Employee News

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Lilia Cabello Drain

Kudos! Water Taxi a stress reliever and bird friendly transit

A recent regular rider on the water taxi shared praise for what the water taxi has done for her commute and her stress levels.

“I became a regular rider on the West Seattle-downtown morning ferry a couple of months ago. It’s been a great experience and has lowered my stress level WAY down (now that I’m not driving to work). I absolutely love my commute now!”

The same passenger also shared a story about how the staff rescued a baby bird, and what a great job the staff do overall.

“Some of us passengers noticed a baby pigeon in the water floating near the water taxi dock. We were concerned because pigeons don’t swim and it was a baby with no other pigeons around. We asked the ‘water taxi guys’ if they could rescue it with a net. They did rescue the baby pigeon with a net on the next run after ours, and then put the baby pigeon somewhere safe away from the water.”

“I just wanted to express my thanks that they did this. What a bunch of great guys you have working on the water taxi!”

Posted on June 4, 2016 by kingcountyemployees

Weight Watchers At Work – Open House At The Courthouse

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” -Jim Ryun, Olympic track and field athlete

Change doesn’t start by chance. You can learn how to eat healthier, move more, live happier and lose weight. Weight Watchers is a safe and supportive environment with other people going through what you go through. The program provides tools, coaching, and a basic, easy-to-understand-and-follow plan.

Have you been struggling with a health issue or just would like to lose those few additional pounds? Losing just five to 10 percent of your body weight can improve your mood, give you better sleep, reduce the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes, reduce cholesterol and improve your blood pressure.

King County now subsidizes your path to better health. As part of the Healthy Incentives program, you can attend a meeting right here at work, AND – by being an “At Work” member you can make this year your healthiest year yet.

Come and join us for a free open house at the courthouse (floor 12 – look for the signs), downtown Seattle, June 7 from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Hear inspirational stories from our members, ask questions and find the new you.

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Jason Argo

Are you one of our 11,000 LinkedIn followers?

More than 11,000 King County employees, residents and job seekers are getting up-to-date news and information, job opportunities, trainings, discounts and more by following King County on LinkedIn. Are you one of them?

To follow King County on LinkedIn, go to the King County company page and click “follow” (you will need to create a LinkedIn account if you do not have one).

You can also get employee news and information by following us on these platforms:

Accessing Employee News is an acceptable use of IT assets.

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Lilia Cabello Drain

First survey of ORCA LIFT users confirms high satisfaction, more bus trips taken

Crossposted from Metro Matters

More than a year after the launch of the ORCA LIFT reduced fare program, customers tell us they love their card. Now we have the data to support that feedback.

We’ve just wrapped up our first survey of more than 400 ORCA LIFT customers, and the results show a 95 percent satisfaction rate. In fact, more than half of those participating in the program are first time ORCA users; 44 percent say they are taking more trips on Metro and Sound Transit Link Light Rail since receiving their ORCA LIFT card. That tells us this innovative program is accomplishing what it set out to do – provide an affordable travel option for county residents struggling to make ends meet.

Our nationally recognized ORCA LIFT program is approaching 30,000 users.

Snohomish County leaders learn about Lean in King County

Crossposted from Lean in King County

On Friday, Deputy King County Executive Fred Jarrett briefed Snohomish County leaders on our successful (and ongoing!) efforts to improve customer service and find greater efficiency in county government. Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers invited Fred to speak with his staff to share the King County story and Lean lessons learned, as Snohomish County moves forward with their STEP Initiative (Service, Technology, Excellence Program).

“We appreciate the opportunity to learn from King County’s experience. Fred has been fighting hard to bring better customer service and effective technology to the residents of King County, and we look forward to implementing best practices from their experience,” said Executive Dave Somers.

Fighting to stop sex trafficking in King County

Sex trafficking in King County is on the rise, nearly doubling in 2015 according to an Urban Institute study.

But King County is fighting to stop sex traffickers and buyers in the county and protect the victims of trafficking.

The growing problem came to law enforcement attention when officers on patrol began noticing a growing number of young girls working on the streets. Before long, officers were collecting evidence and bringing it to King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Val Richey.

“People have this notion that sex trafficking doesn’t happen in the States, that it happens in Asia and other countries,” Richey said. “But the fact is it’s happening every day.”

Public Defense employee brings legal knowledge to youth

Misdemeanor Practice Director Twyla Carter shares her knowledge of the legal system with youth and families from underserved communities.

Serving as a voice for members of marginalized communities is all in a day’s work for Misdemeanor Practice Director Twyla Carter. Since she began serving as a lawyer in 2007, she has acted as an advocate for her clients, and after recently moving to her current role will be overseeing misdemeanor practice across the four divisions ensuring quality public defense in courts of limited jurisdiction, which includes Seattle Municipal Court and King County District Courts in Redmond, Seattle and Kent.

“I view my new role as being at thirty thousand feet and ensuring the court systems and practices serve clients in an equitable way,” she said.

“I’m helping to support public defenders and staff in their delivery of high quality representation to clients.”

From the Hip: Natasha Jones, Director of Customer Service

King County customer service: making it easier, faster, and better

Pictured, left to right: Executive Customer Service Team Mauricio Martinez, Natasha Jones and Cheeketa Mabone.

“So what do you do?” Love it or hate it, this common ice breaker question often becomes an opportunity for me to tell people about the great work county employees do, and how I get to help people and make our government better through my job.

As Director of Customer Service, for the past five years my team and I have worked with employees from every department to improve how the county delivers its service by focusing on four main areas:

Developing and sharing a common definition of customer service across county government that is flexible enough for our varied lines of business
Training and supporting staff and managers in delivering great service to the public and each other
Gathering and using data to be more responsive, consistent, and coordinated in responding to customer requests
Identifying and solving existing problems with our processes and systems for customers and staff.

Customer Service staff worked across departments to create the county’s Customer Service Promise (available in seven languages!) and “no wrong door” approach, meaning that even if the first employee a customer reaches isn’t the right person to help with an issue, they’ll try to get them to someone who is. The goal is helping customers solve problems in the fewest steps, with the least amount of effort.

Featured Job: Business Analyst, Asset Management and Business Systems

Closing Date/Time: Sun. 06/12/16 11:59 PM

Salary: $78,644.80 – $99,673.60 Annually

Job Type: Civil Service, Full Time, 40/hrs Wk

Location: King Street Center – 201 S Jackson St, Seattle, Washington

Department: Department of Transportation – Road Services Division

Description: The Road Services Division (RSD) of the King County Department of Transportation is seeking a tech-savvy collaborator with a passion for Lean business process improvement; a desire to learn and apply GIS-centric technology to advance our asset management framework; and an iron-clad customer service ethic to join an engaged and highly productive team.

The RSD is working toward an integrated, enterprise asset management framework based on these core components, which will replace or supplant the functionality and data contained in separate legacy systems over time. While we have replaced many such siloes over the past several years, key functions and systems, including the life-cycle engineering of storm water and bridge infrastructure, remain to be streamlined and integrated. This position will play a direct role in this transformation. This is a rare opportunity to acquire hands-on experience in lean business process improvement (to which the RSD is deeply committed); to receive training and mentoring in a fast-growing application for which market demand currently exceeds supply; and to enjoy the creative challenge of mining data to “tell the story” of how the RSD is striving to carry out the goals set forth in its Strategic Plan for Road Services under financial constraint.

Learn more about this position or view all available jobs.

Posted on May 29, 2016 by kingcountyemployees

Register now for 2016 Big Backyard 5K on June 5

The seventh-annual Big Backyard 5K is happening on Sunday, June 5 at Marymoor Park in Redmond. This run/walk is an event for the whole family, and it’s dog and stroller friendly! All participants will receive awesome t-shirts, refreshments, snacks, prizes, and the satisfaction of supporting King County Parks! And thanks to our friends at Harborstone Credit Union, the Big Backyard 5K hoodies that everyone has grown to love will available for purchase until May 13. The chip-timed course winds around the magnificent (but flat) Marymoor Park, and for kids ten and under, there a free ¼ mile Kids Dash.

Participating in the King County Parks Fitness Challenge as part of your Healthy Incentive’s Individual Action Plan? Walking or running in the Big Backyard 5K is one of the challenges, so don’t forget to stop by the King County Parks information booth after the run to get your challenge code word.

More incentive? Use the promo code KCP5 and receive a $5 discount on your registration fee as a King County employee. And if you refer a friend, you will get a collectible BBY5K coffee mug! (Limit one mug per referred individual).

Register as an individual or team today and support Your Big Backyard!