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Operations

CAO Operations comprises nearly 400 staff dedicated to maintaining and developing facilities and systems that support the business of the House of Representatives. This team also provides services and consultation to House Members and staff in the management of their individual operations and promotes the well-being of the members of the House community. The group is organized as follows:

Administrative and Financial Services – Procurement, Financial Counseling, Payroll and Benefits, Budget Management, Resource Management, Human Resources, Workplace Safety and Audit/Internal Controls.

Workforce Services – Employee and Organization Development, Employee Assistance, House Learning Center and House Child Care Center.

House Information Resources – Technology Support, Technology Infrastructure, Business Solutions, Web Solutions, Facilities Management, Information Security and Systems Engineering.

Immediate Office – Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, Change Management, Business Improvement, Strategy, Measures, Portfolio Management and Committee Hearing Rooms Renovation.

Achievements and Future Plans

Payroll and Benefits Customer Service Improvements – The Payroll and Benefits office initiated a program aimed at improving customer service and increasing efficiency. The team’s accomplishments include: cutting in half the time it takes to process payroll paperwork; introducing an online Payroll Authorization “Smart Form” to expedite the initiation and turnaround of payroll transactions; and implementing the automatic call distribution (ACD) phone system to more quickly and efficiently assist customers. In the coming months, Payroll and Benefits employees will begin using CTS2, the new customer tracking system, which will improve the tracking of documents and management of customer requests.

Atlas – Atlas will be the new financial and purchasing system for the House of Representatives. Through HouseNet, Atlas will provide real-time and online access to integrated budgeting, purchasing, vouchering and other related tasks. The Atlas rollout schedule was recently adjusted to allow more time to complete key tasks to ensure a successful launch. The CAO, Office of the Clerk, Office of Inspector General, Sergeant at Arms, Law Revision Counsel and Office of General Counsel are scheduled to go live in March 2008. Full system rollout to Member, Committee and Leadership offices will occur in phases starting in 2009.

In the first half of 2007, the project team completed design of the system and began to configure it based on users’ requirements. CAO users were given a sneak preview of Atlas using a simulator tool to give them an idea of what to expect at go-live.

The project team has developed change management, training, communications, customer care and human resource plans to support Atlas users, CAO customers and vendors who will be affected by the implementation. Focus groups and an online survey of CAO employees provided valuable input to these plans.

HouseNet Upgrade – On June 18, 2007, a new version of the HouseNet intranet was launched to the House community. The new site features greatly improved search capabilities, streamlined navigation and a new look and feel. The home page also features a “HouseNet Shortcuts” section that contains links to the most frequently used services and Web sites.

House Messaging System: Update to Exchange 2003 – On June 18, 2007, the CAO began updating the current House Messaging System from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003. Over 6,900 mailboxes have been migrated to Exchange 2003, which constitutes 33 percent of the total number of mailbox moves. Exchange 2003 provides improved Outlook performance for District offices, enhanced e-mail administration for office administrators and remote Web-based e-mail access for House offices using Outlook Web Access.

Daylight Saving Time Upgrades – The Technology Support team proactively worked with technology vendors and developed an outreach and staff support program to ensure that all House-issued BlackBerry devices and Outlook calendars were updated to accommodate the new Daylight Saving Time, which began three weeks earlier and will end one week later this year.

Employee Self-Service – In the autumn of 2007, the Advanced Business Solutions team will begin implementing employee self-service capabilities to PayLinks, the House human resources and payroll system managed by the CAO. Self-service will offer House employees easy access to and more control over their personal information while eliminating many manual, back-office processes.

Take Your Laptop to Work Day – The CAO conducted the annual “Take Your Laptop to Work Day” for CAO employees on March 2, and for the entire House community on March 5 and 6. CAO technical specialists serviced a total of 139 machines during these three days. Their work included: securing systems against known vulnerabilities and installing software, including Microsoft updates, Trend antivirus, security patches, Daylight Saving Time updates, Adobe Reader, Quick View, etc. The average service time per machine was approximately 45 minutes.

Eldercare Assistance – In May 2007, the Workforce Services Office of Employee Assistance began exploring the cost and feasibility of providing eldercare resource and referral services to House employees. Plans include developing an employee toolkit and information resources on eldercare issues; programs such as flexible work arrangements and emergency in-home care resources; and information briefings for House staff on eldercare and related self-care issues. This work is part of a larger initiative to improve the benefits and services available to employees to provide better work/life balance.

Partnerships-at-Work – In March 2007, Workforce Services conducted a promotional campaign to recruit students and tutors within the CAO for the Partnerships-at-Work literacy advocacy program. The CAO continues to work with the Washington Literacy Council to schedule assessments of interested students along with a training program for tutors. Currently there are three student-tutor pairs participating in the literacy component of the program. Five students are currently working toward their high school diplomas, attending twice-a-week onsite classes provided by the Academy of Hope. One student received her high school diploma in June 2007.

Combined Federal Campaign – The CAO managed the promotion of the Combined Federal Campaign to the House Community, extending the campaign timeframe to early 2007 in order to include new House Members and staff. The campaign raised $159,024 for local, national and international charitable organizations.

Awarding CAO Excellence (ACE) Ceremony – The second annual Awarding CAO Excellence (ACE) Ceremony was held April 12, 2007. Ten CAO employees were recognized in the following areas: Simplify the Day, Personalized Solutions, Dedication, Knowledge, One Team and Excellence. The Dedicated Award was renamed “The Jay Eagen Dedicated Award” and The Excellence Award was renamed “The Darrell Norman Excellence Award,” in honor and recognition of their respective histories of exemplary service and contributions to the CAO organization and the House community.

Drug-Free Workplace Refresher Training Program – The CAO continues to provide mandatory drug education training for all new supervisors and employees of the House Officers regarding the specific provisions of the plan, the related drug-testing procedures and the resources available through the Office of Employee Assistance. The employee education session is conducted monthly for new hires, and the supervisory training is offered quarterly for newly promoted or hired supervisors and as a refresher for existing supervisors.

House-Wide New Employee Orientation – A New Employee Service Center was established during the first two weeks of January 2007, at the initiation of the 110th Congress, to provide new employees an easy format and process for completing their employment and payroll paperwork. The content and format for the online New Employee Orientation Program was completed through the joint effort of the CAO, our House partners and the contractor assigned to the project. The online program is expected to be deployed via HouseNet within the next three months.