Join us for our second 2021 Open Session with Stephanie Beckhorn, E&T Director, on Thursday, July 8! Held quarterly, these sessions provide an opportunity for staff to have open dialogue with the E&T Director. Bring your thoughts, ideas and questions for an informal and transparent dialogue.

Please note these sessions are voluntary and are being scheduled with YOU in mind. Come if you’re able to and your schedule permits.

Click here to add the Open Session to your Outlook calendar.

The growth in the immigrant population has helped to strengthen our labor force. As baby boomers retire, younger immigrants are filling crucial gaps in the market. Nationally, immigrants are more likely to hold an advanced degree than the U.S.-born and more likely to have less than a high school education. Uniquely, this allows them to fill critical shortages at both ends of the skill spectrum, from high-tech fields to agriculture, hospitality, and service industries.

The top occupations with the highest numbers of foreign-born workers include software developers, agricultural workers, physicians, physical therapists and postsecondary educators.

Read stories about Michigan’s immigrants and refugees and the work LEO’s Office of Global Michigan does to support them here.

In the early 2000’s Joe Pelle, BSBP Business Enterprise Program (BEP) Promotional Agent, unfortunately had to revoke the license of BEP Operator Kenny Wyatt. In 2017 Wyatt made his way back into the BEP on a vending route in Western Michigan. Next, he took on the Ann Arbor Vending Route – the route his license was revoked from many years ago.

Despite the earlier bumps in the road, Wyatt has proven himself to be a very good operator. He is currently providing service for the Monroe/Carleton Route, where the machines are always clean and well-stocked with a nice variety.

But this is just the basic foundation of being successful in the BEP program. Wyatt uses the Greenlite system to the best of his ability to make purchases and service decisions. He is always thinking about his business and communicates with his Promotional Agent very well.

Taking pride in the business is his number one priority. In fact, he recently purchased floor mats to be placed in front of the machines on his own dime and received praise from the MDOT Regional Manager.

Wyatt was giddy to receive the BEP Service Excellence Award. He is pictured holding the award above (left) with Joe Pelle (right).

The BSBP Braille and Talking Book Library (BTBL) provides audio and braille books to patrons across Michigan who have a visual, physical, or reading disability. Every summer, BTBL hosts a youth Summer Reading Program for ages 0-18.

This year’s theme is Tails and Tales: Animal Stories!  A free summer reading kit is sent to the participant’s home, with all activities included.

Participants can complete any of the three challenges between June 28 – August 6 for a chance to win prizes! The challenge areas are Build an Animal Habitat (construction challenge), Not-Your-Average Pet writing contest, and, of course, the Tails and Tales reading challenge.

During a recent Facebook, BTBL received high praise for the program:

“My daughter looks forward to this event every summer. Such an awesome thing you all do for our blind/visually impaired kiddos,” commented Jackie B.

Follow the Michigan Braille and Talking Book Library on Facebook to see what patrons come up with this summer!

Records Management is currently working on the Records Retention and Disposal Schedule Review Project that occurs once every three years. This project requires a review of the Retention and Disposal Schedule to ensure completeness and accuracy; record retention needs are met and properly documented; alignment with the current organization structure; reflection of current functions and business processes; legal compliance, and increased awareness of the record retention responsibilities of each employee.

Chrissy Rea, E&T’s new Records Liaison in Operations, may contact you during this project to review the current Records Retention and Disposal Schedule for your area to ensure the information is up to date and accurate. If any corrections need to be made, please respond by the deadline provided.

Frequently Asked Questions regarding Retention and Disposal Schedules may be found on SharePoint: Retention Schedule FAQ. Visit Records Management Guidance  on the intranet for more Records Management Guidance.

An updated Records Management Policy is available on the intranet: Records Management Policy. The General Schedules and the E&T Records Liaison information have been updated. If you have any questions, please email E&T Operations. 

Microsoft Teams is continuously rolling out new features – here are some that recently became available:

Dynamic View allows users to have a more optimized visual experience in Teams meetings, including:

• Optimized layouts – Teams will automatically optimize the layout to enlarge shared content and allow more participants to be visible.
• Spotlight/pin presenters – by spotlighting or pinning a presenter, their video tile will appear larger than other participants which brings attention to them while they are speaking. It also allows for interpreters to be pinned to the screen so accommodations can be made.
• Participant gallery moved to top – the participant gallery can be shown at the top of the screen (instead of along the bottom) so when speaking you are looking more directly at the camera vs. towards your keyboard.

Click here for a video tutorial on how to use Dynamic View.

Meeting Polls

Meeting organizer or presenters can now create polls within a Microsoft Teams meeting and allow attendees to respond before, during or after the meeting. Polls are created using Microsoft Forms and can be set up prior to the meeting through the meeting details.

Click here to learn about how to create and launch polls during Teams meetings.

Staying mentally healthy during a pandemic can be challenging, but help is available. You can connect with emotional-support resources and services through Michigan.gov/StayWell.

Resources available include Virtual Support Groups, Help Lines, Mental Wellness Webinars, Behavioral Health Guides and Video Resources. In addition, Michigan Stay Well Counseling is available 24/7 by calling 1-888-535-6136 and pressing “8”.

Don’t forget to register for the June 29 presentation of “Uplifting Michiganders” presented by Stay Well.

Microsoft Security Updates will be made available through the Software Center starting on June 24, 2021 at 8 p.m. If the update is not manually started before July 1, 2021, your computer will automatically update the next time you log on. The update will take about 10 minutes to install and will require several reboots, which will make the workstation unusable for an additional 15-20 minutes.

To minimize any disruption or downtime during the workday, please plan on one of the following:

1. Running the update through the Software Center between June 24 and July 1 during your lunch hour, towards the end of the workday, or over the weekend.
2. Leaving your workstation on July 1 so updates can automatically be made overnight.

If you have any questions or issues regarding the update, please contact the DTMB HelpDesk at 517-241-9700 or 800-968-2644. 

Stay tuned to your email for an invitation to join an internal informational session this July to learn about the employer engagement work of Employment & Training. The pandemic has created barriers to returning to work for many hardworking Michiganders. At this informational session you’ll discover the various programs and services available to support Michigan employers and their employees, as well as the intake process for businesses to get the help they need. Learn about the new Back to Work: Employer Resources website and other tools you can use in your day-to-day work.

Did you know connecting to the VPN every morning actually makes you safer? The VPN (Virtual Private Network) is designed to hide your IP address from potential hackers, making your connection more secure. It also has the added benefit of allowing you access to the shared drive.

When you’re working with the E&T Communications and Outreach team on new web pages, being on the VPN also gains you access to production pages – critical for reviewing and ensuring content is accurate before going live.

Trying to find older versions of this newsletter? Not to worry – they’re on the E&T SharePoint site! If you’re on the E&T SharePoint homepage and you click on the “See More News” button, you’ll see them listed in order, by date, on the right-hand side.

Or, click here!