Annual DMPO workshop comes to Indy

Photo By Celena Wilson | Susan Gillison, Defense Finance and Accounting Service Field Services Division director, along with Kim Lawrence, Al Easter and Bill Wells, FSD branch managers, listen to a briefer during the Defense Military Pay Office Directors’ Workshop at DFAS Indianapolis June 14, 2018. The division, the direct DFAS link to the DMPOs, supports the day-to-day operations of the financial needs of Army Soldiers. (DoD photo by Celena Wilson)  

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, UNITED STATES

06.15.2018

Story by Celena Wilson 

Defense Finance and Accounting Service

INDIANAPOLIS – June 15, 2018 – Directors and supervisors from the Defense Military Pay Offices from all over the world arrived at Defense Finance and Accounting Service Indianapolis for their annual DMPO Directors' Leadership Workshop June 11-14.
DFAS Field Services Division hosted the 64 attendees who came from each of the DMPO sites.
The workshop included briefings from several mission areas to help the attendees better take care of Soldiers' finance issues and the DFAS employees under their charge.
FSD has conducted 28 workshops since the inception of the division. Many participants attended workshops in prior years; however, there were many new faces in the crowd.
"It's great to have lots of resources all in one place," said Dennis McCleod, DMPO military pay supervisor from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. "It was hugely beneficial to get the information by those who know the information firsthand."
Highlights from the workshop included briefings from:
• an employee support panel,
• a Human Resources panel,
• Financial Management Audits,
• Information and Technology,
• Cyber Certification,
• DFAS Rome Travel,
• Army Criminal Investigative Division,
• Defense Travel System, and
• U.S. Army Financial Management Command.
On the second day of the workshop, attendees welcomed keynote speaker and leadership consultant Mike Evans. His presentation, "Achieve with Accountability," included a full day of activities with thought-provoking insights into how to strengthen supervisory skills.
Several leaders said the presentation reinvigorated their drive to increase employee engagement.
"The new leadership techniques that were introduced will help me do a better job as a leader," said Army Sgt. Maj. Charles Shriner, Financial Management Support Unit sergeant major from DMPO Fort Hood, Texas.
As a new supervisor in attendance, McCleod said he found alternative ways to communicate to his subordinates to ensure their needs are being met.
"(Evans) brought up good points about asking employees 'Am I going in the right direction?' in terms of taking care of their needs," he explained. "We have to understand how employees may need our help."
One of the most anticipated discussions on the schedule was the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System-Army panel discussion which included Army Brig. Gen. Robert Bennett, Army Human Resources Command adjutant general from Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Karen Perkins, Army Installation Management Command human resources (G1) director from Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
IPPS-A is an Army program geared to the merging of personnel and pay functions into one organization.
"In the past, DFAS has been the translators of the messages from IPPS-A," said Susan Gillison, FSD director. "By opening these lines of communication, it will allow DFAS to be included in the development process. And the message that was delivered by the panel is they want DFAS to be a part of this process.
"While these changes will be huge, they will ultimately be in the best interest of our warfighters," Gillison added. "By continuing to show our value, the Army will want our employees to be in that new environment."
This presentation did clarify the future implementation of IPPS-A.
"The biggest benefit from the IPPS-A panel was the discussion of what has been accomplished, the training plans and the future plans and estimated time for completion of this process to launch" said Kathy Schenker, DMPO Indianapolis director.
These annual sessions not only bring the geographically-separated DFAS employees to a single location, but it also gives them the opportunity to gain the latest information to take back to the employees who were unable to attend and receive the same message.
The workshop was "very well organized with a broad and diverse spectrum of information," Shriner said.
"The amount of information we received and how easily we will be able to take it back to our DMPOs is so valuable," McCleod concluded. "It was good to get information from the subject-matter experts on updates to existing programs and upcoming changes on the horizon. The whole workshop was nothing but good."

• Date Taken: 06.15.2018
• Date Posted: 12.31.2018 18:01
• Story ID: 305928
• Location: INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US