FORT LEE, Va. –
On Friday, Jan. 19, a federal continuing resolution expired and the government shut down. Defense Contract Management Agency leadership spent the next few days planning for and executing an orderly shutdown, followed quickly by a return to normal operations. Communicating these unusual events quickly was important.
The primary communication was done through the telephone- and email-based DCMA Mass Notification System. A similar announcement, with some additional information, was posted on the agency’s website, and echoed on DCMA’s Facebook page. A personal email message was sent to the workforce from Marie Greening, agency deputy director, and an announcement was also posted on DCMA 360, the agency’s internal website.
Employees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the various channels the agency uses for communication outside of the normal work-week processes. These are important tools that have shown effectiveness in the past year during the hurricane evacuations and shutdown.
The Fourth Estate Personnel Accountability and Assessment System, or FEPAAS, is an essential piece of this communication. Employees can update their contact information at any time on the FEPAAS website.
In most cases, agency-wide information during unusual circumstances will be posted at www.dcma.mil. This is a public website and does not require common access card login, making it easily accessible from any device with a web connection. Likewise, a short notification will be posted on Facebook linking to the www.dcma.mil information. DCMA’s Facebook page is at www.facebook.com/DefenseContractManagementAgency.
Finally, employees should talk with their supervisors and teams about how to best communicate during unusual circumstances. A combination of channels — phone, text and web-based — can ensure information is disseminated effectively.