U.S. General Services Administration
Region One Hiring Goes Virtual
While the global COVID-19 pandemic propelled the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) into a remote work environment, the agency’s mission didn't change, and neither did the need to bring on new employees to meet that mission.
Both the Public Buildings Service (PBS) and the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) have hired numerous team members during the past four months and those new employees started their GSA career getting to know their work space, colleagues, and job position via video conference and telephone.
Despite this, the virtual onboarding process has been pretty much flawless.
"GSA has been ahead of the curve when it comes to adapting technology, which is why it should surprise no one that our virtual onboarding process over the past few months has been so seamless,” said former New England Region Regional Administrator Chris Averill. “While I always enjoy swearing-in new employees in person, I complement the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) and GSA IT for their work to maximize the virtual experience.”
Bob Foley, OHRM manager, said he has also received nothing but positive feedback about the virtual onboarding thus far.
Ryan Downing, business systems specialist for the Portfolio Management Division, who started at GSA in April, said, “I think it went smoothly and better than expected. We live in a very virtual world nowadays and I think GSA took full advantage of that aspect to make this new hire and onboarding process seamless.”
A close collaboration between GSA IT and OHRM has ensured that new employees receive their equipment prior to their first day so they can “hit the ground running.”
Heather Simpson, branch chief for FAS’ contracting division, said she received her laptop and cell phone, shipped to her house, the Friday before her start date. In the package, there was a note from IT with instructions and a point of contact to call to set up her computer to the GSA network.
“It was very easy and took the stress off of me knowing I was able to connect to the network before my official start date,” she said.
Jennifer McDonald, business systems specialist for the Portfolio Management Division, said everything went smoothly, from the communication before she started, to receiving and setting up her laptop and phone.
Instead of meeting Denice Walker, human resources specialist, at the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Federal Building, new employees connected via video conference to get the agency rundown as part of the onboarding process.
Simpson said, “It was very personal, informative and made me feel very welcomed to the organization.”
To help her get familiar with the FAS family, Simpson said her supervisor held video chats with her throughout the first week.
“We had a meeting with everyone on the acquisition team, so I could introduce myself to the team and vice versa. I was able to get onto all FAS systems very quickly,” she said.
McDonald mirrored Simpson’s sentiment, as she was also able to train with her team in PBS and learn about the position and the use of the computer software.
“Congrats to all of the new employees,” said former Regional Administrator Averill. “I hope you've enjoyed your first days and weeks at GSA, and wish you a long career!"