By Karla Clark, KCIT, EEC Member  

At some point in our career we ask ourselves questions like, “Is this it for me?” or “I want to do more but where do I start?”  Last week, KCIT employees had a chance to get those questions and many more answered at the first Day of Discovery.

The Day of Discovery was an all-day event on the first floor of the Chinook Building, sponsored by the KCIT Employee Engagement Committee (EEC).  With more than 100 KCIT employees in attendance, it was by all accounts, a huge success.

The day featured 11 two-hour break-out sessions where service, project and program leaders and employees met face to face to discuss future career opportunities. Representatives from service groups included Engineering & Architecture, Production Operations, Project Management Office, Regional Services, Information Assurance, Business Analysis, Network Service, Business Solutions Services, eGovernment, IT Service Delivery Management and Customer Support Services.

KCIT Employees learned about opportunities available in the various service groups and received information on the training, skills, education and experience required for different positions.

KCIT Senior IT Specialist Alex Patrut says the Day of Discovery helped him meet peers in areas he didn’t know existed. “The Day of Discovery helped me make team connections outside my scope of work and allowed me to determine what new opportunities are available that will benefit from my passions.”

“KCIT employees are always looking for ways to be of greater value to their customers and to each other. We wanted to create a space where they could freely meet with service owners to discuss and explore opportunities and to identify the skills and knowledge needed for future success,” said Kristin Colburn, EEC sponsor.

A Leadership Lounge was open all day and staffed with members of the Office of the Chief Information Officer including CIO Bill Kehoe, KCIT Human Resources, and HRD Career Support Services who engaged with attendees in between sessions. King County eLearning was an all-day resource to talk to employees about training services available within King County in their very own eLearning Lab.

The KCIT Employee Engagement Committee was formed as a result of the 2015 Employee Survey. KCIT earned low marks in “Employee Development” and “Employee Growth Opportunities”. Members of the EEC are a group of dedicated employees who took on the challenge of developing an action plan as part of the County-wide Employee Engagement Initiative to improve overall employee survey results.

“We are grateful for such a successful event but we have a lot more work to do. The Day of Discovery is just one of the many items we have on the list of items we want to address,” said Dijana Steward, EEC Member. “Stay tuned! Much more from us to come!”

Members of the EEC include  Joy Baldridge, Ron Bishop, Karla Clark, Kristin Colburn, Nicole Franklin, Debbie Gladstone, Marcia Kamin, Robert Malcolm, Myranda Miller and Dijana Steward.