TheAdvantageProSphere

Volume I Issue 4sprIng edItIon 2017

This Issue:CEOReflections

Employee Spotlight

Corporate Corner

Community Communiqué

HRPulse

FromThe Field

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In recognition of National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, ProSphere invited employees’ children, 6 years and older, to Alexandria, Va. office

April 26. Twenty-three children’s work-day began in the main conference room with an address from CEO Rodger Blevins and President Kevin D. Rice and each child introducing themselves. The youngsters each shared what school they attend and ‘what they would like to be when they grow up.’The children then enjoyed a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon, which kicked off a productive day of activities and games. One such event required the youngsters to separate into teams and develop a proposal for building a castle. The occasion ended with a ‘lessons learned from the day’ essay. Nine-year-old Matias Chase, son of Stephanie Chase, Director of Corporate Communications, wrote in reference to the castle proposal activity:

The event was planned and coordinated by Stephanie; Carleen Jarrett, Director, Marketing/CRM; and Dakota Duffy, Executive Assistant. “My own kids, who attended, had a blast,” said Kevin. “I had no idea that slime was such a big deal!

Work day for children of ProSphere

NIH Gala Pg 7The

AdvantageProSphere

You have to know the customers’ budget before you bid, and there is competition between businesses.

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CEO ReflectionsAs we hit our stride this summer, there is a lot to report on at ProSphere.

The weather is hot, and everyone is busy working towards the fiscal years’ end. We are looking forward to winning new contracts and we continue striving to deliver beyond expectations for our customers. The senior management team has traveled around the country to spend time at our contract sites. One of the most important part of our business is to stay engaged with our employees in the field.

A few months ago, the leadership team met and spent time focusing on strategic goals and initiatives for 2017. I’m happy to report that we are already working our way through meeting those objectives. Whether it be our strategy for organic growth or an approach to work-life balance, we plan to continue to grow the company and expand our offerings as an employer. Please see page 4 for more details.

With our employees in mind, we’ve hosted our first Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day here at headquarters. It was a productive event where we learned a lot about each child, and they were able to experience and interact with their parents’ coworkers.

We are also proud to have sponsored a table of eight at the NIH (National Institute of Health) Gala this year. Our participation and support in programs such as NIH gives ProSphere the opportunity to demonstrate our community outreach commitment and responsibility.

In closing, I’m happy to share with you that we are now able to call ourselves a V3 (Virginia Values Veterans) company. Although we have always had a Veteran hiring policy, we are finally formalizing this process and have been recognized by The Commonwealth of Virginia for our actions. We have been trained and certified and have already hired four out of our goal of 10 Veterans this year. So if you know of any great Veterans looking for a place to build a career, please have them reach out to us.

Have a safe and happy summer!

Sincerely,

Rodger Blevins Chief Executive Officer,ProSphere

Responsible business

Employee Spotlight

Project Manager, Team Lead honoredwith VA Challenge Coins

Employees Patrick Musaro and Michael Stewart were awarded Secretary of Veterans Affairs (SecVA) Challenge Coins January 21, by Acting SecVA Robert Snyder, for providing top-notch service to Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO). Patrick, Project Manager, and Michael, IT Team Lead, volunteered their

time on President’s Day to ensure six new VA executives had work stations up and running upon their arrival.Patrick and Michael were charged with activating the executives’ computers, which involved assisting with login procedures, email sync, internal messaging application (Microsoft Lync) activation, and encryption registration.“As VA executives, it was critical that their work stations and connections worked flawlessly,” said Patrick. “We also remained available the rest of the day to answer any questions and troubleshoot unforeseen issues.”

According various military sources, Challenge Coins originate as a U.S. military tradition that symbolize unit identity and brotherhood. The coin has evolved over the decades into more than just a mark of representation for military members. They are actively traded among active-duty, retired, and civilian personnel within government agencies as a sign of respect and appreciation.“Patrick’s and Michael’s receipt of these coins demonstrates their work ethic and commitment in providing superior service to our customers,” said Don Shea, Director of Operations. “This is in line with ProSphere’s dedication to providing superior service to VA and all our government customers.”

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CorporateThe

Corner

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Kevin Rice, President, announced that ProSphere has been awarded four Task Orders under the Veterans Affairs Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG) Contract Vehicle. The contract awards include:

1. Veterans Health Administration Office of Safety & Risk Awareness Joint Centralized Credentials & Quality Assurance System (JCCQAS) System Analysis & Database Support

2. Benefits Gateway Services (BGS) Data Architecture Services3. Office of Administration Transit Benefit Program Automated Application – Sustainment & Enhancement4. Veterans Integrated Service Network Region 4, Region 4 NEC Private Branch Exchange (PBX) Maintenance

ProSphere strategic goals & CEO initiativesThis past fall, the leadership team spent three days off-site at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Va. to focus on the future of ProSphere. Through lots of presentations and white boarding, the team came up with the following:

Strategic goals1. Grow ProSphere in realized revenue in 2017,

and ensure financial health of company by achieving net margins targeted for each business unit (Civilian Agency IT, Health IT, VA IT, & DoD).

2. Diversify ProSphere business portfolio by winning at least five new contracts in agencies other than VA by the end of 2017.

3. Enhance ProSphere recruiting process to improve timeliness, quality, and quantity of candidates, and accountability by meeting established service level agreements.

4. Improve Project Manager acumen across the company as measured by increased customer and employee satisfaction and project performance.

5. Modernize ProSphere’s back office, equipment, and computing infrastructure capabilities by implementing new ‘best of breed’ technologies by December 31, 2017.

6. Develop two new practice areas to produce additional backlogged revenue across all ProSphere business units by December 31, 2017.

CEO initiatives• Develop and implement account management approach.

• Develop an internal and external communications process and policy through operational objectives and reporting.

• Establish an employee retention program. • Foster organizational effectiveness by expanding

management tools and creating resources to enhance managerial efficiency such as, management dashboards and structured meetings.

• Implement a ‘work-life Balance’ program that incorporates the following: ▪ Help employees prioritize between ‘work’

(career and ambition) and ‘lifestyle’ (health, pleasure, leisure, family, and spiritual development) to minimize employee burnout and enhance productivity.

▪ Apply for company awards such as Best place to Work.

▪ Develop and implement a policy for flexible work schedules.

• Develop a culture of transformation through challenge where openness, job security, coaching, and mentoring promote career growth and employee development.

Recent T4NG contract wins

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ProSphere ramps up commitment to hiring Veterans

Community CommuniquéProSphere is Veteran Strong – Veteran Proud. This means we are more committed than ever to hire those who have served our Nation. Our company is now officially one-star-certified under the Virginia Values Veterans (V3) program. V3, sponsored by the Commonwealth

of Virginia, is a platform that offers free training and certification for employers to help implement nationally recognized best practices in recruiting, hiring, and retaining high-skilled

and dependable Veterans.

In addition to V3 certification, ProSphere has hired a Veteran hiring consultant, James Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez is the former Deputy Secretary of Defense, Officer of Warrior Care Policy. He advised on coordination of recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration for wounded, ill, and injured service members across all the U.S. military departments. Prior to his appointment as Deputy SECDEF, Mr. Rodriguez was the Director for Veteran and Wounded Warrior programs at BAE Systems. In that capacity, he acted as the Corporate Liaison to senior military leaders, government officials, and nonprofit organizations for the White House Joining Forces initiative.

Russell Sandidge, PMI volunteer for 10 yearsProSphere Project Manager Russell Sandidge has chaired the Project Management Institute Washington, DC Chapter (PMIWDC) since 2007, where he leads a small team of volunteers. As the PMIWDC chair, Russell dedicates his time for various duties that include serving as Master of Ceremonies for events and coordinating and scheduling guest speakers. Most importantly, Russell assists Project Managers maintain their certifications such as Project Management Professional (PMP). For more information on PMI Washington DC, visitwww.pmiwdc.org.

This year, ProSphere donated $1500 to the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police. According to their website, the Fraternal Order of Police is the oldest and most recognized law enforcement organization in existence today. It serves the law enforcement community with support in legislative efforts, both at the state and local levels. For more information or to donate, visit www.fopofva.com

ProSphere attends NIH Hope eventIn continuation of ProSphere’s support of The Children’s Inn at NIH, this April, we sponsored a table of eight at their annual An Evening of Hope Gala, where more than 800 government executives and companies joined together to raise money for the organization. The Inn supports families and patients who undergo medical treatment at NIH. This year, the gala raised more than $900,000. “It was truly a heartwarming evening where kids and families have an opportunity to tell their stories to the public,” said Stephanie Chase, Director, Corporate Communications. “Families travel from all over the world to receive specialized, and sometimes physically demanding, treatment.” Representing ProSphere at this event were Carleen Jarrett, Dir. of Mktg./Cust. Relationship Mgmt.; Eric Hughes, VP of Business Operations with his spouse Patricia Hughes; Mary Shaffran, VP of Health IT; Roger Sam, VP of Practice Mgmt. and Mktg.; Sean Lenehan, VP of VA IT Services with his spouse Rachel Lenehan; Zubair Aziz, Account Executive, Health IT; and Mike Lopez, of ProSphere’s protégé company Premier Enterprise Solutions.

HRPulseMeet Your HR Department

Please welcome Ariel Erwin to the Round Rock, Texas, HR Department. Ariel came on board in March and is, among other things, responsible for employee on-boarding.

COMING SOON: ProSphere Wellness ProgramWe are working on a Wellness Program where you can lower your health insurance rates if you are an engaged Employee, e.g. by going to see your Primary Care Physician (PCP). More info to come soon!!

New Vacation Policy!We want to embrace a healthy work-life balance for all our employees. Effective February 16, 2017, employees are accruing

more vacation time quicker: after two years of employment annual accrual is up to 120 vacation hours, and after seven years of employment up to 160 vacation hours. For details, review Handbook Section 8.

Company Health Insurance Featured Plan PerksAt the USI Benefit Resource Center, Personal Benefit Advocates are available to answer your plan/policy questions, assist you with

eligibility and claim problems with carriers, explain the claim appeals process, and explain family status election changes (i.e. newborns, marriage, etc.). To speak to a Personal Benefit Advocate, call 855-874-6699.Virtual Doctor: A Virtual Doctor Visit allows you to see and talk to a doctor from your mobile device or computer without an appointment. Virtual doctors can diagnose and treat common conditions such as flu, pink eye, rash, sinus problems, and more. To find a virtual provider, go to www.myuhc.com.UHC Health4Me App: is designed to simplify access to your health care resources in a secure and convenient way. The App gives you easy access to your plan ID cards, account balances, claims, and has a Cost Estimator tool that allows you to estimate out-of-pocket costs up front and help find a provider closest to your location. Download App on www.myuhc.com. For details on all these benefits and more, visit the Insurance Portal on the Employee Resource Page.

Employee Assistance ProgramGuardian has an Employee Assistance Program called WorkLifeMatters that offers services to help promote well-being and enhance the quality

of life for you and your family. WorkLifeMatters offers assistance with health, family support, legal assistance, fitness, and work-related issues. For details see the brochure on the Employee Resource Page – Insurance Portal (headline Guardian), or at http://www.ibhworklife.com/. Every insurance benefit eligible employee can take advantage of the program, whether enrolled in the company’s health insurance or not.

10 Tips for Eating Healthier at Work1. Pack food and beverages for the week ahead. 2. Stock up on nutrition – fill your desk drawers, office fridge with a healthy variety of tasty

snacks.3. Pack lunch while you cook dinner.4. Take advantage of convenience – i.e. cereal in a cup, fruit cups etc.5. Add nutrition to your commute – pack a non-messy tasty treat for the car, bus or train ride.6. Pump up with protein power – i.e. nuts, seeds, soy nuts, yogurt, nutrition bar etc.7. Switch to a fruit dish.8. Drink plenty of water.9. Take a real break and enjoy your meal.10. Take a “fun size” sweet treat – don’t go for the king size candy

bars, but a “fun-size” version of your favorite sweet treat.

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We want to hear from you!HR Director:

Carola.Ammer@prosphere.com, 703.810.3007.

For general HR inquiries emailhr@prosphere.com or call 703.810.3085

Senior staff visits CDC Atlanta employeesThis April, ProSphere senior management visited with our corporate partners, clients, and staff who support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta-based complex. ProSphere currently have two subcontracts that employ four people in support of the CDC. The employees are Alexandria Harrison, SharePoint Developer; Jane Obi Data Manager; Susan Richardson, Technical Writer, and Weiming Zhu, Data Analyst. Weiming and Jane support the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Susan supports the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and Alexandria is new to the team. The visiting ProSphere staff included Kevin Rice, President; Mary Shaffran, VP of Health IT; and Monica Mohler, Director, Health IT.“We enjoyed getting to know our very capable employees,” said Kevin. “While ProSphere maintains a small presence at the CDC at this time, we are working to strengthen and expand our partnerships in support of public health.”

VA FSC contract option year exercised Employees at VA Financial Service Center IT Services (FSC-ITS) Austin, Texas celebrated the government exercise of a new contract option year with ProSphere March 23. Approximately 60 ProSphere employees, both from our Round Rock

office and FSC on-site, celebrated with free pizza and drinks. During the luncheon, Program Manager Steve Engle presented two Going the Extra Mile (GEM) awards to Sr. System Administrators Scott Butt and Bryan Taylor for providing excellent customer service.“This lunch was not only a way to celebrate the exercising of our contract’s option year, but also to continue the camaraderie of all members of the team providing service on our FSC-ITS contract,” said Steve. “In a way, the GEM awards are a reflection of our customer’s satisfaction with ProSphere’s contract performance.”

Touching base with WAPA employeesProSphere President Kevin Rice recently visited the Department of Energy Western Area Power Administration (DOE/WAPA) client and employees located in Denver. While there, Kevin received valuable insight of the on-site operations. Shu Street, Project Manager, met with Kevin and gave a tour of the Control Center that administers power distribution and monitoring for the region. During the tour, Kevin learned how energy is monitored and

managed from several resources and the role ProSphere employees have in the critical function of WAPA.“All-in-all, the trip was a success,” said Kevin. “The government on-site leadership expressed their appreciation and satisfaction with Prosphere and our on-site staff. The Department of Energy is one of the Civilian Agency Services largest customers and offers ProSphere a great opportunity to

grow the business unit.”

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From the field

ProSphere has incorporated Salesforce into our way of doing business. Salesforce is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) tool that allows us to create and manage connections, all in one place. It automates business processes, can establish a dashboard that displays the health of company operations and sales pipeline, and allows for virtual communities. It has a real-time communication feature called Chatter that allows for creating groups, sharing information with people on your team, and counter with other projects to compare notes.Salesforce is allowing us to foster organizational effectiveness by expanding management tools and creating resources to enhance managerial efficiency with management dashboards, structured meetings, and more.VA has also adopted Salesforce; therefore, as our biggest customer, Salesforce is a natural

evolution for our capabilities in serving VA. We currently have a Salesforce project at VA supported by Project Manager Monika Jaisingh. She works with the team at VA who is developing the Digital Transformation Center (DTC) that utilizes cloud development tools.

Salesforce’s key feature is called App Exchange that builds new or

integrate preexisting apps. This feature allows for developing automated processes and integrating external systems

that permit IT systems and business departments to view the

entire process in one place. For more information about building an app, visit https://appexchange.salesforce.com/.Salesforce is available for all ProSphere employees, so if you do not have an account yet, please talk to your hiring or program/project manager.

We have a new Website!Our new website demonstrates our commitment in presenting a uniformed professional brand that reinforces our devotion to providing superior services to our customers. The website reflects ProSphere’s obligation to moving IT forward by offering optimized functionality, advanced styling, and professional aesthetics. Take some time and explore the new website at www.prosphere.com

Submit your newsletter questions, comments and content ideas to: enewsletter@prosphere.com

Point of Contacts for ProSphere EmployeesHuman Resources:

HR@prosphere.com, 703.810.3017Payroll:

payroll@prosphere.com, 703.810.3403SharePoint Support:

sharepointhelpdesk@prosphere.comIT Support:

helpdesk@prosphere.comCommunications:

communications@prosphere.com

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