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 hasfinally 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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