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Employees talk about importance of paid parental leave
Several employees are featured in a new King County TV video talking about the importance of bonding with a new-born child and how King County’s Paid Parental Leave pilot program will help them create that bond. “All the study shows that if you have that dedicated time that’s focused on a child you have better health outcomes for the child but also for the parents,” Councilmember Rod Dembowski said in the video. “And in this case, the program we’re talking about here, the parents are King County employees and we want to have good… Read More
Healthy Incentives is now underway
Healthy IncentivesSM is now underway! This year’s program offers the same great options and features as last year to help you achieve your health goals and be your best every day—while saving on your 2017 health care expenses. We invite you to think about your reason for being healthy and celebrate the reasons of your coworkers. You’re our reason for offering this program—to help you live a long, full life doing the things you love. By now, you should have received a welcome letter at your home with your Healthy Incentives ID and instructions… Read More
Disability doesn’t stop dancing employee
If you happen to see a man busting a move while cleaning up hedge trimmings or emptying a trash can at Marymoor Park, it’s probably Parks Specialist Dwight Lewis. Dwight has been with parks for 17 years and his enthusiasm for the work is showing no signs of waning. “He actually makes people on our crew want to be better at what they do,” Andy Boland, Parks Maintenance Coordinator, said. “He pushes us, he comes in with a lot of energy, positive attitude, and it’s really what we need; he’s a spark… Read More
Featured Job: Business and Finance Officer I
Opening Date/Time: Fri. 01/22/16 12:00 AM Pacific Time Closing Date/Time: Wed. 02/03/16 4:30 PM Pacific Time Salary: $29.82 – $37.80 Hourly Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week Location: Chinook Building, 401 5th Avenue, 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. This position is being created to support the new Best Starts for Kids fund. The position will be responsible for day to day accounting transactions,… Read More
Five Questions with Heather Barr, Public Health Nurse
1. When did you start as a Public Health Nurse with King County? 30-plus years ago. I started out in the Jail as a Registered Nurse in 1984. I met a nurse there (Kathryn Crawford) who asked me what I wanted to do with my career. I told her I liked to work with homeless people, and people with addictions. She said “I have the perfect job for you, I am leaving a position at the tuberculosis clinic running a drug trial for the Centers for Disease Control, most of my patients are alcoholic… Read More
What the Trainings Told Us
Last week we wrapped up trainings preparing managers and supervisors to lead their groups in responding to survey results. 498 (let’s call it 500) managers and supervisors participated in this training and still more are taking it online. That’s an incredible grassroots force out there leading culture change by having conversations with their work groups about how to improve engagement in the county. Evaluations from the trainings (scores are out of 5 where 1 is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree) show that: People will be able to apply what they’ve learned (4.14) They… Read More
Team keeps Metro buses moving
Whenever something out of the ordinary happens on a Metro Transit bus, King County’s Transit Control Center (TCC) gets a call. Janice Berlin, one of three chiefs in the TCC, works to prepare for any situation that could happen on a bus. The TCC monitors everything from a bus breakdown to a medical emergency to a security threat so commuters are kept safe and issues are addressed quickly. If a bus breaks down, TCC is notified and the responding coordinator dispatches assistance, generally a coach change, field supervisor and mechanic. Priorities are always safety and accommodating the passengers.
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
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