ATARC Federal IT Newscast

The future of work brings an overwhelming amount of information. How might we work together better to make sense of it? What role does people analytics play in creating the best places where people want to work? Join Nina and Chris as they hold a dynamic conversation with Keith Krut, Head of Analytics and Director of Talent Strategy at NASA. At NASA, Keith and his teams are asking sophisticated questions to deeply listen and understand what works and isn’t working for employees. Does meeting all day mean that you’re actually collaborating? What does collaboration design and quality of meeting experience have to do with mission? And why don’t HR, IT, Data, and Operations compare notes more often? Episode Highlights 2: What happens when you take geography out of the equation? 3:40 "Overcollaboration." 5:20 What people analytics looks like at NASA. 8:40 The importance of listening to employees. 12:50 How are leaders looking at data to make sense of uncertainty? 17:55 What data visualization looks like. 22:00 How does data science/social science impact the customer experience? 27:55 How to achieve the moonshot and moon landing of being the nation's best employer. 31:45 How can organizations that may not have the same exciting mission as NASA inspire employees to want to work for them? 36:18 If you had a magic wand, what big problem would you solve? 39:38 Connect with Nina and Chris: Nina Bianchi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bianchininafuture/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaFuture Christopher Crist: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-crist-a1544a135/ 

Is it possible that as younger workers shift from role to role, this might be a net positive for teams and organizations? This week Nina and Chris sit down with Heidi Halvarson, Philanthropy Program Manager with the Medtronic Foundation and self-proclaimed “Federal Fangirl”. As a leader in the non-profit sector, Heidi brings a unique, sector switching cross-sectional perspective on the next generation of problem solvers, federal leaders, and STEM subject matter experts. Join us as Heidi explores what X means in the future of more creative, adaptive, fluid, and equitable STEM workforce development. Links: Medtronic Foundation: https://foundation.medtronic.com/us-en/index.html Connect with Heidi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidijedlickahalvarson Connect with Nina and Chris: Nina Bianchi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bianchininafuture/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaFuture Christopher Crist: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-crist-a1544a135/ Episode Highlights: 1:45 The future worker is the most diverse and most impacted by the mental health and climate crisis. 2:45 How do we reach people at a younger age to help shape the future STEM workforce? 6:00 The cradle to career journey begins with early childhood education. 10:35 Talent planning for Millennials as trisector athletes. 11:50 The kindergartener today will be the scientist taking care of you when you’re old! 12:15 What it means to be a “Federal Government Fan Girl” 17:05 How do we incentivize our benefits package and invest in our workforce? 19:10 How does workforce experience impact the customer experience? 24:00 Socially conscious and mission driven will be the new generation of worker

Join this episode of In the Nic of Time with Special Guests Ryan McLean and Andrew Crerar, TAK Product Center to hear them discuss their journey, how they are funded, their tech stack, the issues adopting Android and their accreditation. They also look at their numerous partnerships with other agencies like DHS and FYEY nations, their open source work, and what the future looks like with AI and ML.

Currently, federal agencies are planning to implement Zero Trust in alignment with the federal Zero Trust architecture strategy released by the Office of Management and Budget. A core principle of Zero Trust is comprehensive visibility, including devices, data and users, which aligns to CDM capabilities that have been implemented throughout agencies today. Join this episode to hear from Shahid Qamar, Regional Sales Manager - Department of Homeland Security, Palo Alto Networks and Richard Grabowski, Program Manager (Acting), Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program (CDM), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Don't miss as we discuss how: CDM is assisting agencies in planning for Zero Trust. Agencies are leveraging current dashboard data to accelerate Zero Trust initiatives. XDR / EDR is being deployed for greater visibility into threats into agency networks CISA coordinating the deployment of EDR-like  tools and establishing information-sharing capabilities and challenges that have come with it.

Join this episode of In the Nic of Time with Special Guest, Duncan Jones, Head of Cybersecurity, Quantinuum as they discuss how Quantum can bring good things to our nations and how it can be leveraged to generate next generation crypto keys.

Join this episode of Doing Tech Better in Government with Brian Fox and Special Guest, Graham Baggett, Chief, Interactive Update Systems Branch/DITD, U.S. Census Bureau as they sit down to discuss Mr. Baggett's journey through Federal IT, the technical and digital improvements happening at Census, changes in the next decennial, and their engagement with the American public.

Join this episode of The Year of Zero Trust with Jim Richberg as he sits down with special guest, Kenneth Myers, Director, Identity Assurance and Trusted Access Division, Office of Governmentwide Policy (OGP), GSA, to discuss the following questions: What do you see as the role for partnership on IT and security within government, with industry, and with academia? Zero Trust was the primary focus of EO 14028, and digital identity seems to be core to Zero Trust and many other aspects of digital transformation. What is GSA’s role in Identity, Credential and Access Management within the Federal Government? What is digital identity so important today? OMB announced their administration cybersecurity priorities for the FY24 budget. Zero trust and accelerated adoption of secure cloud infrastructure are prominent. How is the FICAM Architecture adapting? Agencies want to automate and use Robotic Process Automation. What is the intersection with securing access? Data protection comes up a lot when we hear about breaches and cyber attacks. What are the FICAM best practices to protecting data? You’ve been involved in Federal Identity for some time now, how can others get involved? Are there other technologies or issues we haven’t discussed that you see as important?

Few agencies have been in the news more than the Internal Revenue Service. In this episode, Nina sits down with Ken Corbin – the first Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer at the IRS. In this role, Ken focuses on overseeing the agency's efforts to radically improve taxpayer services. Together, they take a deep dive into customer experiences, building mission-ready teams, and the unexpected benefits of sharing bad news early. Timestamps: 1:53 Ken tackles Nina's famous "Crystal Ball" question by highlighting two critical words for the Future of Work in Government: Choice and Access 3:50 The enormous task of pivoting 15,000 mostly on-site customer service representatives to full telework at the start of the pandemic 5:27 Getting ahead of the curve: How can you get a huge agency to try new things? 7:58 The secret to winning the retention battle: understanding what truly motivates and engages your workforce (hint: it isn't just salary) 9:34 Starting out as a GS-01, how the government became a calling and a career 12:40 More than W2s: how IRS employees serve the country 18:30 "Hear Me Sessions" the IRS revolutionizes the customer experience and even protects citizens from tax scams by listening to front-line employees 23:10 The surprising benefit of owning experiences and sharing bad news early 25:00 Why it's impossible to over-communicate   30:52 Ken waves the magic wand, what does he wish for? Links: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-creates-new-chief-taxpayer-experience-officer-position-ken-corbin-to-lead-new-focus-to-improve-service-to-taxpayers Connect with Nina and Chris: Nina Bianchi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bianchininafuture/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaFuture Christopher Crist: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-crist-a1544a135/

Join this episode of In the Nic of Time with Kyle Fox ,Chief Software Officer, Western Development Division, U.S. Air Force as they talk about the rise of Software Defined Weapons: what are they, can DevSecOps really be leveraged for jets, nuclear systems, and how it was to be the CSE for GBSD, the largest nuclear DAF program.

Whether we plan for it or not, organizations have internal cultures that determine the employee experience, and, by extension, the customer experience as well. In this episode, Nina and Chris sit down with Erik Anderson, the Chief of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Office of Administration which oversees the day to day operations of the agency. As a newer Senior Executive, Erik brings fresh perspective and insight on leadership theories and ideas…theories that were put to the test as he took the lead of his organization in the midst of the pandemic. Join us as we discuss what has proven to work in the crucible of managing a new organization in challenging circumstances, and the importance of planning for the culture you want to build. 1:50 - Chris' favorite question: what does the future hold when it comes to digital and workforce transformation in the federal government? 2:38 - Out of a season of challenge, change, and transition, an emerging opportunity to embrace new technologies 4:05 - Culture starts at the top: Erik shares his experience of being called into a new leadership position in a completely new organization in the middle of the pandemic, and realizing that before anyone would trust him he'd have to set the tone by opening himself up first 7:40 - As leaders, we can sometimes worry about those we lead abusing our trust. But the truth is if there is mutual trust between you and your employees, more often than not they will make you look like a genius 9:23 - How does a culture of trust in the workforce affect the customer experience? 10:57 - Culture happens no matter what, so why not plan for the culture that we want in our organizations? Developing metrics and plans around what kind of culture we want to build as an organization 14:32 - What does it cost to change a culture? What is the cost of ignoring it? 16:30 - How to measure a culture: concrete steps, metrics, and methods. Oh, and once a year isn't enough (looking at you, FEVS!) 19:45 - The critical role of doing exit interviews for EVERY employee who leaves your organization…and doing "stay" interviews for those who don't 24:57 - Setting aside your title: how humility in leadership can open the door for organizations to find both unexpected opportunities and advance warning of incoming threats 27:30 - Where career advice and workforce transformation meet: don't look for jobs, look for quality (humble) leaders 30:07 - What this looks like in IT: when those in leadership feel the need to be the smartest person in the room, other team members run out of room to contribute and grow 34:30 - Wave the magic wand! Erik's one wish for moving the ball forward when it comes to workforce transformation Connect with Nina and Chris: Nina Bianchi: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bianchininafuture/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/NinaFuture Christopher Crist: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-crist-a1544a135/