This week, PMA's National Board held its monthly meeting. We discussed PMA's efforts to bring Manager Advantage access to all managers. This powerful tool would give managers throughout the Treasury Department a common source of information and knowledge for all workforce issues and policies. It would also create a seamless experience between managers and LERN because both functions would be relying on the same processes. PMA will continue to facilitate discussions between IRS leaders, Treasury leaders, and others on this exciting opportunity. Our National Board also voted to approve PMA's first collection of operational policies to guide our internal processes. We also took a look at some exciting features for our new website which we can't wait to share with you once it's ready! Our Board also adopted our legislative and policy agendas to guide our work on Capitol Hill through 2022. For the first time, PMA will pursue a 'good government' agenda in addition to an agenda specific to IRS operations to demonstrate our commitment to enhancing the Service in its mission. PMA's Executive Director met with the IRS to discuss how we might support leadership development, coaching, and how we can make that development compelling and engaging. Next week, we're meeting with OPM to discuss workforce EDI policies and to learn more about how PMA can help. We encourage you to join us in celebrating Public Service Recognition Week this year by participating on our Feds in Motion team (read more in the next section).
PMA's official charity, the Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (FEEA) is celebrating its 35th anniversary. The Feds In Motion 35 Challenge kicks off Public Service Recognition Week and is all about moving in your favorite way — walk, run, bike, swim, or roll on your favorite route — to reach the goal of 35 miles (or more!) in 35 days.
Proceeds benefit FEEA’s scholarship, disaster relief, and emergency hardship programs for feds in need. Click here to register and join PMA's team and/or donate to help us meet our goal! Team members can get great swag and prizes, as well as Wellness Wednesday workshops to help meet the challenge. The Challenge Dates are May 2-June 5, 2021.
The IRS is recruiting for a ready pool of employee volunteers to deploy in times of need. The disaster volunteer announcement opened on March 15, 2021.
Eligible employees may be offered deployments/details to fill supporting roles in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Surge Capacity Force (SCF), FEMA or the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Disaster Assistance (ODA). This a voluntary program for federal employees to potentially deploy to support federal disaster response and recovery activities alongside FEMA and SBA.
For details about the DHS FEMA SCF, FEMA (non-SCF) and SBA ODA volunteer opportunities, see the announcement and the FAQs.
In our update last week, we shared some information on Santos v. NASA and how this impacts the documentation needed to justify a performance improvement plan (PIP). PMA's legal partner, Shaw Bransford & Roth, put together this explainer on the court decision. As a benefit of PMA membership, SB&R offers two 30-minute consultations per year on any matter impacting your employment. We recommend taking advantage of this valuable benefit whenever you have questions about EEO complaints, TIGTA inquiries, GAO findings, and anything else that may come up during your time at the IRS.
The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement's Unaccompanied Children Program is seeking volunteers for 120-day details to support operations at the US-Mexico border. You can learn more about this call to action here. If you or someone you know might be a great fit for this important work, click here to apply via USAJobs.
Through a new partnership with the White House Leadership Development Program, PMA invites you to “The Invitation,” a series of 90-minute events that invite Feds to think through how they too can be impactful leaders and play a part in good government. On March 30th from 10:30A-12P Eastern, we will discuss Creating Workforce Flexibility for Achieving Operational Resiliency. Register here (you must use your government email address to sign up) to attend - you'll receive a Zoom link via email which you'll need to save in order to access the discussion.
You can complete a free, 10 lesson course in leadership from our friends at Master Class Management. Don't let the appearance of their site discourage you (it's a bit dated) - the content is solid. You can access all 131 pages of the course without registering. Each module ends with a quiz and you can earn a certificate once you're through all the lessons. You learn at your own pace and can take as long as you need. Access the content here. For those of you who want to take advantage of this opportunity but are hesitant about the time commitment, there is also a "crash course" that converts these lessons to Powerpoint presentations.
PMA and FMA are working with HCO to put together recommendations to improve incentives for our high performing managers at the top of their paybands. In our pay-for-performance system, there's a hiccup that occurs for managers in those situations which can lead to dissatisfaction and sap morale. We are grateful to HCO for seeing how these issues negatively impact leadership retention and recruitment, and how we fail to adequately recognize managers once they reach that point in their career. This is the second time we are participating in a study about manager compensation since 2018 and, while there's much to improve, we remain grateful that HCO is thinking about this proactively.
The IRS is seeking weekly input from you and your team through April 5th. Please complete the Climate Pulse Survey weekly to help the IRS respond to issues as they arise.
Help Others Become A PMA Member
There’s never been a more important time to become a PMA member. Through our consultative relationship with IRS HQ, we’ve worked to resolve questions, concerns, and inconsistencies around performance pay, leave administration, professional liability, retirement, safety, and leadership succession to name only a few. We are working diligently to deepen our relationships throughout the IRS and to develop new relationships throughout the center of government and with our sponsors so that we can grow our impact. We do all of this and more for a mere $3.50 per pay period – an incredible value. I ask each of you to encourage your peers in the non-bargaining unit to consider signing up using the attached form - please forward this newsletter to one person in your network who might benefit from our advocacy and information. If you know a retiree who would benefit from our advocacy, we offer lifetime memberships to them for a one-time $100 payment. Membership also comes with many additional benefits such as discounted rates from our sponsors GEICO and FEDS Protection. PMA members participating in a FEHB plan may be able to get free, state-of-the-art hearing aids through our partner Eargo. Just mention PMA and they will waive your copay for most health plans. This benefit is available to anyone in your family using your FEHB plan!
Don't forget to follow PMA on social media! You can forward this email to your personal address to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages. We are working to better leverage these tools so we can keep in touch with each of you. Soon we will debut our Instagram and LinkedIn pages as we continue to work on refreshing our virtual toolkit.
Would you like to lead a PMA Local Chapter?
PMA’s National Board is looking for members throughout the country who are willing to consider serving as chapter president. If you're in Colorado or Georgia, please reach out today! We’re also always happy to hear from members who’d like to found a local chapter in their area. Local chapters are active around the country and work with local executives, FEBs, and GLCs to promote the interests of management. Chapter presidents also attend national calls quarterly with the National Board as members of our Association Leadership Committee. The Committee will participate in PMA's modernization project, which is already underway. The time commitment is minimal and it’s a great way to improve conditions in your office. If you or someone you know is interested, please reply to our newsletter and we will connect you with resources to get started.
Be well and be safe!
