News Briefs

THE DAILY FED

News Briefs

SECTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM:

20th Annual May Training Program

The 20th annual May Training Program will be held at the Arlington [Texas] Convention Center from 8:00am to 4:00pm on Tuesday, May 13th and Wednesday, May 14, 1997. The two-day training program consists of 13 professional speakers who will present 20 different workshops on a wide variety of topics such as motivation, organizational improvement, successful writing, sexual harrassment, communication strategies, career advancement, and many more. Some workshop titles include:

• How to Manage Projects, Priorities, and Deadlines;
  
• Communicate With Clarity, Confidence, andCreditability;
  
• Technology Never Stands Still.. Neither Should Your Career;
  
• Leapfrogging Roadblocks to Organizational Harmony;
  

Conference costs are $45 per day. Complete conference details are available at http://r6ser1.r06.epa.gov:8000/dfwfeb/calfwp.htm. The registration deadline is April 11,1997. For questions, please call Cheryl Moore, FWPC President, at 817-847-3898.

Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) Seminar

This two-day seminar scheduled for May 1 and 2 at OPM [in Washington, DC], is designed to help Employee Assistance Program counselors and other mental health professionals in developing and managing a CISD team. The seminar prepares participants to provide a variety of crisis services for distressed employees after a traumatic event occurs at work. For more information call Sheila Rozier at (202) 606-1269.

Third Annual Performance Management Conference

May 13-14, 1997, in McLean, VA, at the McLean Hilton Hotel. This conference is designed to provide practical, cutting-edge information on a wide variety of topics related to performance appraisals and awards. To receive a brochure, call (202) 606-2720, or fax a request to (202) 606-2395. For additional conference information, call Digna Carballosa at (202) 606-1778 or E-Mail dmcarbal@opm.gov.

The following news summaries are from OPM AM, the daily newsletter of the Office of Personnel Management. OPM AM is available on OPM Mainstreet, the agency's electronic bulletin board, at 202-606-4800.

APPOINTMENT--"The President yesterday recess appointed James B. King to be the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He was nominated for re-appointment on March 6, 1997, and his nomination is currently pending before the Senate" (White House News Release, April 7).

BUYOUTS--"Since March 30, 1994, when President Clinton signed the Workforce Restructuring Act, which authorized the use of monetary incentives to federal employees who volunteered to retire, resign, or take voluntary early retirement, the federal workforce has shrunk to a size it has not been in over 30 years. This finding is contained in a report to Congress from the Office of Personnel Management detailing buyout activity in Executive agencies" (Office of Communications).

THE FEDERAL DIARY--"The White House says it won't drop or modify the president's proposal to cut $6.2 billion in federal retirement plan payments and costs next year" (The Washington Post).

OF INTEREST--...How to assess the values of prospective employers (The Wall Street Journal, Managing Your Career)...How to get a handle on impossible people (USA TODAY)...National Park Service managers have been ordered to increase the diversity of their temporary seasonal workers or be marked down on performance appraisals (The Washington Times).