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Thanks for Attending the OCFO Town Hall
Wednesday's town hall has come and gone, but that doesn't mean the conversation is over. If you haven't already, please share your feedback on the town hall via the post-town hall survey. You can also use the survey to share any questions you have for leadership, or send them to the front office at ocfo@gsa.gov. Slides and a recording will be shared in the coming days.
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New! November Article Club: The Culture Code
The OCFO Article Club will be meeting on Wednesday, November 29th at noon Eastern. This month's discussion will cover a summary of Daniel Coyle's The Culture Code.
If the event isn't on your calendar, you can join by Google Meet on November 29th at noon Eastern.
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🍁 Introducing the 2023 OCFO Season of Sharing! ❄️
Inspired by the spirit of sharing, you are invited to participate in a series of activities hosted by the OCFO Engagement Team this holiday season. This year’s Season of Sharing kicks off today with the creation of the OCFO Recipe Book and provides different opportunities over the next few weeks to engage with members of the OCFO. Activities will be announced in future Week in Review newsletters and on the OCFO Google Site.
🥣 Have a great recipe? Share it with the OCFO! Do you have a savory side dish that has been passed down through generations? Are you famous for a delicious dessert? Your recipe will make a perfect addition to the OCFO Recipe Book! Within the slide deck, find the category that best matches your recipe and use the blank slide template provided to add your own. 🦃
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ICYMI: Check Out This Quarter's Newsletter!
Check out the Q4 newsletter to read more about OCFO's accomplishments, catch up on what the other two-letter offices are doing, and learn about your colleagues!
Have feedback on the newsletter? Share it through the OCFO Quarterly Newsletter survey.
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Did You Know...? You Can Find Materials From Past Town Halls in One Spot
Visit the Town Halls page of the OCFO Google Site to find recordings, slide decks, and transcripts of past town halls.
New! Time and Leave Guidance for the Veterans Day Holiday
Veterans Day, the Saturday, November 11th calendar holiday, will be observed on Friday, November 10th, as the federal holiday for pay and leave purposes and office closures.
Full-time and part-time employees scheduled to work on Friday are excused from duty and entitled to holiday pay.
Employees on a standard or flexible schedule are provided with 8 hours of holiday pay and employees on a compressed schedule are provided holiday pay for the number of hours they would have been scheduled to work (i.e., 8, 9, 10 or 12 hours).
Full-time employees not scheduled to work on Friday are eligible for a substitute “in-lieu-of holiday.” For this holiday, the in-lieu-of holiday is the scheduled workday immediately preceding the Veterans Day holiday. For most full-time employees in this situation, the in-lieu-of holiday will therefore be observed on Thursday, November 9th, 2023.
Reminder! Indicate Your Time-off Award Preference in HR Links by November 14th
If you selected hours for time off last year and prefer a monetary award this year, please update your preference by going into the system and marking the time-off award preference as inactive, otherwise your hours preference from last year will be applied to this year.
If you prefer to receive time off in lieu of cash, then you need to complete the preference in HR Links.
If you prefer to receive a monetary award, then you do not need to complete the preference in HR Links.
Reference the time-off award preference instructions for documenting your time-off award preference, and be sure to save the selection.
NOTE: Award time off is capped at 80 hours for an employee per fiscal year. Employees who select time off for their performance awards that would result in exceeding the cap for the fiscal year will have their awards defaulted to cash. Time-off awards must be used within one year of issuance.
Need further assistance? Direct questions to your servicing HR office.
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Reminder! Open Season Begins on November 13th
Register for the GSA Employee Break Room session on federal benefits open season on November 7th or 14th!
The 2023 federal benefits open season begins Monday, November 13th and ends Monday, December 11th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
For more information about plan options, register for the Virtual Benefits Fair (live chat dates on November 14th, 17th, 30th, and December 7th). If you have questions or need assistance with enrollment, contact your benefits and retirement specialist.
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Give Happy! The Combined Federal Campaign is Underway
The Combined Federal Campaign is the official workplace giving campaign for federal employees and retirees. Visit givecfc.org to learn more about the Combined Federal Campaign, find a charity to donate to, attend a virtual charity fair, learn how to give, and more!
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ICYMI: Messages from GSA Leadership
November 2nd: Administrator Carnahan announces GSA's 2023 Presidential Rank Award winners: Bo Berlas, Tom Howder, and George Prochaska
November 1st: The administrator recognizes Native American Heritage Month, and highlights ways GSA supports Native customers
Check out the Messages from Leadership page on InSite, where you can find past messages from GSA leaders.
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 Angela Cizek, Stephanie Taylor-Richardson, and Kristy Stapley (all BGF)!
I just wanted to give a shout out to Angela, Stephanie, and Kristy for taking the time to train me on the duties that I am currently working on and being patient with me while I am learning and understanding the thought process. I am looking forward to continuously learning new things and grow as an employee. You guys rock!
Submitted by: Jon Carlson (BGF)
Shout out to Kim Fielding (BR1B)!
Happy one-year GSA anniversary to Kim Fielding (and to myself)! Cheers to conquering those months of training and taking over our respective workloads with finesse. I'm so thankful to have started at the same time as you — you're a great colleague and friend!
Submitted by: Elyssa Musaraca (BR1B)
Shout out to Connie LeBlanc (BG2ECB) and Roger Beatty (BG2ECB)!
Thanks, Connie and Roger, for diligently working to scan and index the TOPS receiving reports in Perceptive Content while the bot is down! I appreciate you making those a priority so we can ensure invoices are paid timely!
Submitted by: Laurie McConaughey (BG2ECD)
Shout out to Kim Cutter (BG2ECD) and Gail Pratt (BG2ECD)!
Kim and Gail, thank you both for prioritizing the keying of TOPS invoices in VITAP as we have had a larger number this month for the start of the new fiscal year. I appreciate your teamwork and willingness to move this up on your to-do lists!
Submitted by: Laurie McConaughey (BG2ECD)
Shout out to Matthew Steward (BG2EBA)!
Shout out to Matthew Steward for exemplary leadership and continual support and development of the External Services Branch staff! He always makes time to assist his team and clients to solve complex problems and ensure deadlines are met during the most stressful and difficult time of year (fiscal year end).
Submitted by: Dawn Hanby (BG2EBA)
Welcome to the OCFO Analytics Corner! Each week, the Analytics Community of Practice (A-CoP) team will be sharing events, training, resources, and more. If you would like to learn more about the OCFO Analytics Community of Practice, you can sign up for updates here.
AI, ML, and Mission Delivery!
Are you curious how our counterparts at other agencies are leveraging cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and related technologies in their own mission delivery? GovLoop published an article exploring just that, detailing how the Air Force and NASA are driving innovation. Read it today!
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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 upcoming offerings below or check out the Online University Events Calendar for a full slate of training opportunities.
Upcoming Enterprise-wide Training
Check out the Online University Events Calendar for more training opportunities.
*These courses fill up fast, so register today! If no more seats are available, join the waitlist or register for a later session.
Register for the 10th Annual Interagency Accessibility Forum
The 10th annual Interagency Accessibility Forum provides a venue for federal accessibility professionals, developers, designers, project managers, leadership, and many others to exchange best practices in managing and implementing digital accessibility imperatives, including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The 2023 forum is free to attend and will be held November 7–9, 2023, at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's L. William Seidman Center. Register now to attend virtually or in person.
Continuous Leadership Journey: Building and Leading Teams
This month's CLJ provides resources for learning how to foster collaboration and empower individuals to meaningfully contribute. Check out the many great courses, videos, and additional resources aligned to this topic in the online CLJ channel: Building & Leading Teams and take the Leading Your Team skills benchmark.
Join the upcoming facilitated discussion session on this topic on November 9th at 2 p.m. Eastern.
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Updated! GSA IT Training Classes Help You Perfect Your Google Workspace Skills
Google Slides: Shapes, Pics & Vids (November 8) - Learn how to wow your audience with animations and transitions; insert text, shapes, images, and videos; crop and mask, add WordArt, and more.
Get to Know Google Slides (November 9) - Are you a Google Slides beginner? Learn how to create presentations from scratch or from a template, navigate menus and toolbars, present and share, and more.
508 for Google Slides (November 15) - Learn 508 accessibility best practices for slide presentations, including applying image alt-text, establishing reading order, choosing the right fonts and color contrast, avoiding problem features, and more.
Get to Know Google Docs (November 21) - This class will cover how to create and save a document, work more quickly with templates, navigate menus and toolbars, and set margins and more with page setup.
508 for Google Docs (November 29) - Learn 508 accessibility best practices for docs, including choosing fonts, adding alt-text to images, inserting hyperlinks and headings, and applying list structure, color contrast, and more.
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