FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Editor’s note: This is part of a series of articles aiming to help Defense Logistics Agency employees return to the office in January. The articles will address several areas, providing tips and information to ease the transition.
A little preparation may ease the transition to working more often in the office starting this January.
Defense Logistics Agency Information Operations encourages the workforce, especially those who have not been at their workspaces for an extended time, to evaluate their office workspace before Jan. 2.
Users should make sure they have the equipment they need at their desks and test their network connection on site, said Nicolette Whitney, strategic communications team liaison for DLA Information Operations. She also suggested submitting requests for equipment or tickets for issues through the DLA Service Portal (internal DLA link) as early as possible.
“We know that not all employees have assigned spaces yet, but assessing IT needs when they do will not only help them to hit the ground running on Day One, it will give our information technology technicians ample time and resources to fulfill requests across the enterprise,” Whitney said.
Employees also should check if they are still mapped to the printers in their office, obtain wireless passwords (internal DLA link) that may have changed and log into their desk phone.
“The bottom line is, if you have the opportunity to test these things prior to coming back into the office, it will make that return a lot smoother,” she said.
Information Operations has a comprehensive website (internal DLA link) with frequently asked questions and other information to make the shift back into the office easier.
The directorate also is anticipating a surge in headset requests and has a robust stock in inventory to meet the demand, said Sara Moore, division chief for strategic communications and knowledge management with DLA Information Operations. Requests for headsets must be made through the DLA Service Portal.
Employees are allowed to connect with their own wired headsets, but Bluetooth and wireless headsets are not authorized, she added.
The DLA Service Portal also is a resource for outage information and service catalog requests such as IT support for conference rooms, new equipment requests and more, Whitney said. The portal includes announcements and banners with information about trending IT topics and issues as well as a library of knowledge-based articles to help employees troubleshoot common issues themselves, Moore added.
Employees who were previously directed to move their workstations should update their information and new location in the ID Card Office Online, (internal DLA link) she added.