Those cards, calls, and letters keep coming to the National Finance Center--and Joanne Ellis (left), director of NFC's Application Systems Division, and secretary Carolyn Miceli can confirm it--as federal employees say "thanks" to NFC for ensuring paychecks were processed, in spite of furloughs and the Blizzard of '96.
.--Photo by Larry Songy

Neither Sleet, Nor Snow, Nor Furlough...
A New Chapter in "Customer Service"

by Ron Hall, Office of Communications

So Spring has finally convinced a rather reluctant Mother Nature that it's time to set up shop--and not one flippin' second too soon. Winter had, of course, left in its loooong wake the Blizzard(s) of '96 in the eastern half of the country--and if that wasn't enough, there were also governmentwide furloughs to contend with.

But, those complications notwithstanding, employees of the National Finance Center and Departmental Administration undertook two--much appreciated--major initiatives during those winter months.

First, they coordinated a special mid-pay-period payroll for Pay Period No. 25 on behalf of nearly 150,000 federal employees, who at that time had just been allowed back at work after having been furloughed during three weeks between Dec. 16, 1995 and Jan. 5, 1996.

"Those employees had received only partial paychecks due to the furlough of their respective departments or agencies," said Bill Kahrs, chief of NFC's Payroll and Personnel Information Branch in New Orleans.

He noted that employees affected included those outside of USDA--including employees at the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Justice, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Federal Communications Commission--for whom NFC provides payroll processing services.

It also included Forest Service employees whose timekeepers--along with the rest of their agency colleagues--had all been furloughed.

"Our efforts must have been well regarded," observed Mose Lindsay, head of NFC's Payroll and Personnel Operations Section, "since a number of other federal payroll offices called us to find out how a special payroll might be conducted and how mid-period payments might be calculated."

He added that since then NFC has received several recognitions of appreciation from affected employees, including a giant "Thank You" card signed by HUD employees. "Guess they were happy to have the remainder of their pay in the bank," Lindsay affirmed.

Second, the Blizzard of '96 delayed many Time & Attendance reports for Pay Period No. 26 from all customer departments and agencies, including USDA, which, socked by the storm, had shut down. "Those forms are the key to processing employee paychecks," pointed out Lynda Wilson, personnel management specialist with Departmental Administration's Policy Analysis and Coordination Center.

"It's nice to receive appreciation for good customer service," affirms Lynell Smith (left), payroll and personnel processing supervisor at the National Finance Center. She and accounting technician Debra Jones are reviewing some of the letters of thanks.
--Photo by Larry Songy

Accordingly, DA and NFC employees worked with customer agencies to ensure that those Time & Attendance reports were processed and salary payroll checks were transmitted on time, in spite of weather-related shutdowns.

"The way I see it, that's a new chapter in 'customer service'," quipped Wilson.¤

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