{
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    "title" : "Webinar Recap: How to Build Your Digital Dream Team |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Webinar Recap: How to Build Your Digital Dream Team",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2022/08/01/webinar-recap-how-to-build-your-digital-dream-team/index.json","item" : [
    {"kicker" : "","title" :"Webinar Recap: How to Build Your Digital Dream Team","deck" : "","summary" : "Highlights from the Web Managers Community of Practice panel that shared how to get the right team in place to create a trusted, seamless online experience for all your customers.","date" : "2022-08-01T13:55:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"gabby-fratanduono-king" : "Gabby Fratanduono-King"},"topics" : {
        
            "digital-service-delivery" : "Digital service delivery",
            "governance" : "Governance",
            "product-and-project-management" : "Product and project management",
            "professional-development" : "Professional development"
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      "filename" :"2022-08-01-webinar-recap-how-to-build-your-digital-dream-team.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2022/08/2022-08-01-webinar-recap-how-to-build-your-digital-dream-team.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2022/08/2022-08-01-webinar-recap-how-to-build-your-digital-dream-team.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2022/08/2022-08-01-webinar-recap-how-to-build-your-digital-dream-team.md","slug" : "webinar-recap-how-to-build-your-digital-dream-team","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2022/08/01/webinar-recap-how-to-build-your-digital-dream-team/","weight" : "1","content" :"\u003cp\u003eDigital.gov’s \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/communities/web-content-managers/\"\u003eWeb Managers Community of Practice\u003c/a\u003e held an event in May 2022 with a panel of federal web managers on how to get the right skills, talent, and support in place to build a digital dream team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpeakers included \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/authors/laura-larrimore/\"\u003eLaura Larrimore\u003c/a\u003e from the the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/authors/tori-garten/\"\u003eTori Garten\u003c/a\u003e from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Health (NIAID), and \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/authors/victoria-mcfadden/\"\u003eVicki McFadden\u003c/a\u003e from the General Services Administration (GSA). The event was moderated by \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/authors/ruxi-giura/\"\u003eRuxi Giura\u003c/a\u003e, co-lead of the Web Managers community.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePanelists shared their experiences recruiting and hiring a top-notch digital team, and described solutions for how to do this work in the federal government.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIdentifying the key roles on a digital dream team and how to prioritize hiring;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHaving crucial conversations with your leadership on budgeting and hiring, including how to align job duties and classifications;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaking the case to educate decision makers;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeveloping strategic staffing plans; and\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreating a “future proof” roadmap for your digital team.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"positioning-your-team\"\u003ePositioning your team\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe panelists also shared information about their organizations, their teams’ positions in the agency, and critical partners they worked with to overcome recruiting and hiring challenges.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe NIAID team started as a team of one or two, but it has progressed from a team to an office, the Digital Information and Policy Office, to a branch — and is now known as the New Media and Web Policy Branch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"quote-block \"\u003e\n    \u003cblockquote\u003e\n      \u003cspan class=\"quote-block__quotation-mark\"\u003e“\u003c/span\u003e\n      Helping people understand what goes into crafting a good website can help you justify funding for the contractors or federal employees needed to have a solid digital presence.\n      \u003cspan class=\"quote-block__quotation-mark\"\u003e”\u003c/span\u003e\u003ccite\u003e— Tori Garten, NIAID\u003c/cite\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n  \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis office is located within the Office of Communications and Government Relations, and critical partners include staff in the information technology office, senior leadership, and over 100 content contributors\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaura was the first digital communication hire at USPTO, eight years ago. Over time, positions have been added to the team including a social media specialist, photographer, website editor in chief, junior social media specialist, manager, and several writers and editors, including two who are bilingual.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaura also emphasized the importance of working closely with the Office of the CIO on technical issues, emphasizing that the CIO is one of their most critical partners.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGSA’s Service Delivery team is brand-new, reporting to the Deputy Administrator. It was created to pair with GSA programs that deliver digital services to end users. The team is made up of three software developers, one acquisition strategist, a content designer, a user experience designer, and two product managers. They work closely with the staff offices and have critical partnerships with the Office of Customer Experience, Office of Strategic Communications, and GSA IT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"tips-for-the-hiring-process\"\u003eTips for the hiring process\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePanelists provided four key tips when starting a hiring process:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePromote telework and job flexibility. By not limiting the hiring pool to specific geographical regions, you can attract the most talented candidates from around the country to apply and join. Remote positions and a remote-first culture open up federal employment to a more diverse group of people who do not live in Washington, DC, and the surrounding metro areas.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUse tools that foster collaboration. Use collaboration tools that allow teams to co-work and form bonds regardless of their location. By using and promoting these tools, agencies can better support new hires by making sure employees have what they need to do their jobs effectively.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUse plain language for job postings. Include examples of job tasks so that people can really get a sense of what they\u0026rsquo;ll be expected to do day-to-day. If done right, candidates will be able to see themselves in the role, and go into the job with realistic expectations. Leverage plain language in performance profiles to give candidates an understanding of the job requirements and duties up front.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHost information sessions. Hold periodic information sessions to offer potential candidates an opportunity to learn more about working at your agency, available positions, and the application process. For examples, see the Join TTS website where they list their \u003ca href=\"https://join.tts.gsa.gov/\"\u003eupcoming hiring information sessions\u003c/a\u003e; some are general hiring info sessions, while others are specific to open roles.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\n\n\n\n  \n\u003carticle\n  class=\"dg-note dg-note--activity\"\n\u003e\n  \u003ch4 class=\"dg-note__heading\"\u003e\n    \u003csvg\n      class=\"dg-note__icon usa-icon dg-icon dg-icon--large\"\n      aria-hidden=\"true\"\n      focusable=\"false\"\n    \u003e\n      \u003cuse xlink:href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/uswds/img/sprite.svg#assessment\"\u003e\u003c/use\u003e\n    \u003c/svg\u003e\n    \n      \n        Activity\n      \n    \n  \u003c/h4\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJoin the \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/communities/web-content-managers/\"\u003eweb managers community\u003c/a\u003e today!\u003c/strong\u003e The community is a safe, collaborative space for federal employees to:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRecruit for positions on federal digital teams;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLearn about job openings at other agencies; and\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShare our successes and challenges to get the right skills, talent, and support in place to build a digital team.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"sample-job-descriptions\"\u003eSample job descriptions\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA position description, or PD, is defined by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.opm.gov/faqs/QA.aspx?fid=d2dc8952-41ec-434a-ac7e-bcb6ee8206ba\u0026amp;pid=c9df01f3-8580-4f87-88a4-3e26125f1205\"\u003ea statement of the major duties, responsibilities, and supervisory relationships of a position. In its simplest form, a PD indicates the work to be performed by the position. The purpose of a PD is to document the major duties and responsibilities of a position, not to spell out in detail every possible activity during the work day.\u003c/a\u003e” It will include an official series, title, and grade based on the results of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.opm.gov/services-for-agencies/classification-job-design/position-classification/\"\u003eclassification\u003c/a\u003e determination.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout the event, attendees asked panelists to share sample job descriptions. Below are some recent past openings at GSA that promote telework and job flexibility and are written in \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/topics/plain-language/\"\u003eplain language\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGSA’s Technology Transformation Services lists \u003ca href=\"https://join.tts.gsa.gov/past-positions/\"\u003epositions they’ve hired for in the past\u003c/a\u003e. You can use this page as a resource for people and teams across government to use when writing position descriptions in your agencies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso, GSA’s Service Delivery team held an \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/GSA/service-delivery/blob/main/team/GSA_Service_Delivery_Info_Session.pdf\"\u003einformation session (PDF, 2.1 MB, 27 pages)\u003c/a\u003e and hired three GS-15 career federal roles in 2022:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://github.com/GSA/service-delivery/blob/main/team/Product_Manager.md\"\u003eProduct Manager\u003c/a\u003e (closed)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://github.com/GSA/service-delivery/blob/main/team/User_Experience_Designer.md\"\u003eUser Experience Designer\u003c/a\u003e (closed)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://github.com/GSA/service-delivery/blob/main/team/Content_Designer.md\"\u003eContent Designer\u003c/a\u003e (closed)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrowse the \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/resources/sample-position-descriptions-for-digital-government-jobs/\"\u003esample position descriptions for digital government jobs\u003c/a\u003e for even more sample descriptions that you can use and customize to hire your own digital gov team.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you have a good sample position description to add to this list? Send it to us at \u003ca href=\"about:blank\"\u003edigitalgov@gsa.gov\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn closing, building a digital dream team requires some similar skills to building an excellent website:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommunicate with key stakeholders (to make the case for funding and positions);\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake data-informed decisions (to show the value of hiring skilled employees or contractors and to tell the story of ”if we hire X, we can accomplish Y”);\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlan the project (to map out how you will grow from one to two, to five, and more);\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWrite in plain language (to improve job descriptions); and\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse feedback to drive continuous improvement (to listen to your audience and learn from what you hear, such as hosting information sessions with potential candidates).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe look forward to continuing the discussion on the community listserv!\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}