Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
King County Executive Dow Constantine has proclaimed the month beginning September 15 “Latino/Latina Heritage Month in King County. “I urge all County residents to join me in celebrating the many contributions of people of Latino heritage to our community,” Executive Constantine said in his Proclamation. More than 55 million people of Latino/Latina ancestry live in the United States, with almost 200,000 calling King County home. You can read the Executive’s proclamation here (SharePoint).
You could win a custom adventure by participating in Washington’s Wheel Options campaign during the month of October! As a King County Employee, you can participate in the Washington State Ridesharing Organization’s annual Wheel Options campaign. Commute via bicycle, transit, carpool, vanpool, walking or telecommuting for at least six days next month and – in addition to reducing congestion and saving money – you’ll be eligible to win a customizable adventure! Wheel Options encourages commuters across Washington to reduce their number of drive-alone trips. Visit Wheel Options to register, learn more about… Read More
The 2016 King County Employee Survey is now underway, and we’ve been asking some County leaders why the survey is important to them and their employees, and how they will act on the results. In this first video, we talk to Caroline Whalen, Director of the Department of Executive Services, Harold Taniguchi, Director of the Department of Transportation, Commander William Hayes, Director of the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, and John Wilson, the King County Assessor. Watch the video by clicking the image below (captions coming soon).
On Monday, King County Executive Dow Constantine transmitted his 2017-2018 proposed biennial budget to the Metropolitan King County Council. The proposed $11.3 billion, two-year budget invests in Metro Transit, human services, and other important programs that reflect the values of King County residents and again maintains costs below the rate of population and inflation. Find out more by watching the Executive’s address below or read more on the budget website.
The King County employee survey is now underway through Friday, October 21. Track how well your department is participating by checking out the data on the survey website. Surveys were emailed to most employees from 2016KCEmployeeSurvey@orcsurvey.com on Monday, Sept. 26. The email is unique to each employee and cannot be forwarded to others. If you did not receive a survey email, please contact KCEmployeeSurvey@kingcounty.gov. Please note your responses are completely anonymous to King County and the consultant only shares analyzed results, never individual responses. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete and can be taken during… Read More
Three work groups have already reached 100 percent participation! In DNRP: Water and Land’s Science and Technical Support Group has a Science and Admin work group that got there day one The Continuous Improvement Team in Performance Strategy and Budget in the Executive’s Office In HRD the Comp and Employment Group. In HRD, Director Susie Slonecker is treating Comp and Employment to lunch. Go teams!!
One of the three key areas that came out of the 2015 King County Employee Survey was the need for career development. Employees were eager for training to improve their skills and for opportunities to advance in their careers. It is with this in mind that King County’s Department of Information Technology (KCIT) formed its Employee Engagement Committee (EEC), to help create ways to improve the employee experience, and give each person the skills needed to advance their career. With members from different KCIT teams and units, the EEC is able to… Read More
Closing Date/Time: Tue. 10/04/16 4:30 PM Salary: $42.56 – $53.95 Hourly, $88,534.78 – $112,223.07 Annually Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week Location: King County Courthouse – 516 3rd Ave, Seattle, Washington Department: Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention Description: The Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) is a professional and nationally recognized organization that supports safe, vibrant, and healthy communities in partnership with other criminal justice and human service agencies. DAJD consists of approximately 900 employee and operates the largest county jail in the State of Washington, housing an… Read More
King County Parks offers 200 parks, 175 miles of regional trails, 215 miles of backcountry trails, and 28,000 acres of open space, so King County residents can get out and bike, hike, picnic, and play in one of the largest regional parks and trails systems in the country! Follow King County Parks on Twitter today! Click here to view all King County social media pages.
The survey officially launched yesterday. Links to the electronic version were distributed via email over several hours and distribution of paper copies began at work sites as far North as Shoreline, as far East as Bellevue and as far South as Maple Valley. Wondering if it makes a difference to take the survey? Our leaders think so. In this video they discuss how they responded to what employees said in the survey. They speak authentically about what they learned, what they did and how they hold themselves accountable for results.
This KC Metro rider appreciates her bus driver providing prompt and courteous service, but also loves it when her driver recognizes that she’s been gone awhile. Customer service is about meeting the needs of every customer through meaningful, heartfelt, personal interactions. Kudos to this driver, and other King County employees, who go that extra mile!
When King County employees do business with each other, the public and other external customers/clients, we are transparent. Part of that transparency is letting people know who we are. KCIT provides all King County the ability to use a personal photo for their Lync/Skype connection. A photo is helpful because it allows people to put a face with a name. It’s very helpful when you are meeting someone for the first time at a remote location or even in a crowded meeting. (We recognize there are certainly safety situations where we don’t… Read More
Our recent videos on the 2017-18 Proposed Budget and the 2016-22 Equity and Social Justice now have closed captions. You can watch the three videos below: 2017-18 Proposed Budget Preview with Executive Constantine King County Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan 2016-2022 Dwight Dively 2017-2018 Budget Overview To turn on or off closed captions, click on the CC button in the bottom right of the video player (see below).
Flu shot clinics are coming to many county worksites this September and October, ending on October 21. Protect yourself and those you love by getting a flu vaccine. Check out the flu clinic schedule for a site that’s convenient for you, and mark your calendar today. In the video below watch Dr. Jeff Duchin, our King County Health Officer, put out the call for employees to get their flu shots. Visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/flu to learn more and find an upcoming flu clinic near you.
Crossposted from For The Defense A powerful new video underscores what many persons with felony convictions in Washington state are never told: Once out of custody and no longer under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections, he or she can register to vote. The 4-minute video – with clips from persons with felony convictions who said they went years thinking they had permanently lost the right to vote – was released by the 2016 graduates of the Washington Leadership Institute (WLI), a program that recruits, trains, and develops minority and… Read More
Many of us have chosen to live here because of – or despite – the streams, waterfalls, Puget Sound, snow and yes, even rain. Share your soggy celebrations of our watery region – the deadline is Sept 30! Theme: Your body of water Who: Only King County residents are eligible Length: 50 words or less Languages: Amharic, Somali, Tlingit, Vietnamese, Chinese, Punjabi, Spanish, English Deadline: Sept 30, 2016 11:59 PM For more information go to: http://www.poetryonbuses.org/submit-a-poem Brought to you by the many groups that appreciate clean water: 4Culture, Seattle Office of Arts… Read More
Crossposted from For The Defense The win last year was a game-changer. Thanks to a class-action lawsuit brought by several public interest attorneys, a federal judge ruled that immigrants with mental disabilities facing deportation proceedings are entitled to a lawyer, a first-ever affirmation of the right to appointed counsel for immigrant detainees. One of the lead attorneys was Matthew Adams, legal director at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) in Seattle and a member of the King County Public Defense Advisory Board. He’s now about to receive the Washington State Bar Association’s… Read More
On Monday, September. 26, you will receive an email from 2016KCEmployeeSurvey@orcsurvey.com with the subject line “King County Employee Survey – 2016” inviting you to participate in the King County 2016 Employee Survey. It will look similar to the example email pictured below: This year’s survey is open from September 26 through October 21, 2016. The survey should take about 15 minutes and can be completed during working hours. Your responses are totally confidential and cannot be traced back to you. The survey link cannot be forwarded to coworkers because each survey link is… Read More
Crossposted from Public Health Insider By Kalayaan Domingo, Healthy Eating and Active Living Project Manager at Public Health A celebration and remembrance in honor of Robert “Uncle Bob” Santos will be held on Friday, September 23 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at WAMU Theater at CenturyLink Field (800 Occidental Avenue S., Seattle, WA 98134), located on the corner of S. Royal Brougham Way & Occidental Avenue S. The public is invited to attend. On August 27th, 2016, Seattle lost one of our hometown heroes, Bob Santos, or Uncle Bob, as he was… Read More
Crossposted from King County WTD Senior Gardener Jim Davis can be considered the artist-in-residence at South Plant. If you stop into the lunchroom in the Annex Building you’ll see his unique and interesting contour drawings hanging on the wall. While Jim finds inspiration in dramatic subjects like Seattle Seahawks players, most of his drawings installed at South Plant are of his coworkers. “There’s something about an ordinary person doing an ordinary thing that is inspiring to me,” he says. Jim has been an artist ever since his third grade teacher complimented one… Read More