Chamber C-Suite Roundtable Discusses Impact of a Government Shutdown

Last week's C-Suite Roundtable centered around the looming federal government shutdown. While the current agreement has pushed a possible shutdown deadline to November 17th, Chamber members and our Greater Washington Region could face the impact of a future government shutdown. We asked several member attendees their thoughts on what a shutdown could mean to their organizations:

Todd Rowley, Regional President, Old Dominion National Bank,

“Banks have faced previous shutdowns together with their government contracting clients. Banks, like ODNB, with experience in government contracting financing, have reached out to our clients to assure them that we are here to provide continued support to fund employee payrolls and operating expenses during this time.”

Ali Esfahani, Partner, USI Insurance Services,

“Shortly before the 2018/2019 shutdown concluded, Congress passed a law that would provide back pay to furloughed federal employees after the shutdown. OPM also continued health insurance coverage during that time without interruption. However, this protection was not extended to government contractors, many of whom went without backpay or compensation during the shutdown. Each government contractor had the choice of whether and how much to pay their furloughed workforce, but many simply could not due to thin margins, particularly for low-paid workers. Therefore, the brunt of the shutdown was felt acutely by the contracting community and its employees.”

Arthur E. (Bud) Morrissette, IV, CEO & Group President, Interstate Moving | Relocation | Logistics,

“The bulk of our organization has a substantial dependency on the U.S. Government as a client. In the event of a government shutdown, we would experience a halt in the issuance of new task orders, leading to a significant disruption in payment processing for the services we have already provided. This would, in turn, pose a substantial challenge to both our company and our employees. Furthermore, the relocation plans of government staff members we are currently assisting would be severely affected, necessitating rescheduling and impacting the overall smoothness of their transition. Additionally, those individuals already in the process of moving would face difficulties due to a lack of available government representatives to provide assistance, support, or address any inquiries while they are in transit.”

Take the Northern Virginia Workforce Index Survey today and help us predict future trends within our Region!

What will our Region's workforce hiring, recruiting, and retention look like in the future? How can you best anticipate future workforce trends and position your organization for success?

The Northern Virginia Workforce Index, an annual longitudinal study developed in partnership between the Chamber and Northern Virginia Community College, demystifies our Region's workforce trends with real, actionable data. This is an opportunity for you to benchmark yourself against your peers and help our Region--and your own organization--respond to the tight labor market. Through data collected via this survey, we will compile our annual report, providing our community's leadership with critical information on hiring, retention, and professional development trends among employers in the Region.

Add your insight to this 10-minute survey here. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. The third annual Northern Virginia Workforce Index Report will be released at the Annual Economic Outlook Conference on January 30, 2024. Details to come.

Young Professional Forum Fall Meet Up

October 10th | 4-6PM | Patsy's American

The Chamber is pleased to invite you to the fall meet-up specifically for our business community's Young Professionals. Join us for happy hour at Patsy's American at the Bar in the Back.

* Registration is free, you're on your own for drinks.

C-Suite Roundtable By Invitation, Members-Only

October 19th

Join Dr. J. Stephen Jones, MD, President & CEO, Inova, and Kathryn Falk, Vice President, Cox Communications, for a frank conversation on the state of healthcare in the Region, key insights and national trends in the healthcare industry, and lessons in leadership from the Region's largest private employer, Inova. We’ll discuss how health equity is central to our Region's economy, why the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have fundamentally changed healthcare delivery, and how the industry is managing through an unprecedented workforce crisis.

This Roundtable is sponsored by Inova and will be held at the Inova Center for Personalized Health Conference Center.

If you would like to add your name to our C-Suite Roundtable guest list, please contact Carmen Sevilla, Chamber Senior Manager, Member Engagement, at csevilla@novachamber.org.

C-Suite Roundtable By Invitation, Members-Only

October 24th

Our Region's workforce woes have become a common theme within our business community. Finding novel solutions to sourcing, training, and retaining new employees has become our modern day leadership challenge.

Join us for our October 24th C-Suite Roundtable where speakers Radha Muthiah, CEO, Capital Area Food Bank; Dr. Anne Kress, President, Northern Virginia Community College; and Cecilia Hodges, Regional President, Greater Washington and Virginia, M&T Bank, will discuss how their novel pilot program is bundling access to food, education, and the opportunity to interview for living wage jobs to improve students' lives... And our Region's workforce. Through their program, students pursuing higher education receive assistance to help them balance rising living costs and priorities that have traditionally derailed academic careers. Through this program, graduation rates have improved, resulting in better-qualified candidates.

This Roundtable is sponsored by Evans Consulting and will be held at Ruth's Chris.

If you would like to add your name to our C-Suite Roundtable guest list, please contact Carmen Sevilla, Chamber Senior Manager, Member Engagement, at csevilla@novachamber.org.

2023 Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards^TM Gala

November 1st | 5:30-10PM | Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner

Founded in 2002 in the shadow of 9/11, the Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards have honored an industry that is vital to our society and its citizens for two decades. The Greater Washington Government Contractor Award is the premier event honoring the leadership, innovation, and commitment to excellence of the people and businesses in the Region’s government contracting community.

Presented by the Chamber and the Professional Services Council (PSC)

Greater Washington Apprentice Network Employer Briefing

October 3rd | 2-3PM

Speaker: Janet Osborne, AON

Register Here by Noon Today

Chamber 101

October 10th | 12-1PM

Register Here

DEI Connects

October 17th | 2-3PM

Speaker: Sharnnia Artis, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, George Mason University

Register Here

Deltek announced that Hexagon US Federal, an independent subsidiary of Hexagon Corporation exclusively focused on bringing the broad range of Hexagon technologies to the US Federal government and its partners, has selected Deltek Costpoint GovCon Cloud Moderate (GCCM) as its cloud-based accounting solution, after an extensive review. Learn more here.

Looking for ways to give back to the community (or does your kid need volunteer service hours for school)? Volunteer Fairfax's VolunteerFest is a great way to learn about local nonprofits and to serve, along with hundreds of other volunteers, on one of 20+ service projects happening across the community during this special day of service event on October 21st. Learn more here.