Federal contracting employees are required to search for and find vendors who have authorized contracts with GSA that can meet their purchasing needs and their agency’s small business purchasing goals. Sounds time consuming, doesn’t it? The RPA team developed its newest automation, the RFI As a Service automation, analyzes customer requests received via intake form, creates a request for information (RFI) on GSA’s CXM platform, loads the data to a custom internal Google web application where FAS MRAS team professionals can share, investigate, and confirm customer requirements as well as proper RFI content. This automation reduces the overall market research timelines for government agencies, by getting them the information they need in minutes rather than hours. Read more about this automation and others the team has designed for FAS MRAS.
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Upcoming OCFO Town Hall: October 26
Join OCFO leaders on Wednesday, October 26, for the first town hall of the new fiscal year. Topics include the new OCFO strategic roadmap, our 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey results, and more. Check your calendars for the invite.
Have questions? You can submit them in advance and during the town hall through this Google Form or by emailing them to ocfo@gsa.gov.
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Share Your Feedback on the OCFO Training and Resources Library
In FY 2022, OCFO provided 12 virtual training courses on topics that included financial data, coding, and reporting. These courses were attended by 850 employees. In addition, the OCFO Training and Resources Library grew to 33 offerings that were viewed more than 1,000 times.
We would like to build upon the initial success of the OCFO Financial Management Training initiative in FY 2023. We invite you to take this brief, seven-question survey to ensure we continue to meet your training requirements. Please respond to this survey by Friday, October 28, 2022.
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Join the Engagement Team for Some New Fiscal Year Fun
Join us in celebration of the new fiscal year for the first OCFO-wide virtual event of FY 2023, presented by the OCFO Engagement Team. The event takes place on Tuesday, October 25 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. We’ve planned a Legends of the Hidden Temple-style competition, based on the 90’s Nickelodeon game show.
Get in the spirit by downloading a Legends-themed background for Zoom and use this guide to set it up.
Email the Engagement Team if you have questions or are interested in becoming a member.
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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.
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Shout out to Kathy Hammer (BG)!
“Just because we have the best HAMMER does not mean that every problem is a nail.”
–Barack Obama
The OCFO RPA team would like to recognize our hammer — Kathy Hammer! — for her leadership, support, and advocacy at the enterprise and executive level. Kathy is someone our team admires and values as a “leader-by-example” and someone who dives into challenges with us to move the dial and deliver results. Thank you for being our champion and giving us the support we need to help offices across GSA eliminate, optimize, and automate business processes!
Submitted by: the OCFO RPA team (BGR)
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.
Visit the Mandatory Training page on GSA's InSite for mandatory training deadlines and watch the GSA News & Info section for training reminders.
Looking for enterprise-wide training? You'll find a selection of the month's offerings below or check out the Online University Events Calendar for a full slate of training opportunities.
October Enterprise-wide Training
Check out the Online University Events Calendar for more training opportunities.
New! Prepare for Open Season with an Upcoming Employee Break Room
To help prepare you for the upcoming benefits open season that runs from November 14 to December 12, OHRM will conduct one-hour Employee Break Room sessions on October 25 and November 1, at 2:00 pm Eastern.
The sessions, which will cover the same subject matter, will provide information about health, dental and vision insurances, flexible spending plans, and changes you can make during this open season. There will also be time for Q&A to address your open season questions.
Register via Online University.
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New! Learn More About the RPA Team
Join GSA's RPA Team on November 1 at 2 p.m. Eastern for an intro to RPA technology, how we use it at GSA, the automations the RPA team has built, and how you can submit an idea to eliminate, optimize, and automate a process in your office!
Register today!
Reminder! Virtual Emergency Procedures & Active Shooter Training Offered Monthly
The Office of Mission Assurance offers monthly Occupant Emergency Plan and Active Shooter training to help prepare building occupants for multiple emergency scenarios. Employees and contractors need to be properly prepared for an emergency and are strongly encouraged to attend OMA's monthly OEP/active shooter training.
The training is currently available through Google Hangouts Meet from 11 a.m.-noon on the last Wednesday of every month, with a capacity limit of 250 people. This month's session will be held on October 26 at 11 a.m. Eastern.
For more information, including upcoming training dates, visit the Emergency Procedures and Active Shooter Training InSite page. For additional information about active shooter preparedness, visit the Safety and Security page on GSA InSite.
Continuous Leadership Journey: Influence & Persuasion
This month's CLJ provides resources for helping you influence and persuade others.
Registration Now Open for the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program
The Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP), a cooperative undertaking of the Treasury, GAO, OMB, and OPM, will hold its JFMIPVirtualsm conference on November 17, from 9:00–4:15 p.m. Eastern.
JFMIP provides a forum for those in the federal financial management community to learn about current issues, exchange knowledge, and share experiences in improving financial management operations and policies
This free virtual event will provide up to 4.5 NASBA CPE credits.
Preview the event schedule and register today!
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