Back in March, when the White House released the President’s Management Agenda, it was clear that change was imminent. The document clarified that the vision for reform must be multi-generational and include three big drivers for change: better information technology, better use of data, and a workforce matched to the mission of a 21st century government. It also stressed the importance of cross-agency impact and breaking down systems and information silos. Among the list of key goals was “Shifting from low to high value work” and “Leveraging common contracts and best practices to drive savings and efficiencies.”

As the government continues to become more technologically advanced and automated, it is becoming more and more apparent that federal employees will need to be retrained to fit this kind of work environment. During one of our leadership off sites back in September, a quote was shared among our team members, “We need to move from thinking as jobs as activities, to jobs as a series of behaviors, to solving different problems. What kind of problems are we trying to solve, and what is the ideal human-to-machine pairings? If it’s just activities, we’ll automate away a bunch of stuff and we won’t optimize what the work is.” This is exactly the mindset we need from our leaders and employees in moving ourselves forward.

For those of you that attended the Town Hall this month, then you have already heard about the Aeronautical Center’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) of saving $20M by the fiscal year 2020. It’s about working together to drive cost initiatives. Since 95% of the equipment that operates our National Airspace System is located here at the Center, we have a prime opportunity to improve the customer experience with our federal services. Read more about this Center-wide initiative in the $20M by FY20 article in this issue.

Just recently, we participated in the OK Aerospace Forum at the Skirvin Hilton with the NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine as the keynote speaker. Besides federal and state government, many companies, organizations, airlines and academia partners were in attendance to discuss the current state of aerospace in Oklahoma.

This month we also hosted special guests such as Senator Paul Rosino of District 45; Brig. Gen. USAF Ben Robinson; Mark Allen, Director of NextGen Industry and Interagency Collaboration, and a special briefing was delivered to employees from James Grimsley on the UAS Integration Pilot Program.

Administratively, government travel cards are changing from JP Morgan to US Bank. If you have a travel card, you should be receiving a new one in the mail by the end of this month. Also, as of November 19th, the Aeronautical Center’s mail room will no longer be able to process outgoing Fed Ex shipments using the Urgent Overnight Mail Request form. Please go online to www.Fedex.com/usgovt or call 1-800-645-9424 for labeling and shipping instructions.

The Q12 survey concluded and we greatly appreciate your participation so that we may accurately measure employee engagement across the Center. As soon as the results are tallied, we’ll be sharing information with every AMC organization.

As a reminder, the Combined Federal Campaign is ongoing. It’s important to remember that you can give through traditional monetary donations via payroll deductions, credit card, eCheck, paper or online, and you can pledge off-hours volunteer time. When filling out a pledge card either on paper or electronically be sure to document the proper information using DOT /FAA / MMAC with the CFC code: E4QREK, so that the Aeronautical Center receives credit for your participation and contributions.

Congratulations to our brotherhood and sisterhood of veterans, active duty service members, guardsmen and reservists. We are grateful to you for your selfless sacrifice to ensure that we are a nation that remains free.

We also recognize this month as National Native American Heritage Month. America’s Native Americans have fortified our country with their deep traditions and values, making tremendous contributions to every aspect of our daily lives. I encourage you to educate yourself about the American Indian and the Alaska Native cultures, those who help make our state and nation great.

Kindly,

Michelle Coppedge

Michelle Coppedge
Director, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center