Third Annual Veterans and Military Spouses Career Expo draws a crowd
More than 250 veterans and military spouses converged upon the Washington State Convention Center August 10 to take part in the Third Annual Working with our Troops Career Expo – an event cosponsored by the King County Veterans Program, WorkSource Seattle / King County, and the Washington State Convention Center.
In addition to King County, the employers in attendance included more than 120 major corporations, small businesses, and Federal, State, County and City agencies; including Amazon, Boeing, Starbucks, ThyssenKrupp, Tommy Bahama, Weyerhaeuser and first responders. King County was represented by the Human Resources Division, the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Metro Transit and the Sheriff’s Office.
When asked why the County includes those who’ve served among the talent pools actively recruited from, Business Outreach Coordinator Rich Garmong of the King County Veterans Program said, “Because (we) understand the value veterans add to the workforce. The skills and discipline that veterans bring is in line with the Lean model that the County is moving to. Servicemembers have been working and training in elements of the Lean philosophy for several years, so the transition and mentality is built in.”
When asked why Amazon actively recruits military talent, Military Recruiting Manager Colby Williamson said, “Because of their people-leadership skills, their ability to deliver results, and their bias for action.” He added, “Last year, we hired Morgan Patty who – at the time – was a transitioning first lieutenant. She is now a leader on our military recruiting team.”
Detective Carrie McNally of the Seattle Police Department’s Recruiting Unit said S.P.D. is actively hiring military talent because of the dedication to serve, ability to lead, and follow direction and chain of command. “We also find that they have a high level of stress tolerance, conscientious work habits, excellent decision-making and communications skills and ability to work in a team environment.” S.P.D. is hiring about 100 officers each year for the next few years.
Brant Merritt, a store manager with Seattle-based Tommy Bahama, is hiring military talent because, “They have shown that they have a high attention to detail, and are flexible workers that will take on any task.”
Not all the tables were staffed by recruiters and human resources professionals. Weyerhaeuser was represented by three veterans from various non-HR functions. These ambassadors were able to connect on a personal level with the attendees and share their stories and experiences with those looking to join their team.
One of the County’s areas of focus for hiring was for the Vets 4 HIRE program, for which the County will hire 16 veterans this year. The Vets 4 HIRE Fellowship Program was created to support military service personnel and veterans in making a successful transition from military to civilian employment, and to provide a pipeline of skilled veteran talent for positions within King County. The program has been funded in part by the Veterans and Human Services Levy.
There were also one-to-one resume writing and review sessions tailored for the job seekers. Rich, who also managed the event, said volunteers from King County, WorkSource, Pacific Associates, The Washington National Guard, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Hire America’s Heroes and the Wounded Warrior project did remarkable work at the resume and interview support tables.
The Convention Center went above and beyond again this year (as they always have) by providing space and staff, reduced parking rates and IT support. They also provided boxed lunches for all.
Learn more about area services for veterans by visiting the County’s Veteran Programs, Vets 4 HIRE, and WorkSource sites.
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Seasonal Home Maintenance Class
Whether you own your home or are renting, make sure your home is ready for the seasons ahead! This seminar is presented by HomeStreet Bank to help you learn basic home maintenance, what you need to do when the temperature changes, covering the cost of home maintenance, and you’ll be provided with a home maintenance checklist.
This class will be held at King Street Center, Thursday, September 22 from noon to 1 p.m.
Registration for this event is required. Please call the Hometown Hotline at (888) 425-6990, or go online to www.homestreet.com/KingCo.
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Social Media Spotlight: King County Department of Transportation Facebook
Our job is to provide mobility for the people of King County in a way that protects the environment, helps manage growth, and reduces traffic congestion.
Follow the King County Department of Transportation on Facebook today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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Kudos to KCSO’s dedicated unit in the fight against domestic violence in King County
Pictured: King County sheriff’s Detectives Ben Wheeler, left, Robin Ostrum and Senior Deputy Prosecutor David Martin. Image courtesy of Seattle Times.
The Seattle Times profiled the King County Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence Investigations Unit in Saturday’s edition, highlighting the reformation of the unit and the hard work being done to protect victims of domestic violence and convict DV offenders.
The article speaks with Detectives Ben Wheeler and Robin Ostrum, Senior Deputy Prosecutor David Martin and Sheriff John Urquhart.
The article goes on to say “Though there isn’t money to expand the unit, Urquhart said he plans to formally offer the unit’s services to the 12 cities that contract with the Sheriff’s Office for police services.
“It’s something I intend to do going forward because it’s been so successful,” he said.”
Read more in the original Seattle Times article.
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Featured Job: Regional Services Manager
Closing Date/Time: Sun. 09/18/16 4:30 PM
Salary: $52.69 – $66.79 Hourly, $109,595.20 – $138,923.20 Annually
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Location: Chinook Building – 401 5th Ave, Seattle, Washington
Department: King County Department of Information Technology
Description: King County Information Technology (KCIT) is seeking an effective leader to join our department as the Regional Services Manager. This is an exciting, strategic role that plays a key part in regional partnerships and collaboration around the County. The Regional Services Manager is responsible for overseeing several functions that provide services to both King County Government and our region. This includes; the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Center, King County’s Radio Shop which includes the 800/MHz Emergency Radio System, the Institutional Network (I-Net) Business and Cable Communications franchising. You will be responsible for driving forward our regional strategy, strengthening partnerships to grow our client and revenue base, and representing King County by participating in regional collaborations and serving on boards.
Learn more about this position or view all available jobs.
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Employee Discounts to Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony – Get 15% discount on most Seattle Symphony performances. Go to www.seattlesymphony.org | Click on: Concerts and Tickets | Enter Promo Code: Conductor1617 to receive 15% discount on most Seattle Symphony performances.
Discount is good on: Masterwork, Seattle Pops, UnTuxed and National Geographic Live performances. Note: The discount will not work on: Yo-Yo Ma (Sold Out) Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Hilary Hahn or “Live at Benaroya Hall” performances.
Special discount for the Opening Night concert only (Sept. 17): Use Promo Code: OpenNight16 for September 17 Opening Night of the 2016/2017 Seattle Symphony season. This will give the employees 20% off concerts tickets for this night only. Not good on Opening Night GALA fundraiser tickets.
Find all discounts on the Employee Discount webpage.
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Listening to employees, acting on your feedback
On Monday, Sept. 26, the 2016 King County Employee Survey will launch, giving the County an opportunity to hear from employees about how we can better serve our customers and make King County a better place to work.
In 2015, more than 7,500 employees participated in the employee survey. Since then, more than 230 action plans have been created to address the issues you raised and the major themes that emerged:
1. Growth and development
- Launched an Employee Resource Center to provide resources like resume building, mock interviews and training plans to meet your goals
- Advertised all Special Duty Opportunities wherever possible
- Revamped the Bridge Fellowship Program
- Developed a new Mentoring Program to launch at the end of 2016.
2. Senior leadership visibility
- Executive Constantine has begun regular visits to employees in their worksites and department all-hands meetings
- The Executive has used video to expand his communications with employees
- More than 30 department and division leaders have made increasing their visibility the focus of their action plan.
3. On the job
- Almost 40 action plans addressed work-life balance, respect and workplace safety
- Multiple departments worked to improve communications channels and understanding of division and department priorities
- A new lunch and learn series on workplace safety is launching in the Fall of 2016.
The online survey will open on Monday, Sept. 26, running until Friday, Oct. 21, and paper surveys will be available from Monday, Sept. 19, and also close on October 21. Survey responses are confidential and results are anonymous.
Tell us how we can make King County better for you. We’re listening. Find out more at www.kingcounty.gov/employeesurvey.
View the video below about what’s happened since last year and what you can expect this year.
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We’re hiring!
Crossposted from the Election Connection
Are you an elections nerd? A civic enthusiast? Just interested in earning some extra cash for the Holidays? King County Elections will be hiring more than 500 temporary staff to help with this year’s Presidential Election. Some of the things our temporary staff help out with include:
- Providing customer service to voters and answering questions about things like voter registration, ballot tracking and election deadlines;
- Reviewing ballots, including duplicating damaged or write-in ballots;
- Opening, separating and inspecting envelopes and ballots;
- Analyzing and determining whether to accept or challenge a voter’s signature on the return envelope.
Jobs can last anywhere from 4-5 weeks to just a couple of days, so there’s something for everyone. For more information, check out the Temporary Election Worker posting.
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Ideas from 9/15 Training
Top ideas from the 9/15 training:
- Discuss w/team the goals of the survey and its ability to create change incrementally.
- Schedule a time for work group to take the survey. Serve food and beverages
- Paper survey – work site meeting time.
- Online – outlook calendar meeting.
- Be clear about using work time.
These were not the top scoring ideas from the training, but interesting enough to share:
- Explain to the employee how important the survey is, share results from last year and the timeline of how involved the county is in gathering this data.
- Set up kiosks/work stations in places where employees aren’t always on computers to allow electronic option.
- Free puppy/kittens for each completed survey.
- Personal testimony from the division leader on what he/she has changed as a results of last year’s survey.
- Mobile survey bus with laptops and treats.
- Medals for units with most participation – gold, silver, bronze.
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Ideas from 9/8 Training
Here are some ideas for engagement from the 9/8 training:
- Give staff lunch on me (supervisor) if work group has 100% participation
- Raffle Prizes
- Incentivize them with a special raffle prize every week for those who have completed the survey. The earlier you do it, the more chances you have to win.
Employee News 