Month: March 2024

2024

Published by stephanie.stinfort on March 26, 2024

Hip Hip Hooray, 5 stars all around!!

Antoine Swilling and Louis Everett for handling a pest issue in Gelman Library: “As a facilities worker myself I must say that the customer service from GWU workers is now and has always been great.”
Terrence Branch for creating Keys for Facilities Central: “The request was handled quickly.”
William Vigil for repairing a water bottle filling station at Ames Hall: “Thanks for getting to this so quickly.”
Kevin Bell for repairing interior lights at Ross Hall: “The issue was quickly and effortlessly resolved. I didn’t expect the ticket to be resolved less than 24 hours after my filing it.”
Wallace Vauss for repairing a toilet in Smith Hall: “The technician arrived even more promptly than expected. I had only asked for our toilet seat to be tightened, but he noticed the handle was leaking and fixed that for us as well. The work was completed perfectly in under 15 minutes and totally exceeded our expectations. Thank you so much for all you do!”
Tony Standard for unclogging a shower drain at FSK: “Technician was very polite and professional and quickly resolved our issue. He left the area clean and made a great impression. Fixing our shower made our week. Thanks!”
Jose Ventura for reinstalling a closet shelf and rod that detached from a 2109 dorm room wall: “The workers were very nice, quick, and on-time. Loved their service.”
Kevin Jackson for unclogging a bathroom sink at Madison Hall: “Hi, the technician was extremely nice and professional. He also fixed the bathroom very fast!”
Souk Vongs for replacing interior lights in an women’s bathroom and Hallway at Enterprise Hall: “Super fast response”
Terrence Branch for replacing a key for a Tompkins Hall office: “Mr. Terrence Branch did a superb job in both a timely response and an expert solution to the problem.”

DSF Trainings:APPA Virtual: Managerial Effectiveness and Digital Roundtable – myGW

Published by stephanie.stinfort on March 26, 2024

Each week we’ll be sharing the upcoming training and professional development opportunities available here at GW.

Tuesday 3/26 -Thursday 3/28

APPA Virtual -Level III: Managerial Effectiveness
On this level, participants develop and strengthen leadership skills while learning basic principles for organizational and managerial effectiveness.Attendees experience a dynamic learning environment utilizing engaging discussion groups, learning games, discovery exercises, synergy, and project collaboration. The content of this program complements and builds upon the individual skills learned in Level I and the interpersonal skills developed in Level II.

Leaders learn how to apply leadership skills that are essential in today’s workplace.
Leaders master strategies for handling and ultimately solving difficult conversations and situations.
Leaders learn how to model strong leadership skills through knowing their own strengths and complementing the strengths of others.

Time: 11am-3pm
Location: Virtual

Thursday 3/28

Digital Roundtable – myGW
This month, our roundtable discussion will focus on the new myGW. The new myGW website and mobile app are designed to provide centralized access to the GW resources that are important to you through a customizable interface. Join us for an introduction to the new tool and learn how to personalize your myGW dashboard.

These roundtable sessions are open to anyone, whether you’re looking for answers to specific questions or just want to listen in and learn from the expertise of others

Time: 1pm-2pm
Location: Virtual

Five Star FixIt Reviews 3/19/2024

Published by stephanie.stinfort on March 19, 2024

Please give a round of applause to this weeks Kudos recipients!

Antoine Swilling and Louis Everett for handling a pest issue in Gelman Library: “As a facilities worker myself I must say that the customer service from GWU workers is now and has always been great.”
Terrence Branch for creating Keys for Facilities Central: “The request was handled quickly.”
William Vigil for repairing a water bottle filling station at Ames Hall: “Thanks for getting to this so quickly”
Kevin Bell for repairing interior lights at Ross Hall: “The issue was quickly and effortlessly resolved. I didn’t expect the ticket to be resolved less than 24 hours after my filing it.”
Wallace Vauss for repairing a toilet in Smith Hall: “The technician arrived even more promptly than expected. I had only asked for our toilet seat to be tightened, but he noticed the handle was leaking and fixed that for us as well. The work was completed perfectly in under 15 minutes and totally exceeded our expectations. Thank you so much for all you do!”
Tony Standard for unclogging a shower drain at FSK: “Technician was very polite and professional and quickly resolved our issue. He left the area clean and made a great impression. Fixing our shower made our week. Thanks!”

DSF Trainings: APPA Supervisor’s Toolkit and Procurement 101 Training

Published by stephanie.stinfort on March 19, 2024

Each week we’ll be sharing the upcoming training and professional development opportunities available here at GW.

Tuesday 3/19-Thursday 3/21

APPA Supervisor’s Toolkit
Supervisor’s Toolkit has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the facilities management professional. It is a structured, open-ended, and pragmatic approach to developing supervisors. It is not so much a teaching program as a development process, designed to help supervisors realize both personal and professional growth. The program has been newly designed as a full three days of training.

Time: 11am-3pm
Location: Virtual

Tuesday 3/19-Thursday 3/21

APPA Virtual -Level I: Individual Effectiveness
Level I helps your institution achieve sustained superior results by focusing on making individual leaders more effective. Participants will discover that the pursuit of effectiveness will have enduring positive impacts on both their personal and professional lives. This level includes a 360-degree benchmark providing participants with feedback from managers, peers, and direct reports and clear indicators of their top strengths as well as areas to target for improvement.

Leaders learn to be effective leaders, not victims, and are responsible and accountable for their actions and subsequent consequences.
Leaders learn to live by a personal vision, mission, and values commitment that serves to guide their life.
Leaders learn that credibility and integrity stem from personal trustworthiness that is demonstrated in all they say and do.

Time: 11am-2pm
Location: Virtual

Wednesday 3/20

Procurement 101 Training
These training sessions are customized for our end-user departments to learn how to navigate the procurement process and provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills to make well-informed purchasing decisions.

Time: 1pm-2pm
Location: Virtual

Wednesday 3/20

Siteimprove – Addressing Accessibility Issues
Join our team and a customer success manager from Siteimprove for an overview of how to use the platform’s accessibility features to address any issues and make your sites more accessible for everyone.

Time: 1pm-2pm
Location: Virtual

Thursday 3/21

ERAPPA: Inclusive Physical Space Framework
The Inclusive Physical Space Framework (IPSF) is intended to guide and empower post-secondary institutions to plan, build, operate, and maintain physical spaces on and off campus which uphold strategies for accessibility, well-being, and sustainability. This webinar will discuss some of the key themes addressed in the Framework and open a discussion on how it can be applied in a university campus setting.

Time: 12pm-1pm
Location: Virtual

A Feather in Our Cap: Toasting to an Unbeak-lievable Employee Appreciation Day!

Published by Costanzo on March 6, 2024

In an Employee Appreciation Day to remember, DSF was treated to a hot lunch from Chick-fil-A and bonus homemade chicken tamales from Jimmy Reyes.

DSF Interim Vice President Baxter Goodly and FPCM Interim Associate Vice President Adam Aaronson conveyed their heartfelt gratitude to their teams. Baxter praised the dedication and achievements across DSF’s many groups, highlighting their critical roles in ensuring campus safety, sustainability efforts, and operational excellence.

In Adam Aaronson’s message to FPCM, he lauded the team’s tireless efforts directly enhancing the GW community’s day-to-day life. He celebrated the collective hard work that keeps the campuses operational, fostering an environment where students, faculty, and staff can prosper.

Check out pictures from both the lunch held on March 1st and the late-night dinner held on March 5th!

Inbox Highlights: Merit Increase Survey and Safety Committee Applications

Published by Costanzo on March 6, 2024

We encourage you to read all emails sent to university employees, but we realize it’s easy to miss the details in the barrage of content sometimes. Below we’ve compiled a few highlights from recent editions of Focus on Yourself Friday, Digital Download, and The GW Staff Council Pillars Newsletter.

The GW Staff Council Pillars Newsletter

A newsletter highlighting Staff Council initiatives and events

Staff Merit Increase Survey
Each issue of the Staff Council Newsletter contains a brief survey regarding a current important topic for GW staff. This month, the council is interested in learning more about merit vs. cost of living increases. All feedback will be kept anonymous but will be used to guide initiatives within the council. Launch the survey

Campus Safety Advisory Committee
Safety & Facilities is developing a new Campus Safety Advisory Committee to increase the GW community’s awareness of and engagement on campus safety. GW staff will be a strong voice in this committee. Please consider applying to take part. Learn more and apply

Focus on Yourself Fridays

HR’s newsletter focused on self improvement and professional development.

Leaders at All Levels: Managing Up
Friday, March 15, 2024 from 11:00am-12:00pm on WebEx
This month’s Leaders at All Levels session will define managing up, explore why managing up is important, and provide skills needed to manage up successfully. The session will also explore examples of managing up in day to day work. Register for the the WebEx.

LinkedIn Learning: How to Manage Your Manager
Online audio course from LinkedIn Learning
In this course, adapted from the popular podcast How to Be Awesome at Your Job, you’ll explore how managing up isn’t about flattery or brown-nosing. It’s about consciously building a good relationship with your boss: understanding how you both like to work, and then taking adaptive strategies to really work well together. Launch the course.

Digital Download

Quick tips from GW Communications & Marketing Digital Support

GW Drupal Overview
March 15, 2022 | 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Communications and Marketing will present an overview of GW Drupal. This will be an online presentation and walkthrough of how to create and edit content on your GW Drupal sites. Register for the GW Drupal Training

Kudos Roundup for 3/5/24

Published by Costanzo on March 6, 2024

Employee Appreciation Day was last week, but we’ve still got more high fives and backslaps to share.

From Brian Snyder and Betty Freyre (President’s Office) to Natalie Addison regarding President Granberg’s office renovation:

Betty: The President is extremely happy and everyone that has seen the office just loves it! GREAT JOB!!
Brian: Great Job Natalie! Kudos to your attention to detail and customer service skills for successfully executing this important project!

From Pam Smith to Stephanie Stinfort, Natalie Addison (again!), and the BIG Admin Team:

I wanted to thank Stephanie Stinfort and the entire admin team for being patient and putting together nice touches for the new HR self service area. Thank you also to Natalie Addison for being patient and helping us make new selections for chairs in the new HR office space. 🙂

From Don Chamberlain to Pandorra Dickerson and the Ross Hall Housekeeping Team:

Just wanted to give a shout out to the Ross Hall housekeeping team. Too many names to list in this email but they are all appreciated. Today Pandorra cleaned up B43A for me because the floor was messy. The whole team does a great job.

GW’s New Campus Store Offers Views and Plenty of Merch

Published by Costanzo on March 5, 2024

Difficult to find and a tight squeeze to shop in, GW’s Campus Store has been hidden away in the basement of the University Student Center for as long as most of us can remember. That is until last month when the brand new space on H St. was unveiled to much fanfare. Decked out with all the modern amenities and an enormous stock of Stanley mugs, it’s truly a sight to behold.

Adam Aaronson thanked everyone involved for helping to make the project a reality. “Bringing GW’s Campus Store to this huge, multi-level space is an amazing improvement for our campus,” Adam wrote. “The high ceilings, large windows, and stunning video wall are key design elements that make this such a special space. This was a true team effort to deliver the project, and I want to give a big thanks to Chris Todd, Senior Project Manager, for leading the way!”

Chris for his part also gave a special shoutout to Steve Ferrara for beginning the project before leaving the university.

Below you’ll find pictures from the star-studded grand opening. All the faces you recognize from around campus were there, including George. And don’t forget to check out GW Today’s coverage.

From the Desk of Baxter Goodly: A Time to Support One Another

Published by Costanzo on March 5, 2024

Interim Vice President of Safety & Facilities Baxter Goodly sent a note to the division after three team members passed away over the span of a week. Please see the email in your inbox if you need access to Employee Wellbeing Resources. The Staff Council has also established an In Memoriam page on its website.

Dear Teammates,

Over the last week, our hearts have been saddened by the loss of three extraordinary colleagues who graced our lives with their presence for decades – Jeff Dean, Donald Gibson, and Calvin Williams. Jeff, Donald, and Calvin were true friends who loved the university and cherished the many GW friendships they cultivated during their years of service. Their values of dedication, humility, and kindness will continue to inspire us all to be better versions of ourselves, as they inspire me. As we mourn their deaths, let’s also celebrate the countless ways in which they touched our lives, and strive each day to honor them by embracing the values they held dear.

Experiencing this much sorrow in such a short span can be difficult to navigate alone. This is a time to come together to lean on and support each other. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need support.

My thoughts are with you all –
Baxter

Five Star FixIt Reviews 3/5/2024

Published by stephanie.stinfort on March 5, 2024

Another successful week! Congratulations Team!

Terry Branch for making keys for a new mechanical lock at SEH: “Mr. Terry Branch is a model of both kindness and efficiency … plus, he knows his locks and keys!”
Aaron Ferebee for repairing a drain stopper in a Mitchell Hall sink: “The guy that came was really nice and worked quickly, and showed me what he did. Very cool.”
Raymond Wallace, Souk Vongs and Tim Lindsey for assisting in an event set up and breakdown at Enterprise Hall: “The room looked very nice and just as requested.”
Jose Guzman for replacing stained ceiling tiles in Ross Hall: “Everything was great.”