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Join Exec for 12th Man flag-raising Friday at noon
The Seahawks begin their playoff run on Sunday and we’re kicking off their drive to the Super Bowl by raising the 12th Man Flag over the King County Administration Building! Join King County Executive Dow Constantine at noon on Blue Friday, Jan. 8, as he raises the 12th Man flag in the Administration Building Plaza (Fourth Avenue side, 500 Fourth Avenue). If you are on break or at lunch, or not working at this time, you are welcome to put on your Seahawks gear, join in the flag-raising and help fire up… Read More
Chrissy Russillo selected as Interim Director of Human Resources Division
Chrissy Russillo has been selected as the Interim Director of the Human Resources Division, effective December 30, 2016. Chrissy is filling a temporary vacancy at the Human Resources Division resulting from the departure of Nancy Buonanno Grennan who will be returning to Kitsap County to take the helm as Human Resources Director. Susie Slonecker provided exceptional leadership and dedication as the interim HR Director for the past eight months, is returning to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Chrissy has been with King County since 2010, having previously served as Chief of Staff for… Read More
Featured Job: Housing Finance Program Manager/Project Program Manager III
Opening Date/Time: Wed. 12/23/15 12:00 AM Pacific Time Closing Date/Time: Fri. 01/15/16 4:30 PM Pacific Time Salary: $76,897.60 – $97,468.80 Annually Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week Location: Chinook Building – 401 5th Ave, Seattle, Washington Department: Department of Community & Human Services Description: The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) provides equitable opportunities for people to be healthy, happy, self-reliant and connected to community. King County faces unprecedented affordable housing issues. Amidst tremendous growth, in places both obvious and hidden, many in our community are struggling to meet… Read More
Employees can now receive up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave
King County Executive Dow Constantine’s proposal for up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave was approved by the County Council on December 7, putting King County at the forefront of the national movement to expand paid parental leave. Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, County employees will be allowed to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave when welcoming a new family member through birth, adoption, or foster-to-adopt placement. “I’m proud that King County is among the leading employers in the nation to offer a program that has a positive, lifelong impact on… Read More
Hopes and Fears
November 30 we started trainings for managers and supervisors on action planning with their workgroups. In the course of the trainings we talk about people’s hopes for how these conversations will go and what will come out of them. There is a lot of hope from our people leaders that this will be the beginning of a new dynamic between managers and supervisors. I have been inspired by the hopes we have heard: This will be an opportunity to build trust with employees The action plan will have an impact Everyone will… Read More
Open Ended Questions
“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers” One of the best tools for having robust discussions about engagement and action planning with work groups is a handful of open ended questions. A good open ended question will engage people in discussion and help you better grasp the state of engagement, what success looks like and the steps needed to get there. We give participants in our trainings space to brainstorm open ended questions they can use in their discussions with work groups and they’ve come up with some… Read More
Breaking down barriers with Supported Employment: Jodeen Wieser
Jodeen Wieser is a 20-year employee with King County’s Environmental Lab, a Lab Assistant who performs a wide range of essential tasks that help the Lab do its work of collecting, analyzing and monitoring samples that protect our local environment. Jodeen is also a supported employee through a King County program that pairs her with a job coach to help with learning new skills, communication and any other issues that arise. “When you meet someone with a disability that maybe is a different picture of what you thought someone was or what… Read More
Cybercriminals will ring in the Holidays
The start of the holiday shopping season marked by Black Friday and Cyber Monday is here. Cybercriminals take advantage of busy online shopping days which provide an opportunity for dramatically increased illicit profits, but you can protect yourself. The FBI has identified a number of different scams and schemes which could be used by cybercriminals this holiday shopping season such as: Malicious phishing emails for big ticket items and “too good to be true deals” Selling counterfeit or stolen products Fraudulent shipping notices from DHL, UPS and FedEx Holiday refund buncos Online… Read More
Administrative Professional recognized by peers
Like all King County departments and agencies, the Human Resources Division is working on multiple wide-ranging programs and requests at any one time, and its employees rely heavily on the support of its administrative professionals to deliver services to County employees and customers. Ask any HRD employee and they’ll likely tell you that the reason the division is able to run smoothly is administrator Kimberly Robinson, who recently celebrated 10 years with King County and HRD. Robinson is a member of the HRD Administrative Team that provides high level administrative support to… Read More
Five Questions with Mei Barker, Human Resource Analyst, Human Resources Division
1. What was your first role with King County? My first role with King County was to provide administrative support to the Public Health Tuberculosis Control Program, mainly processing billing reconciliations and special projects. About a year later I began my career in Human Resources with Superior Court. 2. What do you do in your role with Human Resources Division (HRD)? I handle the civil service recruitments for the Sheriff’s Office, as a member of the Compensation and Employment Services Section of HRD. 3. How is the process for hiring Sheriff’s Office employees different… Read More
Employee working to end veteran homelessness featured in Lean blog
The Lean in King County blog recently featured Dawn Barrett – who we featured in our “Five Questions with… ” segment on November 10 – in an article called “Turning an (Almost) Impossible Goal into Concrete and Solvable Problems.” Barrett is working on King County’s ambitious goal of ending homelessness among an estimated 1,100 veterans by the end of 2015. “If we keep doing business as usual, we’ll keep housing as usual,” says Barrett. Barrett and her team are using Lean to identify small, solvable goals with the aim of achieving the really big, audacious… Read More
And… We’re Off!
We revealed the 2015 Employee Survey Results today and now we’re embarking on an unprecedented effort to respond to the results. This is going to be exciting. For the first time ever, we’re responding at every level of the organization. That means that departments, divisions and work groups will each have action plans to address issues that came up in the survey. And at the countywide level Best Run Government Employees will respond to the survey results. This blog will follow our journey to address the results. I anticipate we will share successes and… Read More
Veterans Court helps veterans in criminal justice system
For most, the court system can be complicated, confusing and scary. For many veterans, the process now comes with a sense of comradery and hope. The King County District Court Regional Veterans Court serves veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or other disabilities from their time in service. In 2008, a judge in New York launched the first Veterans Treatment Court. Recognizing a need, King County launched a study in 2011 to determine the best treatment option, and in 2012 officially opened King County District Court’s Regional Veterans Court. The Regional Veterans Court is classified as a therapeutic court, where individuals are served by… Read More
Explore Race and Social Justice through Literature Out Loud
“We are human only if I see myself in you and if you see yourself in me.” These lines are from a poem called “Dialectic” by Quenton Baker, one of eight literary artists selected to present their work to King County employees in a series of symposia in 2016 called “Reflecting on Race and Racism through Spoken Word, Story, and Conversation.” The presentations offer King County employees the opportunity to explore equity and social justice issues through the personal and intimate art of “literature out loud.” Writers will read or perform their work… Read More
Five Questions with Dawn Barrett, Social Worker/Veterans Program, Community & Human Services
1. What was your first role at King County? My first role for King County was in 2004 as a Social Worker for the out-of-school young adults enrolled in our YouthSource program in Renton. I recall my fascination with the size of the team and the innovative and creative programs they were implementing such as Youth Build and Digital Bridge; both aimed to achieve education and employment outcomes to combat income inequalities for this population. The team was incredible at creating a safe and fun place for learning while investing in the… Read More
Job opportunities for veterans ease transition from military
Making the transition from military to civilian life can be a difficult one for many veterans but finding a meaningful job where they can utilize their skills while learning new ones can ease that transition. That’s why King County launched the Heroes Employment Reintegration Opportunity (HERO) Program back in 2012. “Veterans returning from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan face a job market with high unemployment rates, and a civilian workforce where their valuable skills may not be recognized,” Councilmember Reagan Dunn said. “We have a responsibility to support those who have fought… Read More
Honoring our veterans and ending veteran homelessness
Dear fellow King County employee, Each year, we pause as a grateful nation on November 11 to salute the men and women who answered the call to serve in our nation’s armed forces. Of the 122,000 veterans of all ages who call King County home, I am proud to say that 931 of them are our fellow King County employees, including 27 who were called to active duty over the past year. Along with our respect and appreciation, we best honor their service through our actions. Through our King County Veterans Program… Read More
It’s Official! Happy Volunteer Appreciation Day
Post by @iheartkcparks. Source: It’s Official! Happy Volunteer Appreciation Day
Employees earned the public trust needed to pass Best Starts for Kids
Dear fellow King County employee, Based on the latest vote count, it appears that voters have approved the Best Starts for Kids levy! We now have the opportunity to help put more children and youth in King County on a path toward lifelong success. It’s a victory you helped make possible. Voters approve initiatives only if they believe we are effective stewards of taxpayer dollars. This vote is a reflection of the public trust we’ve earned, and it demonstrates that they appreciate the positive difference we make in people’s lives – and… Read More
Goodbye mainframe, hello data
On Monday, November 2, King County IT shut down and turned off the aging King County mainframe (think extra-large refrigerator-sized, pre-PC computer), an important step in Executive Constantine’s goal of making King County a best-run government. This was truly a historic occasion, and marked the final ‘go-live’ stage of a multi-year Mainframe Rehosting Project. To give some context, a mainframe is not a machine built for everyday workload; it is designed to run big, complex jobs. King County’s mainframe was being used for large-volume critical business applications such as property tax payments… Read More
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