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Metronome’s NewsletterSeptember 2019

Issue No. 18

Metronome’s NewsletterSeptember 2019

Issue No. 18

1 Message from JenBY JENNIFER VIRGAChief Executive Officer Jen Virga reflects on the last quarter of and what’s next for Metronome.

2 The New DCSABY DEBORAH McCLINTONOur FSO shares what you need to know about the transfer of investigation operations from the OPM to DoD.

3 Cloud CollaborationBY METRONOME ITThe cloud has transformed how we can connect and collaborate. Learn more!

4 OpportunitiesAvailable positions for you, friends, and family to apply for.

6 Social UtopiaBY ROBERT “RJ” WEDDLEWe have many needs. Learn some tips and tricks on how to satisfy social needs at work.

7 Diane BY DIANE STEINWEGWe shine a spotlight on Diane Steinweg, a Pulser creating a spark in New Mexico.

8 Quarterly CelebrationsCelebrate this quarter’s upcoming birthdays, last quarter’s anniversaries, life events, and new Pulsers!

9 Missed the BoatBY VIRGIL VIRGAMetronome President, Virgil Virga, shares his quar-terly anthem: Missed the Boat by Modest Mouse.

14 Fun & AdventuresSnapshots of fun and celebrations from this past quarter.

Contents

cover illustration: stock.adobe.com ©kanbokeh on this page image: stock.adobe.com ©gudrum

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Introduction

Message from JenJennifer Virga, Metronome’s Chief Executive Officer, highlights the big takeaways from the

last quarter and what you should know for the road ahead.

BY JENNIFER VIRGA

The long hot days of summer are nearly over. I hope you enjoyed the season! Let’s touch on some successes from the last few months and

what we have coming up.

Inc. 5000We are humbled to be ranked on Inc. 5000’s list of fastest growing private companies in America. This is our fourth year on the list. To make it to on this list year-after-year-after-year-after-year is tremendous! As a Pulser, each and every one of you make this accolade possible. Thank you for all you do. We look forward to seeing our Metronome family continue to grow.

Employee HandbookOur Human Resources team recently sent out an up-dated Employee Handbook. We had several changes to topics including our Corrective Action Procedure and Periodic Re-investigations, among others. As an employee, it is your responsibility to read and comply with the policies in the handbook, including any re-visions. Please reach out to the HR team if you have any questions at hr@wearemetronome.com.

Annual Barbecue - D.C. AreaOur Annual Barbecue is scheduled for Septem-ber 29th from 12 pm to 4 pm. We will have a face painter, moon bounce, DJ, and lots of food. Kids are very welcome. We hope you and your loved ones will be able to join us for a wonderful fall celebration! Please note, if you have joined us in the past, we have a new location! The Barbecue will be at the Frying Pan Park Pavilion in Herndon, VA.

ReferralsOne of the great perks of being a Pulser is that you are eligible for our Referral Program. Send us a resume of a skilled and experienced friend! If that person is hired and stays with us for more than 90 days, you would receive a referral bonus between $500 and $2,000. Bonus amounts vary based on the clearance level and exemption status of the position. Pulsers receive one lump sum payment for their referral bonus. We hope you take advantage of the program and help us bring on motivated and pas-sionate Pulsers like yourself!

——————

As always, thank you for your hard work and for being a SPARK that ignites passion for our customers

and each other.

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The New DCSA

The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) operations are transferring from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to the Department of Defense (DoD).

The Defense Security Service (DSS) has also been renamed to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). What does all this mean and what is the impact to you? Let’s go over some frequently asked questions.

Why? “The FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act mandated a phased transition for the DoD to conduct the background and security investigations for DoD personnel.”1 Ultimately, the Administration opted to combine all background investigations under one entity to ensure a unified and efficient approach to the vetting process.

When?On 24 April 2019, the President enacted Executive Order 13869, Transferring Responsibility for Background Investigations to the Department of Defense. The Secretary of Defense and the Director of the OPM are working together to provide a phased transition of investigations conducted by the NBIB to the DSS.

Message from our FSO

BY DEBORAH MCCLINTON

The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) operations are transferring from the OPM to the DoD. Learn more about the change and the impact to you.

Effective 20 June 2019, the DSS was also renamed to the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency (DCSA) as a part of the transition. The DCSA is a joint agency which combines the operations of the NBIB and DSS. The full transfer of NBIB’s mission, personnel and resources will be complete by 1 October 2019.

What is the impact? DCSA will now be the primary federal entity for conducting back-ground investigations. The NBIB and the DSS will continue to work in an integrated manner to minimize disruptions to existing missions while beginning the transfer process. DCSA will also “execute responsibilities relating to continuous vetting, insider threat programs, and any other responsibilities assigned to it by the Secretary of Defense.”2

If you have any questions, please our FSO, Deborah McClinton at 703-865-0512 or metrofso@wearemetronome.com. n

1 https://nbib.opm.gov/news/nbib-news/2019/04/nbib-supports-president’s-deci-sion-to-merge-operations-with-dod/2 https://www.dss.mil/About-Us/News/News-Display/Article/1884750/new-agen-cy-name-acting-director/

stock.adobe.com © golubovy

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Message from IT

Cloud CollaborationBY METRONOME IT

There will always be a need to connect and collaborate with others. However, how we do so has changed drastically. How can you make the most of what the cloud offers?

Arguably one of the hottest technology words in the busi-ness world right now is ‘cloud.’ To many, that term may be synonymous with AWS (Amazon Web Services), the indus-

try-leading effort to change the way both businesses and consum-ers adopt information technologies. To others it’s an ambiguous term, shrouded in mystery and often inadequately described to capture all of the services possible under its mantle.

However, in 2018, 77% of businesses reportedly relied on cloud services for application or infrastructure support.1 Due to the flexible nature of cloud computing, the ever-increasing trend of geographically diversifying workforces allows for disparate teams to still collaborate on shared resources and documents. Of course, the positive shift in collaborative culture presents new challenges, such as coordinating with teammates who may no longer reside in the same physical space they used to.

Throughout centuries, the technologies we use to connect and collaborate across physical distance has evolved. We have used horseback messengers, harnessed radio waves for voice commu-nication, and used high definition cameras emulate face-to-face conversations.

Cloud technologies allow for simultaneous access to shared re-sources. Even modern technologies, once considered industry-stan-dard, may be seen as hindrances to tasks and projects which can be tag-teamed almost instantaneously. For example, a team of five collaborators can assemble thoughts in a single live Word or Google document. Phone calls may slow down progress unnecessarily.

Collaborative technologies leveraging the cloud have gained traction in the last ten years. Microsoft and Slack are not just capitalizing on the shifting work culture. The companies are actively defining it by creating tools such as MS Teams and Slack, with robust collabora-tion features distinguishing them from traditional chat clients. Slack has grown immensely from its 2009 beginnings, becoming a pub-licly-traded company in June with a value of over $20 billion.2 But despite its financial success, Slack’s 10 million users still trail MS

Teams’ 13 million users as of July 11. Such large user bases have significant implications due to both applications providing wide-au-dience appeal with their ability to connect to multiple applications in the same session.3

For instance, let us return to those five collaborators we talked about earlier. If the team were to connect their document to an MS Teams group, their chat could reside in the same window as their shared document. They would also be a click away from their Out-look calendars, cloud storage directories, and workflow templates to automate tasks.

Cloud-based capabilities have a nearly endless list of integration possibilities. The potential is incredible and makes for a swift and positive assessment of a tool like MS teams (or Slack) and its impact on team productivity and success. n

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2018/08/30/state-of-enterprise-cloud-com-puting-2018/#587f2967265e [2] https://www.businessinsider.com/insiders-employees-getting-rich-on-slack-ipo-2019-4 [3] https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/11/20689143/microsoft-teams-active-daily-us-ers-stats-slack-competition

stock.adobe.com © BigBlueStudio

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Open Positions

Queue Monitoring - Tier II Annapolis - Junction, MD

Security Engineer - Jr. Alexandria, VA

Security Engineer - Mid Alexandria, VA

Senior Secretary Springfield, VA

Senior Secretary Springfield, VA

SharePoint Architect - Sr. Ft. Belvoir, VA

SharePoint Engineer Springfield, VA

Software Assurance - Sr. Springfield, VA

Software Engineer Pasadena, CA

Solutions Architect Hanover, MD

Splunk Engineer Alexandria, VA

Splunk Engineer - Mid Alexandria, VA

Splunk Engineer - Sr. Alexandria, VA

Staff Officer Support McLean, VA

Systems Administrator (Linux) - Sr.

Reston, VA

Systems Administrator 0 Springfield, VA

Systems Administrator I St. Louis, MO

Systems Administrator II Springfield, VA

Systems Administrator II Springfield, VA

Systems Engineer Pasadena, CA

Systems Security Engineer Dahlgren, VA

UX Product Designer Springfield, VA

VAT Analyst - Jr. Alexandria, VA

VAT Analyst - Jr. Alexandria, VA

VMware (ESXi) Systems Engineer St. Louis, MO

Web Applications Developer Dahlgren, VA

Are you looking for a change? Contact your Manager if you'd like to apply to a different position within Metronome. You can also refer a friend! Ask them to send their resume to referrals@wearemetronome.com. For each referral hired, you

could receive a bonus between $500 and $2,000 (depending on clearance and exemption status).

Administrative Assistant Chantilly, VA

Administrative Secretary Springfield, VA

Administrative Secretary Springfield, VA

Business Process Engineer Annapolis Junction, MD

Configuration Manager Annapolis Junction, MD

Corporate Communications III Springfield, VA

Cyber Security Engineer Washington, DC

Dev/Sec OPS - Jr. Springfield, VA

Dev/Sec OPS (CBP) - Mid Alexandria, VA

Enterprise Management Systems (EMS) Engineer

Springfield, VA

Executive Assistant I McLean, VA

Executive Assistant II McLean, VA

Intelligence Program Advisor - Sr. McLean, VA

Lead Software Engineer - Sr. Springfield, VA

Legislative Support McLean, VA

Linux Systems Administrator Dahlgren, VA

Mission Assurance Analyst Annapolis Junction, MD

Office Management/Staff Officer St. Louis, MO

Office Management/Staff Officer III

Springfield, VA

Office Management/Staff Officer IV

St. Louis, MO

Office Management/Staff Officer V

Springfield, VA

Oracle and GoldenGate DBA Reston, VA

Paralegal McLean, VA

Process Improvement Engineer IV Springfield, VA

Program Manager Keyport, WA

Opportunities

To see our most current list of open positions, please visit Careers page.

703.957.4082 | www.wearemetronome.com | referrals@wearemetronome.com

Send your referrals to our recruiting team at:

referrals@wearemetronome.com

Visit us online for a full list of our current opportunities:

www.wearemetronome.com

REFERRAL PROGRAMhelp us grow our metronome family

CULTURE • driven by our people, purpose, and valuesMetronome set out to be a culture-driven company from the start. Today, we are a vibrant organization that our employees love to be a part of and customers enjoy working with. Our culture is based on our core values which are fundamental to who we are and how we aspire to do business every day. As a whole, we work with passion, we strive to improve, we support our teammates and our customers’ missions, and we take time to celebrate success.

If you have any friends that you believe could qualify for a position with Metronome, please refer them! For each referral hired as an employee, you could receive a bonus between $500 and $2,000, depending on clearance level required by the position and exemption status. After the person you refer is employed for 90 days, you will receive your bonus in one lump sum in your regularly scheduled paycheck.

Cleared and Exempt

Cleared and Non-Exempt

Uncleared

$2,000 $1,000 $500

You may see a full list of openings on our website at www.wearemetronome.com. You may send your friend’s resume to referrals@wearemetronome.com.

/Metronomeusa @metronomellc /metronome-llc

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Tips & Tricks

Social Utopia

In 1943, an American psychologist named Abra-ham Maslow wrote a powerful book, A Theory of Human Motivation. The book gave birth to what

many people know today as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, typically displayed in a five-level pyramid. The pyramid has two categories of needs - Deficien-cy Needs and Growth Needs.

The deficiency needs include physiological, safety, love and belonging, and esteem needs. Maslow posits that one must satisfy these four needs before one can achieve self-actualization, which is a growth need.

We all have our personal lives. We also spend a lot of time as employees of organizations. As Govern-ment contractors, we also work within our customers’ orga-nizations. Understanding how we can tend to our hierarchy of needs and support others is essential if we are to find self-ac-tualization.

Humans are primitively social creatures. How can we build a “utopia” in which we can all thrive? One thing is for sure. No matter what employee you talk to, whether they have been on the job for one day or twenty years, introvert or extrovert, you would get an array of opinions. What every individual wants in terms of social engagement is unique. That’s why it is so important for each of us to own it and drive the engagement we want.

It is incredibly helpful when a person works in a place where people actually want to work. In these types of workplaces, people have a sense of purpose, embrace diverse perspec-tives, and people have flexibility to live their lives outside work.

Even if you find yourself working in a place that’s not like this, hope is not lost.

It is imperative to realize that not everything needs to be a huge event or production in order to create a great work environment. A great start would be to simply walk over to someone and introduce yourself. Ask him or her where he or she are from or may have worked previously. Even just going around the office and saying “Hello” to everyone is great. If you have, introverts in your office try sending them a message on Skype. This will make them feel good, while still respect-ing their space. Another way would be to bring baked goods into the office or having a potluck. Food always brings people together, with smiles and happiness!

Each person plays a part in building a great office culture where everyone wants to be and perform, which is critical to the overall success of any organization. n

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human NeedsImage from https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571

BY ROBERT “RJ” WEDDLE

Everyone has needs. What can you do to tend to your needs even when you are at work? Here are some tips and tricks on building a social utopia at work.

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Pulser Spotlight

DianeDiane Steinwig is a Pulser creating a spark in New Mexico.

Here we shine a spotlight on the inimitable Diane!

What were you doing before you joined the Metronome family?When I was hired by Metronome, I was the Sr. Administrator working directly for the Facilities Site Manager at ADF-SW. For the three years preceding that assignment, I was working as the Engineering & Construction Site Business Administrator at Joint Defense Facility, Pine Gap.

What is the coolest thing you have done in your professional career?Living and working in Australia is about the coolest thing I’ve done, both professionally and personally. If you’d told me in April 2017 that in 3 months I’d be moving to Australia, I’d have told you “you’re crazy.”

The second coolest thing I’ve done professionally is being treated to the VIP tour at Edwards AFB which included the Anechoic Chamber and flying the Air Force flight simulators.

What are you most proud of?I am most proud of my son, Hayden. I’m still in awe that God chose me to be his mother and every day he amazes me. When he was small, he insisted on playing every sport and excelled at them all. Now that he’s in college, he has shifted all his energy to his studies and has gotten straight A’s so far.

Diane and her rescue pup, Oliver

Diane and her son, Hayden

What do you do to be a spark in your workplace?I bring my sense of humor to work with me every day. Work-ing in the Command Suite, there’s never a dull moment. Constantly changing priorities can get people wound up pretty tight, and humor is the best way I know to relieve the tension.

What is your favorite kind of music? I have the weirdest taste in music ever. My favorite is classic rock from the 70s and 80s but my playlist has everything from Glen Campbell and Miley Cyrus to Debussy’s Clair de Lune. n

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Quarterly Celebrations

CelebrateAugust

2: Jen Virga3: Rebecca Woolson

4: Dwayne Dillon4: Lynette Skipwith

7: Connor Beckmann15: Jill Andershonis

17: Pat Mercado22: Clint Campbell24: Robert Skehan

September1: David Mincey5: Billy Elliott II5: Shawn Wiles

9: Deborah McClinton10: Kimbrely Mickie11: Yolanda Spriggs12: Scott Daniels14: Jamie Hart

15: Brandon Cardona16: Jason Simpson17: Alan Isaacson20: Nicholas Arner

20: Monique Harvey23: Sean Gallagher24: Tonia Carron

25: Katina Jefferson26: Diane Steinweg27: Kristie Martin29: Terry Upton

October2: Galane Harrison

3: Johnathan Russell4: Egidio Jefferson4: James Obleton

5: Debra McDonald7: Frances James11: Matt Carabia

12: Tanya Harris-Drinkard20: Susan Parr

21: Donald Hogan24: Tom Stawski

November2: Mehak Dar

2: Lindine Creek8: Linda Rathke8: Janice Wilson16: Yianni Woods

19: Sandra Jackson21: David Embody

25: Benjamin Lackey26: Matt Mazarowski29: Brent Doddington

30: Kevin Siler

December11: Shane Johnson15: Mary McDowell25: Kenneth Scott26: Cameron Euler

Jasmine Giles

Kevin Warren

Patricia Mercado

Madeline Sykes

Kenneth Jones

Terry Upton

Sandra Spargur

Amy Roth

Debra McDonald

Yolanda Spriggs

Katina Jefferson

Kenneth Scott

Cameron Euler

Ronyce Wilkinson

Susan Parker

Daphine Mobley

Kerry Jackson

Sandra Spargur

Jason Goff

Lynette Skipwith

Deborah Reil

Patrice Longshaw

Christopher Level

Each quarter, we assemble lists of Pulsers celebrating milestones and achievements. If you see one of the below Pulsers, be sure to help them celebrate!!!

7 Year AnniversaryMatt Mazarowski

6 Year AnniversarySusan Parr

Nehemias Cerritos

Chris Demarest

5 Year AnniversaryRebecca Woolson

4 Year AnniversariesDeborah McClinton

Silvano Melgar

Sarah Soltis

Tom Snopik

Andre Jenkins

Maryanne Vaughn

3 Year AnniversariesLinda Rathke

Donald Hogan

Amina Mohamud

Galane Harrison

Robert Brown

Paul Morse

Farrington Wright

Jackie DeJesus

Phillip Davis

BIRTHDAYS ANNIVERSARIES NEW PULSERS

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LIFE EVENTSSarah Soltis: Sarah got engaged to Angelo Soares!

Nehemias Cerritos: Nehemias got married to Belky Yanes!Janice Wilson: Janice got married!

Jasmine Giles: Jasmine welcomed a new baby!Linda Yates Johnson: Completed a Bachelor’s degree!

2 Year AnniversariesTerence Bynoe

Rodrick Walker

Ever Cerritos

Robert Skehan

Scott Daniels

1 Year AnniversariesChristine StoutDavid Embody

Monique HarveyAntwain Donté HillJess Manalansan

Matt CarabiaDavid Mincey

Shane JohnsonKevin Siler

Clinton CampbellLa Shuntay Johnson

Frances James

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Quarterly Anthem

Missed the BoatBY VIRGIL VIRGA

Does it sometimes seem that no matter what you try, you hit a dead end? Almost like a brick wall stands behind every door you try to swing open. To add insult to injury, your brother is hitting on all cyl-inders, and your sister has a streak of wins that doesn’t end. You’re doing it all right but can’t get it right. You can see the end, but you can’t get beyond the beginning. “If I could just…”

Sometimes it just feels like you “Missed the Boat.” Missed the Boat is a Modest Mouse song. They unravel an ironic story of a struggler who can’t seem to get over many of life’s humps. Some may call the focus of this song is a victim. A victim of their own wallow.

Our protagonist is looking toward the future but begging for the past; he builds a pillar but ends up using the pillar, usually a symbol of strength, as a crutch. When he gets a big promotion, he wants to celebrate saying, “Yes, this is a fine promotion.” But to find success, he may have to compromise his values, so he declares that he will “laugh all the way to hell.”

As the unfortunate events unfold, he exclaims, “Well, nothing ever went quite exactly as we planned.” Though his thoughts were well thought out, he sets out to implement the ideas regardless of a good chance of them failing. He reports, “our ideas held no water, but we used them like a dam.”

Modest Mouse’s lead singer, Isaac Brock, never allows the protago-nist to succeed. The song is a sad story of how “ifs” and “not fairs” unfold in some form or fashion in all our lives…probably more often than we’d like to admit.

Coincidentally, when things aren’t going right, we tend to look toward the future and yearn for what we deserve or should have. Setting goals and visualizing what success looks like are important steps. However, wishing, hoping, and wanting are wastes of time.

Each quarter Metronome President, Virgil Virga, chooses a song as Metronome’s anthem. This quarter, he selected Missed the Boat by Modest Mouse.

When we can’t shake the dust off of our lives and find ourselves unhealthily coveting future success, we have to stop. We have to look into ourselves and the present state. We have to realize that it isn’t life that is derailing us. We are derailing us. Once we admit that we see ourselves as victims we can own our place in our own lives.

Everyone’s unhappy / Everyone’s ashamed / Well, we all just got caught looking / At somebody else’s pageThe thing is, everyone is not always unhappy and ashamed. Every-one is sometimes. If we can admit we are being victims and own where we are failing, then we can begin to improve our situation! Some folks read to learn. Some meditate. Some visit a therapist. We all can improve. You just have to be sure to do what makes sense for you. Don’t go looking at someone else’s page. We all have unique successes and remedies for failures.

It’s important to have a clear mind so you can create a new path or strategy for a way forward. A clear mind builds the confidence we need to follow that plan. It’s all about creating a plan and executing it.

Oh, and I know this of myself / I assume as much for oth-er people / Oh, and I know this of myself / We’ve listened more to life’s end-gong / Than the sound of life’s sweet bellsIt is hard to appreciate the things around us when we are acting like the world, and everyone in it is out to get us. When we are in a mode of creating and following the plans we have devised, that’s when life gives back. Life’s sweet bells are all around; we just have to remember to keep our minds clear so we can hear them. n

stock.adobe.com © Axtem

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Metronome, LLC11216 Waples Mill Road, Suite 105Fairfax, Virginia 22030

Fun & AdventuresCelebrations

wearemetronome.com /Metronomeusa @metronomellc /metronome-llc