24June1996 Benchmark Note To: "USGS Employees" From: " benchmark, Reston, VA " (Benchmark) Subject: 24June1996 Benchmark Note X-Mailer: This issue of Benchmark Notes is devoted to a variety of information issues. I plan to use this format once every few months to share with you bits of news that I feel you might find interesting. As always, if you wish to send e-mail to me or my immediate staff, please use one of the following addresses: SMTP: BENCHMRK@USGS.GOV Groupwise: INTERNET:BENCHMRK@USGS.GOV Banyan Vines: BENCHMRK CCMail: SMTP_MAIL BENCHMRK@USGS.GOV Supervisors, please share this message with employees without access to e-mail. Update on Benchmark Committees I begin with some information on the status of the work being done by a number of Benchmark Committees and related implementation follow-up teams. The months of effort that have gone into these projects are now producing significant results that should help us further strengthen and streamline many of our work processes and provide a foundation for doing what we do best--our science. Rewards The Benchmark Committee on Rewards, formed last fall under the leadership of Bob Hirsch and Janis Nash, was charged with examining the career reward systems throughout the USGS. It has just submitted its report to the Policy Council for review and implementation decisions. The Policy Council will begin deliberations on this material the second week of July and hopes to begin implementation as soon as possible. I had an opportunity to see an early draft of the report some weeks ago and was genuinely pleased with the work the Committee had done. Among other things, their report addresses what many believe to be the root cause of many of our problems: failing to reward appropriate behavior and accomplishments. There have been many changes in the regulations and requirements for establishing, monitoring and rewarding the performance of Federal employees over the past few years. The work of this Committee should move the USGS forward to take advantage of the flexibility now afforded to Government agencies. Assessments As mentioned in a May 1996 all-employee e-mail, Gayle Sisler and Alice Sabatini were selected as co-chairs for the Bureau Assessment Steering Committee. This committee is charged with implementing the new Bureau Assessment System, which is a result of recommendations of the Benchmark Team on Assessments. One of the first actions Gayle and Alice have planned is a series of briefings on the new assessment system, to be held at the three regional centers and in Atlanta, Georgia. These briefings will provide an overview of the new policies and the underlying philosophical tenets and will review the schedule for implementation. You will be receiving more information on the location, dates and times for these briefings. The work of Gayle, Alice, and the other committee members is a significant step toward clarifying and streamlining this important aspect of how we conduct our work in the USGS. Strategic Planning The work of the Benchmark Committee on Strategic Planning continues to move forward. Each of you should have by now received a copy of the USGS Strategic Plan (or will shortly) and you will have an opportunity to view a video tape in which I share some general thoughts and views on the Strat Plan. The Strat Plan is available online at the following World Wide Web URL: http://online.wr.usgs.gov/stratdocs. It will also be added to the USGS home page at http://www.usgs.gov. Over the next week, I hope you will have an opportunity to discuss the Strat Plan with your supervisor or unit chief and talk about how it affects you as an employee of the USGS. I urge you to study the plan for yourselves to see how and where your work fits in with where the organization is heading over the next decade. During the last few days in May, I met with more than 60 of the senior managers in the USGS and the National Biological Service to begin to prepare a first-year implementation plan for the new Strategic Plan. There are about 75 strategic actions in the plan, and establishing the priorities among them is an important first step toward making the plan work. This implementation plan will be the topic of discussion at the Program Managers' Workshop in Reston on July 2 and will be used to guide the activities and actions we will highlight for implementation in the first year. We will share the implementation plans as they become available; to know how you as an individual can get involved, talk with your managers and supervisors about your ideas. It's a pleasure to see the USGS, roadmap in hand, headed down the path we call the future! Outreach As I announced to you in the December 1995 Benchmark Note, Mike McDermott has been working in the Director's Office to implement the recommendations of the Benchmark Team on Outreach. One important step forward is the presence of five new liaisons on one-year details to the Outreach Office to learn what outreach is and how to engage in it. The five are Judy Fretwell (WRD), Jennifer Gaines (NBS/BRD), Peter Lyttle (GD), Lesley Ogrosky (NMD), and Marti Quigley (OPS). For this first year, all five are from the Reston area; as they finish their training and are replaced by new liaisons next spring or summer, we hope to broaden the candidate pool to include people from other regional and field offices of the USGS. Another new outreach activity involves defining a corporate identity for the USGS. As you may recall, one of the most important lessons we learned last year when we were faced with abolishment was that the USGS wasn't nearly visible enough to the Congress or the public. When we were visible, here and there, it was only a small part of the organization and its work that was known. The Outreach Committee highlighted the fact that the USGS needs a much more visible identity and a plan for using this identity in everything that we do. Nancy Faries of the National Mapping Division has been asked to take on a short-term assignment managing this activity. She brings to the job a strong background in graphic design and publications management. In her more than 20 years with the USGS, Nancy has won numerous awards, including nine Federal Design Achievement Awards from the National Endowment for the Arts. She has worked on a number of bureauwide enterprises including the Federal Women's Program, the Education Committee, and the Director's Reorganization Task Force. Nancy will be seeking input from everyone interested in the process of developing a unified visual identity for the USGS. An e-mail address (visual_id@usgs.gov) is being set up to encourage two-way interactions. In addition, there will be postings on an internal home page at http://www.usgs.gov:8888/visual/index.html if you are interested in following the committee's work. For clarification, the pick and hammer seal, our formal and official imprimatur, will continue to be used on all legal documents such as map certifications. WEL Participants Named The Women's Executive Leadership (WEL) Program is an annual government-wide program that provides supervisory/managerial training and development opportunities for high-potential Federal employees at the GS-11 or GS-12 level to help prepare them for future positions as leaders, supervisors, and managers. In past years, the USGS has participated by competitively announcing the training opportunity on a division-by-division basis, which allowed eligible employees of participating division(s) to apply. For the 1996-97 WEL program year, the Survey for the first time announced the program on a bureauwide basis, allowing eligible employees across division lines the opportunity to compete for five slots. The Policy Council designated high-level representatives to serve on an evaluation committee, which reviewed, ranked, and rated the applications submitted by USGS men and women from all divisions and the Office of the Director. The final-five selection was difficult, owing to the large number of highly qualified applicants. I am, nevertheless, happy to announce the following outstanding members of the USGS as this year's participants in the WEL program. Vicki Flagg, Facilities and Space Management Specialist, OPS, Menlo Park, California Ann Frazier, Physical Scientist, NMD, Reston, Virginia Julie Hambrook, Biologist, WRD, Columbus, Ohio Leslie McElroy, Visual Information Specialist, GD, Reston, Virginia Ingrid Verstraeten, Hydrologist, WRD, Lincoln, Nebraska USGS participants from past years have found the WEL program to be a rewarding developmental experience that enhanced their skills and abilities, thus providing benefit to the organization as well as to the trainees. I hope you will join me in extending congratulations and best wishes to this year's WEL participants. Gordie