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In this Issue
Do you know how to prevent and respond to violent
situations at work?
The Council is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for employees, customers, and members of the public who interact with Council employees or enter our facilities. Our procedure on Workplace Violence Prevention and Incident Response outlines the expectations of employees and the response protocols.
A violent situation is any situation where a person is threatened, abused, intimidated, or assaulted. Life-threatening events include death, intentional injury, displays or threats of weapons, or fights resulting in physical injury.
What should I do if I'm in a violent situation?
If the situation wasn't life-threatening, report it to your manager. If you're not comfortable
reporting it to your manager, report it to anyone in the management chain. They will assess
the situation and take appropriate action.
If you're involved in a life-threatening event, call 911 (or 444 if at the Metro Plant). Then, notify front desk personnel/security that 911 has been called and report the incident to a member of the Threat Management Team or a manager.
What actions are prohibited at work?
Acts of violence and any action that endangers or is likely to endanger the safety of an
employee or customer is prohibited. This includes:
- Threats
- Use of force
- Intimidation
- Harassment
- Stalking
Contact a member of the Threat Management Team any time you feel that you're in a
threatening situation. They can provide consultation for plans of action and liaison with outside resources.
If you see someone with a weapon or find a weapon, immediately report it to a manager, a
member of the Threat Management Team, or another person in authority.
Visit the Threat Management page on MetNet for more violence prevention information,
including how to contact the team.
Remember: A safe workplace is everyone's responsibility. Help is here for you when you need it.
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COVID-19 has resulted in an increase in requests for family medical leave. To provide employees with timely information, the Employee Resource Center (ERC) requires 30 days advanced notice of the forcible need for family medical leave whenever practicable.
Managers are required to send a Request for Leave form to the ERC when they first become aware of the need for leave.
Please direct questions to the ERC at EmployeeResourceCenter@metc.state.mn.us.
Managers can now add comments on employees’ goals and competencies directly into the annual performance evaluation in Perform. This new feature allows managers to start documenting performance outcomes within the evaluation form as soon as the employee acknowledges their 2021 performance goals in the system.
To add content to an evaluation, click on the “Rating” task on the Perform dashboard to access the employee’s performance evaluation. Once the performance evaluation is accessed, managers can edit and add notes to goal and competency progress directly into a draft of the annual evaluation which can be finalized and submitted in December. Building
the performance evaluation throughout the year has many benefits, such as:
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Saving time. Since content can be added gradually throughout the year, managers will not need to wait until the fall to start writing performance evaluations.
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Allowing you to work at your own pace. Managers can return to the evaluation as many times as needed to make changes and add content before issuing finalized evaluations in December.
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Saving content as you go. Perform will auto-save any content added; drafts and in- progress content will not be lost.
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Incorporating journal entries. Journal entries written by you or by the employee and shared with you can also be added to the evaluation throughout the year.
There are some serious demands placed on you. Your co-workers need you, your spouse needs you, the boss needs you, the community needs you, the kids need you, and on, and on, and on it keeps going.
Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress. Although some people tend to be more resilient than others, the skill of resilience can be learned.
To help you build this skill, we are offering a four-week workshop series called Everyday Resilience. These one-hour workshops will be held live, via webinar, and recorded for replay for the program participants.
These engaging and interactive workshops offer a multi-dimensional approach, addressing your emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. In these sessions you’ll learn how to:
- Be successful in a highly changing and fast-paced environment.
- Identify and overcome obstacles that are preventing you from reaching your goals.
- Sustain energy levels throughout the day.
- Get the most out of relationships with co-workers, friends, and family.
The four-part program will be held online, Thursdays, May 6 through May 27, from noon to1:00 p.m.
Interested but not quite ready to commit? Attend the preview webinar on April 15 from noon to 1:00 p.m. Email FitForLife@metc.state.mn.us to reserve your spot in this program or to attend the preview webinar.
More than 200 managers and supervisors participated in Disability Management and Accommodation training from March 22 to April 2 to obtain important information about effectively working with employees around disability and reasonable accommodation.
Training materials, including a video of the presentation, Q&A, and Quick Reference Guide for managers and supervisors is available on the Occupational Health SharePoint site.
Please email HR-OccHealth@metc.state.mn.us with questions.
Healthy self-confidence is critical for success in your personal and professional life because it influences our perceptions and the choices we make. In this recommended Skillsoft course, you'll learn what's meant by self-confidence, and the behavioral indicators of low and healthy self-confidence levels.
Learn how to analyze your current self-confidence level and discover effective techniques for building and maintaining healthy self-confidence. This on-demand Skillsoft course is in Learn and is free to all employees.
To access the course 24/7:
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Go to Learn
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Once in Learn, click the library icon at the top of the page and select A-LOD Recommended Online Courses from the left-hand menu.
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Locate “Establishing Self-Confidence for Life” and click “Select” then “Start” from the menu button located to the right of the course name.
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Fit For Life is pleased to bring 10 new online, live dance fitness classes to our staff. Join Coach Val for a weekly dance fitness class to Afrobeats, Caribbean, and world rhythms. AfroKaribe dance fitness classes are open to all employees, no experience is needed, and no equipment is needed.
All classes will use this meeting link (or access directly through Zoom using Meeting ID: 884 3773 1616, Passcode: VFMETC), Thursdays, April 15 through June 17, 1:00 to 1:45 p.m.
In addition, we have 30-minute online, live fitness classes on Wednesdays. Each of these
classes will use this meeting link (or access directly through Zoom using Meeting ID: 851 0089 9817, Passcode: Fitness21). All sessions are from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m.
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April 7, Core Conditioning
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April 14, Yoga
- April 21, Bodyweight High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
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April 28, Pilates
Participation is voluntary and on your own time.
Looking for even more options? Fit For Life has a library of recorded classes for your convenience. Wellbeats is available through HealthPartners, and if you are working on-site the fitness rooms across the Council are open.
Note: These sessions are presented by an external vendor. Please follow IS protocol regarding the use of Zoom. Do not install Zoom on Met Council devices. Zoom and other video conferencing software may not be installed on Met Council devices; however, employees may attend work-related Zoom meetings from other organizations through their web browser without installing the software.
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