Love your King County employee benefits?
Want to help spread the word about the great employee benefits King County provides? The Benefits Team is looking for employees who utilize and love their employee benefits. If this is you—and you’d like to find out even more and help your coworkers learn about their benefit choices during Open Enrollment, Nov. 1–15, let us know!
Later this month, you will be provided with virtual training and materials, so that you can encourage participation in Open Enrollment, answer questions, and offer support to the people you work with.
Participation is strictly voluntary, on your own time, and non-work related. For more information, contact the Benefits Team at 206-684-1556 or KC Benefits.
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Facilities Management Division staff tackle big challenges
It takes a team to manage the challenges that 2020 has brought to King County and the world. The need for cleaning has increased incredibly from both COVID-19 and protests associated with racial injustice. Repeatedly, downtown county buildings have been tagged with graffiti. Facilities Management Division (FMD) employees have all stepped up, from trades workers to custodians, Utility workers and security officers, to name a few.
“I am just so proud of all the work FMD employees put in each and every day for this county,” said Aaron Bert, Deputy Director of Operations for FMD.
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Building a Future that Works celebration, October 20
The U.S. Department of Labor will host a virtual celebration of the 75th annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The event will explore the crucial role of accessible technology in this year’s NDEAM theme of “Increasing Access and Opportunity” for people with disabilities, and the Labor Department’s work to ensure that emerging technologies are accessible to all in the workplace. Features will include insightful dialogues with thought leaders and a video showcase of the latest innovations in communications, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and more.
- Tuesday, Oct. 20 from 11 a.m. to noon. Register here.
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Featured Job: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mediator
Salary: $97,787.25 – $123,950.94 Annually
Location: Seattle, WA
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Department: DHR – Human Resources
Job Number: 2020EM12244
Division: Career and Culture
Closing: 10/20/2020 11:59 PM Pacific
Learn more about this position or view all available positions.
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Media Representation of Race and Disability Lunch and Learn, October 21
The Department of Human Resources is hosting a Lunch and Learn discussion via Zoom that focus on Race and Disability. We will begin our discussion with a short captioned video and then have an open dialogue facilitated by Gloria Ngezaho, Jennifer Greenlee, Lili Stansberry, and Christina Davidson. All King County employees are welcome to join.
- Wednesday, Oct. 21, from noon to 1 p.m.
Please email Christina.Davidson@kingcounty.gov to register for the Lunch and Learn session. You will receive an Outlook calendar meeting invite with the Zoom link post registration.
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Fleet moves ahead with Lean projects, saving money and reducing waste
Folks in Fleet have been busy working on ways to make processes more efficient. In fact, they have three examples of new or improved processes that will save the county money, reduce waste, and free up staff time for other Lean work.
“We’ve been on a Lean journey way before I got here in late 2018,” said Lynn Walters, shop supervisor. “COVID slowed everything down but we were able to get back on track.”
Walters said there has been universal alignment and support of the Lean efforts from the shop floor to Fleet Operations Manager Chris Gavigan to Fleet Director Jennifer Lindwall and DES Director Caroline Whalen.
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Skype is retiring as King County moves to Microsoft Teams
Skype is retiring and King County is moving to Teams for all of our county communication. Most employees will move by the end of the year.
This means one click – in one application – will give employees:
- Instant Messages: Send IMs and chat with individuals, teams or groups, all in one location.
- Meet: Schedule meetings or invite anyone with an email address to join your meeting. Employees can collaborate in real-time, share screens or use a digital whiteboard.
- Call: Make and receive calls within King County or to outside people or groups, with no app needed.
- Collaborate: Teams will be a “one-stop” location for SharePoint, OneNote and Office tools.
- Live: Hold live events and meetings with audiences large or small.
Moving to Microsoft Teams is a big change, and KCIT is here to make it easy for each employee. There is a robust plan to support employees through this change:
- Teams Champions – Each agency will have a number of Teams Champions, or early adopters, within the department who can help answer Teams questions, share tips and tricks, and guide employees to available resources. More information will be coming soon.
- KCIT Training Hub – Employees are encouraged to watch their email for links to Teams training that is specific to their department’s implementation, or explore the KCIT Training Hub Teams page for more resources.
- Teams Live Labs – Before employees make the move to Teams for calls, meetings and chats, they will have the chance to attend an online, live lab for an overview of Teams and a chance to get questions answered. KCIT will share an invitation for these labs when the time comes.
For questions or more information, visit the Skype-to-Teams FAQs or contact the Helpdesk to get connected to a KCIT Trainer.
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Show your support for Latinx Heritage Month through the 2020 Annual Giving Drive
Latinx Heritage Month may be drawing to a close, but there are many opportunities to support nonprofits participating in the Annual Giving Drive whose work supports Latinx, Hispanic, and Latino-identified communities. Today we’ve highlighted four more nonprofits participating in this year’s campaign:
- Centro Cultural Guanín, Inc (0990): Our mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment where youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, develop confidence, and cultivate skills for life in the Dominican-Haitian community.
- Colectiva Legal del Pueblo (9918): We are a non-hierarchical collective founded by and for undocumented immigrants working to build a more inclusive movement for migrant justice through legal services and organizing.
- Entre Hermanos (9626): To support the Latinx LGBTQ community in a culturally appropriate environment through disease prevention, education, support services, advocacy and community building.
- Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (2851): MALDEF fights for the civil rights of Latinos living in our country. Please help remove the unfair obstacles and provide all Latinos with a voice.
There are hundreds of nonprofits working on the causes you care about that you can support in this year’s campaign. Find out the many ways that you can take action in support of the participating nonprofits who are doing great work in our community and around the world.
From now to Nov. 20, you can go online or use a paper form to make a pledge to your favorite Employee Giving Program nonprofits by:
- Payroll donation: One-time, once–per-month, or twice-per-month.
- Time donation: Eligible vacation or comp time. See your department Lead Ambassador for details in your office.
- Check or credit card: Made out directly to the nonprofit.
- Volunteering: Up to three sick days per calendar year at a nonprofit in the EGP (for non-represented and employees whose union has approved this benefit, including those covered by the Master Labor Agreement).
For more information, contact your Employee Giving Program Ambassador, visit www.kingcounty.gov/giving, email EmployeeGiving@KingCounty.gov or call 206-263-9405.
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Cast your vote early, make your voice heard
Dear Colleagues,
Voting plays a critical role in our democracy and our dedicated staff at King County Elections work tirelessly to ensure we have secure, accessible and accurate elections. This general election, we’re projecting a record-breaking 90% voter turnout. This is exciting! It also means we expect as many as 450,000 ballots returned through drop boxes on Nov. 3 alone. Beat traffic, avoid lines and ensure your voice is heard by making a vote plan and returning your ballot early.
Make a plan! Last week we mailed out ballots to nearly 1.4 million registered King County voters. If you haven’t received your ballot by Oct, 19, you can print a replacement ballot here. If you still need to register to vote, visit VoteWa.gov—yes, there’s still time! Once you’ve received your ballot and voted, there are three ways to return your ballot:
- At a ballot drop box. Find your nearest ballot drop box—no stamp needed! King County’s 73 drop boxes opened last week. Boxes are now open 24/7 up until Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. sharp.
- By mail. We recommend dropping your ballot in the mail by the Friday before Election Day to make sure it gets postmarked in time to be counted. Your ballot must be postmarked by Election Day. Please do not send your ballot through interoffice mail.
- At one of our accessible Vote Centers. This year we will be in seven locations: Elections HQ in Renton, CenturyLink Field Event Center, the Dempsey Indoor Center on the UW Campus in Seattle, Bellevue College, Showare Center in Kent, the Federal Way Performing Arts Center and Kenmore City Hall.
Track your ballot by using the My Voter Information tool and make sure your vote was counted.
Spread the word! Feel free to share on social media! Get the word out and encourage others to fulfill their civic duty by voting, too! Tag and follow us @kcelections on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Hashtags: #Hit90 #KingCountyVotes #GOTV #VoteWa. You can also access our Social Media Toolkit for posts and images.
As always, contact us with any questions or concerns you have. Email us at elections@kingcounty.gov or give us a call at 206-296-VOTE (8683).
Wishing everyone a safe and happy elections season! Let’s #Hit90!
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Collective care tips and emotional well-being resources for the LatinX/Hispanic community
LatinX/Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated every year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. As LatinX/Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, Balanced You would like to remind the LatinX community about resources available to support their emotional well-being, including spaces for celebration, joy, and connection; tips for self- and collective-care; and traditional mental health resources. Visit this Balanced You blogpost for more information.
Employee News 