RASKC kittens are a big hit in Chinook
Five kittens from Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) were welcomed with open arms in the Chinook building on Tuesday, December 5. The kittens were part of a “Kitty Café”, a KC Employee Giving Program event sponsored by the Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget and Seattle Meowtropolitan Café. The event highlights a partnership with cat cafes located in Seattle promoting the adoption of RASKC cats.
“There was a strong interest and tentative reservation made for 4 of the 5 kittens that were brought in,” Animal Services Administrator Lluvia Ellison-Morales said. “Overall, an overwhelming majority loved the well-organized event.”
Employees stopped by to pet the kittens, which were all eligible for adoption. Attendees were also able to donate to RASKC to further animal services throughout King County. The event raised nearly $700 to benefit RASKC.
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Stress less this holiday season: Self-care tips to consider during this busy time of year
Crossposted from KC Healthy Incentives
The holidays can be full of joy, loved ones, and fabulous food. They also can be triggers for sadness and fatigue. It’s especially important to practice stress management this time of year. Employee Health & Well-Being and King County’s Making Life Easier program offer the following tips to help you enjoy the season to the fullest.
Acknowledge your limits
You may feel pressure to cook and spend more money during the season. This can add stress to your routine and hurt your wallet. Keep expectations realistic by knowing your limits.
Read more at KC Healthy Incentives
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Jay Osborne to serve as Interim Director of HRD
Jay Osborne has accepted the position as interim Human Resources Division (HRD) Director, and will start full time on December 18, 2017. Jay has been with the County for nearly 30 years and comes with a wealth of skills and experience. Jay started his career as a summer hire with the Parks Division in 1988, and now he is the Deputy Director for the Road Services Division in DOT.
Jay offers strong leadership skills, vast budget process knowledge, and a solid operations background in HR as a people manager and deputy director. He also possesses collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, extensive experience building teams and developing people, particularly in the midst of transition. His empathy and understanding, along with his straightforward and decisive style, are some of the qualities that will support HRD in moving forward and building on our Investing in You work.
With Jay serving as Interim Director, the recruitment for the permanent HRD Director remains on track. The position is currently posted on King County’s website, and executive search firm Ralph Anderson & Associates begins active recruitment on January 2.
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Regional leaders announce ‘One Table’ – a community approach to homelessness and affordability
King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, and Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus today announced the formation of One Table, a comprehensive effort made up of business, service providers, healthcare, faith community, philanthropy, labor, academia, community members and people who have experienced homelessness.
The group will assess the region’s current response to homelessness, including root causes such as escalating home prices, inequality and the need to expand mental health and addiction services. It will also work to scale up community-based and government programs that are successful.
“We all know homelessness is a regional challenge that heeds no boundaries,” said Executive Constantine.
Image courtesy of KIRO 7.
Read more in the official press release.
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Graduates from ironworkers training begin new pathway
Finding meaningful employment can be difficult for people who have been involved in the criminal justice system, but a King County program is offering new opportunity and hope.
The King County Jobs Initiative (KCJI) provides assistance to individuals with previous convictions or justice system involvement who are unemployed and on food stamps. It focuses job training in employment areas that have the most potential for wage growth.
The program recently partnered with the Ironworkers Union Local 86 to launch KCJI’s first Ironworkers Cohort Pre-apprenticeship training, a four-week intensive program that submerges participants into the world of ironworking.
On Orientation Day, individuals went through a four-hour physical test; lifting 80-pound rebar to and from different areas for 30 minutes; various wire tying tests; a rope tying test; and a basic math test, all of which are common job functions in ironworking.
Project/Program Manager Stephanie Moyes with Employment and Education Resources in the Department of Community and Human Service, oversees KCJI partnered alongside the Communities of Opportunity staff, to get the ironworkers program up and running.
“Thirty applicants were screened and the top 12 performers were selected to take part in King County’s first Ironworkers pre-apprenticeship cohort, two of which are female,” Stephanie said.
On September 8, eight pre-apprentices graduated and were certified in welding, math and basic CPR.
“At the end of graduation day, three of them had offers to start work on that following Monday,” Stephanie said. By the end of the following week all eight were employed. With the union, hourly wages start at $26.34, plus benefits.
A requirement that went into selecting candidates was that they be recipients of SNAP/EBT, that way KCJI would be eligible to submit for 50% reimbursement through Basic Food Employment and Training, a federal program.
“The program costs about $48,000 for the cohort of 12 students,” Stephanie said. “The State reimburses us $24,000 by selecting candidates that receive SNAP benefits, and with the reimbursement we are able to assist more people.”
Part of the investment went toward paying their initiation dues for the union, first month’s dues, hard hats, basic tools and specific boots for them to be safe in that environment.
“While it is a lot of money, it’s a good investment in individuals,” Stephanie said. “It creates a culture of self-sufficiency and enables them to contribute to their community.”
Along with graduating and having found employment, graduates also earned college credit through South Seattle College for the courses that they completed.
King County Jobs Initiative is optimistic for future collaborations with Local 86.
“We want to do more,” Stephanie said. “Our overarching employment and education goal is having community members on a career pathway so that their household is making above the median income.”
Wilson Pettiford: “The first day of ‘hell day’ my shoulder was all cut up from the rebar. Going for one month of pre-apprenticeship training was fun, I learned a lot from the teachers and other apprentices around the school. The whole thing was life changing for me and my family. Wouldn’t trade it for nothing and would do it all over again.”
Jacob Wagner: “Thanks to KCJI to give me this opportunity, now I can make a decent wage and assist my kids and family.”
Alonzo King: “Thank you, and the KCJI program for putting me back up and not giving up on me, it was not an easy training that we went through with Ironworkers, but I made it. Thanks for believing in me.”
Shaun Cockrill: “Thank you for a great opportunity to join Ironworkers 86 Apprenticeship in such a short time. It was challenging but totally worth it.”
Victor Vasquez: “The Ironworker pre-apprenticeship was a challenging and rewarding opportunity. It is Intense training to prepare you for a real-world opportunity to change your life. I’m grateful for the opportunity and am looking forward to a career as an Ironworker.”
Pictured left to right: Back row: Wilson Pettiford, Omet Keira, Instructor, Instructor, Jerrel Ingram, Instructor. Front row: Robert Hutchison, Alonzo King, Jacob Wegzyn, Victor Vasquez Jr., Shaun Cockrill
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Five questions with Nick Howell, Administrative Specialist II, King County Elections
Why did you start in your role with King County?
I started as a short-term temp in the Elections phone bank. A few of my family members had worked seasonal King County positions and they recommended I come in and give it a try.
After five months in that role, I saw that the Voter Services section was offering three full-time positions. I applied and was selected, and I’ve been working here six years now.
What do you do in your role?
I work as an Administrative Specialist 2 (AS2) in the Voter Services division. The AS2 position is a combination of customer-facing and administrative responsibilities. I answer any elections inquires made by email, mail, phone, or in-person. Questions range from how to receive ballots while out of town to requesting instructions on how to organize registration drives. I also research and update voter information in our database based on files sent from the Secretary of State, United States Postal Service, Department of Licensing, other county election departments or voter requests made themselves.
A typical day may start at the front counter which I’ll tend for half of the day. While at the counter I greet and assist visitors, reply to emails sent to the election department, and perform quality control on hundreds of voter updates using our county database. The second half of the day is spent mostly at my desk, logged into our telephones, entering data into the system, processing and scanning mail, and preparing for the next Elections department Equity and Social Justice committee meeting.
Why did you choose this field as your career?
Elections is a diverse environment that provides room for experience in a bit of everything. I get to engage the community while developing team skills in a challenging environment. Mainly the work is enjoyable because of the results our efforts yield. At times, the amount of data entry can feel overwhelming, but other times we are rewarded with absolute gratitude from satisfied voters. Ultimately, the goal is to bridge the gap between the voter and their rights, even if that just means informing them of the nearest ballot drop box.
Often tending to the small things clears the path for the greatest effect. We are animated, and restricted, by the law, but I see our department taking initiative, embracing policies and practices for potential systemic change. We are encouraged to deconstruct old methodologies and propose more efficient and customer-service driven ways of doing things. Every day I work with change agents who teach me how to be resolute and customers that remind me there is more to be done. I feel like I’m right where I need to be.
What is the biggest challenge of your job?
One of the biggest challenges I have discovered is the need to quickly transition between tasks and maintain a high quality level of work, which is especially true within an election cycle. During an election we staff upwards of 500 employees comprised of full-time, short-term, and term-limited temporary staff. Most are operating at different levels of experience and many assisting in multiple work groups. Everyone is expected to adjust their priorities to accommodate deadlines and staffing needs.
For example, an AS2 may be asked to give impromptu trainings for temporary staff completely unfamiliar with the process, answer or find an answer to most of their questions, offer advice, monitor their work, and keep on track with daily tasks. With such a mix of staff members it is important to be communicative, inquisitive, understanding, inclusive and productive, which can be a combination of qualities difficult to embody even with the best intentions and under the most favorable conditions.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I love that I am forced to evaluate, re-evaluate, and evolve my professional principals simply to keep pace with the service provided. We are consistently endeavoring to increase access to, and involvement in, the political process through community partnerships, providing voting materials in five languages, mobile accessible voting centers, and the list goes on. We also offer remote registration, traveling to applicants who are unable to leave their homes and make the eight day in-person registration deadline. In a world seemingly riddled with obstacles it is empowering to work with such solution oriented front-runners.
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Renewing our commitment to veterans
King County’s Vets 4 HIRE Program is an internship program for veterans with a purpose to support veterans in making a successful transition to civilian employment. It provides them with valuable hands-on practical experience to increase their competitiveness for King County and other civilian positions. It is available to veterans who reside in King County regardless if they are enrolled in college and places them in workplaces throughout the County. Hiring agencies receive up to $6,250 in wage reimbursement per veteran hired into a six month or longer experience.
The program began in 2012 in response to former President Obama announcing he would be downsizing the military. A motion was put forth in King County Council by Councilmember Reagan Dunn to explore the creation of a type of internship program for veterans to support them in their transition to civilian employment. Funding from the Veterans and Human Services Levy was used to help fund the program, and an 18-month pilot program was launched from 2012 to 2014 that placed 33 veterans in internship positions. Initially called the “HERO” Program, it was redesigned in 2015 and renamed the Vets 4 HIRE Program. Since then the program has placed an additional 48 veterans in internship roles.
“Under the Vets 4 HIRE Program, our performance goal has been to hire 16 veterans each year, and we have successfully met that goal each year,” said Vets 4 HIRE Program Manager Susan Navetski. “Between the HERO pilot program and our current Vets 4 HIRE Program, we have placed a total of 81 veterans at county work sites.”
Out of these 81 individuals, 90% have secured employment or returned to college, including 27 participants who were hired at King County, including Steve Stamper, a graduate of the initial HERO Pilot Program.
“I had never worked in local government; I didn’t know much about it but was interested in it,” he said. “I thought this would be a good opportunity to see what it was all about and see if it was a good fit for me.”
A former Field Artillery Officer with the U.S. Army, the program continued to help him in his transition from military to civilian life. After his initial internship, he was hired as a temporary employee before becoming a full time Performance and Strategy Analyst with the Executive’s Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget (PSB).
“I got used to how the office atmosphere is in the civilian world, how people communicate – it’s very different from the military way – and it was enough time to get exposure to that and do some networking and hopefully find another opportunity,” he adds.
With the recent approval of the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy, funding is now available in 2018 and beyond, to create 16 more internship positions each year, ensuring that the Vets 4 HIRE program will continue to provide experiences and opportunities for veterans to live productive and meaningful lives. If you are interested in creating a Vets 4 HIRE opportunity, please contact your agency’s HR staff or Program Manager Susan Navetski at 206-477-3271 or Susan.Navetski@kingcounty.gov.
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RALS launches Leadership Fellowship in lieu of traditional hiring
Organizations small and large are always on the lookout for top talent, and King County is no exception. Our organization employs some of the brightest, forward-thinking people in the nation who work every day to make King County a great to live, visit and work.
Not only does King County draw talent from our community and across the country, it is also developing in-house talent through the Investing in You strategy.
Recently, Records and Licensing Services Division launched a Leadership Fellowship pilot program in lieu of permanently filling their deputy director vacancy. The fellowship is a countermeasure to traditional recruitment to ensure that County employees are provided opportunities to grow into leadership careers.
RALS Director Norm Alberg chose to forego the traditional recruitment process, and instead implemented a tailored fellowship development plan for the two selected fellows, covering a “five bucket framework” of competencies in leadership, operations, human resources, finance and organizational development.
“I needed to change my expectation from doing a traditional hiring process that was looking for somebody to hit the ground running with all the tools in their toolkit, to creating a development opportunity where someone can gain some of the tools that they might not have, and develop them for future senior leadership positions,” Norm said. “I believe organizational leadership has the responsibility to establish more development opportunities for our employees, and utilizing our Deputy Director vacancy provided RALS with a great opportunity to try something new.”
Senior Human Resources Analyst Robert James led the executive level recruitment for the fellowship.
“The leadership program is tailored to their own development plan,” Robert said. “We expose them to the areas where they feel they need improvement.”
Out of 18 applicants, two County employees, Maria Laird and Robert Tovar, successfully completed the rigorous interview process and were selected as the two fellows for RALS Deputy Director.
Each fellow will have six months to act as a Senior Operations Manager. Maria Laird started her fellowship in September, and will be focusing on operations and human resources. Robert Tovar’s fellowship will start March 2018, as he looks to bolster his organizational development and financial acumen.
“This leadership fellowship is a prime example of Investing in You because we are responding to employee survey feedback,” Robert said. “Employees have expressed that they’re looking for promotional opportunities, especially in leadership positions.”
RALS leadership fellowship is a new, innovative approach for building the next bench of senior leaders, which will be monitored and tweaked for future fellowships to ensure that County departments are striving for continuous improvement.
Minor adjustments were addressed at the conclusion of the recruitment process: RALS anticipated more employee applications for the fellowship; and candidates needed a more flexible start date to ensure their department filled their vacancies with a special duty assignment.
Above all, fellowship candidates shared positive feedback regarding the recruitment process and the learning opportunity. Candidates also found it beneficial that Norm was actively involved in both rounds.
Outreach was supported through Department of Executive Services communications and the Employee News e-newsletter. The hiring committee identified leadership-ready and interested professionals, and also sees a window of opportunity for more involvement from countywide leadership to encourage their employees to apply.
“Much like the Bridge Fellowship and the other training and development plans that we’ve put together, this would certainly be an example of Investing in You and walking the talk,” Norm said.
Please join us in welcoming Maria and Robert, and supporting them in their new assignments.
Maria Laird, currently Operations Support Manager for the Department of Public Health
Maria has served King County for 16 years, demonstrating skills and growth in managing operations and continuous improvement. She is committed to employee engagement and workforce development. Maria’s journey began as a frontline supervisor, managing two Public Health dental clinics, then becoming the program manager responsible for budget and operations support for five clinics across King County. For the last four years, Maria has managed central operations for 10 Public Health Centers.
Robert Tovar, currently a Program Manager with DNRP’s Wastewater Treatment Division.
In his 18 years with King County, Robert has developed experience leading employees and stakeholders through strategic planning, policy development, and organizational development and employee engagement projects. Robert began his WTD career in the Director’s Office, leading a major reorganizational effort. Robert has also worked in Operations, Resource Recovery, and in WTD’s Human Resources section.
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Tails from the Community: RASKC appears on Zulily’s Facebook LIVE Broadcast
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC
Zulily, the Seattle based e-commerce company, has previously worked with RASKC to help raise awareness of our adoptable pets through in-studio photo shoots.
On Cyber Monday, Zulily hosted a 12-hour Facebook LIVE segment to showcase their products at discounted deals. Zulily also invited RASKC to stop by during the show with a few of our adoptable pets. The video was co-hosted by RASKC’s Community Engagement and Communications Administrator Lluvia Ellison-Morales and Zulily’s User Experience Designer Jennifer French, who is also an 11-year veteran volunteer at RASKC. During the show, they provided information about RASKC services, and French shared her personal volunteer stories.
Read more at Tails from RASKC
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Featured Job: EBS Security & Customer Service Analyst (Functional Analyst 2)
Closing Date/Time: Sun. 12/10/17 11:59 PM Pacific Time
Salary: $33.53 – $42.50 Hourly
Job Type: Special Duty Assignment
Location: Chinook Building – 401 5th Ave, Seattle, Washington
Department: Department of Executive Services – Business Resource Center
Description: The Business Resource Center (BRC) Shared Services team has an opportunity for a special duty EBS Security & Customer Service Analyst (Functional Analyst 2). This position will partner with two Shared Services analysts to provide tier 2 helpdesk support (for Oracle EBS and PeopleSoft systems), process EBS user security requests and provide training administration support. In 2018, this group will also be engaged in two projects. First, the BRC will be participating in a KCIT project to implement a new Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) tool which will replace the LanDesk helpdesk system. Second, the team will be working on a continuous improvement project to streamline EBS security processing including the “proxy user process” which is designed to facilitate EBS employee reimbursements through the EBS iExpense module.
This position is a great opportunity to learn more about the Business Resource Center and how we approach support for Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft and Oracle BI, our commitment to growing and maintaining a healthy organization, our commitment to ESJ, and our continual efforts to seek better value for our customers.
Contact: For more information contact Sharon Gadzik at 206-263-8694 or at Sharon.Gadzik@kingcounty.gov.
Learn more about this position, or view all available jobs.
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