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In this Issue
As we find ourselves halfway through the summer, we know employees are looking for more detailed information around the telework transition that will kick off after Labor Day. Please know the pandemic and telework transition planning teams are hard at work putting guidelines together and assessing onsite logistics for returning teleworkers to Met Council facilities.
One piece of the puzzle is the Telework Procedure, which we have updated and will publish next week. The work culture of the Met Council is undergoing a transition to provide greater flexibility for employees to work remotely, and we have updated the procedure to reflect that.
To help teams prepare for the transition, managers and supervisors with direct reports are invited to attend a virtual Q&A with leadership next Wednesday. In this session, managers will learn about the updated Telework Procedure, review tasks they should begin working on with their staff, and gain insight into the Councilwide telework transition planning team.
Telework transition Q&A: Managers and supervisors with direct reports
Wednesday, July 21
11 a.m. – noon
Microsoft Teams
The Outlook invitation was sent yesterday to all managers and supervisors with direct reports. Please contact Paula.Crane@metc.state.mn.us if you did not receive a meeting invite. If you cannot attend live, the session will be recorded and posted on MetNet for later viewing.
All employees will receive more details in the coming days about the timeline for the telework transition and how they should start preparing. Keep an eye on your email and on the MetNet home page.
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The Met Council is offering a special enrollment period this month that allows employees to increase or add supplemental life insurance. Employees are allowed to increase their supplemental life insurance up to $40,000 without presenting evidence of insurability. The enrollment period is open through July 31, and changes will take effect on September 1.
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Click the “Enroll Now” button.
- On this main page, click the button that says either “Get started” or “Edit your benefits.”
- The “Get started” button will take you through a review of your current benefits. Click on “Reviewed and completed,” skip the survey, and you will be back to edit. Click “Edit benefits.”
- Select a reason for making this change. For this special enrollment period, use the reason “Supplemental Life Open Enrollment.” You do not need to change the date.
- A review of dependents will come up; verify these are correct, especially if you are making a change to child life insurance. Click “Next” and your options for changes will appear.
- Select the plan you want to change. Make your elections and click “Save.” You will see a success message; click there to return to a review of your benefit changes. Scroll to the bottom of the review, click "Save” and you’re done!
If you want more information on supplemental life insurance, check out yesterday’s webinar on the Benefits MetNet site. In the announcements at the bottom of this page, you will find recordings of all the benefits education webinars we’ve hosted this year.
This fall, Learning and Organization Development is offering what you need to improve your core business skills.
The Business Skills certificate program will help you develop skills that enable you to solve problems, make timely decisions, capitalize on efficiencies, serve ever-increasing customer needs, and adapt to a changing environment.
Instructor-led classes include:
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Managing Your Priorities
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The Problem-Solving Process
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Introduction to Continuous Improvement
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Decision Making
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Fit For Life is pleased to bring online fitness options to all employees. Contact FitForLife@metc.state.mn.us for a calendar invite for any of these sessions.
AfroKaribe dance fitness class
Thursday, July 29, 1:15 to 2:00 p.m.
30-minute online, live fitness classes
Wednesdays, 1:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Each of these classes will use this meeting link (or join directly through Zoom using Meeting ID: 851 0089 9817, Passcode: Fitness21)
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July 21: Core Conditioning
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July 28: Yoga
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Aug. 4: Bodyweight: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
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Aug. 11: Pilates
Looking for even more options? Fit For Life also 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. 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.
Participation is voluntary and on your own time.
Do you have zucchini growing in your garden? Zucchini carrot muffins from Chef Marshall O'Brien are the perfect treat for your summer harvest.
For more recipes and ideas from Chef O’Brien, join him on the topic “Best Summer Ever” for a cooking demo and nutrition education session Thursday, July 22, 11:00 a.m. to noon.
For more ideas, or a more personalized plan for your nourishment, Fit For Life offers three, 30-minute, one-on-one consultations with a registered dietician to all employees.
What do the one-on-one consultations include?
- First session will be a discussion of goals and initial action steps.
- Second session will be a check-in to assess and modify your plans as needed.
- Third session will be a check-in to assess and modify your plans as needed, and discussion of long-term action steps.
As you know, you can upload a personal photo to your Microsoft 365 profile. To do
this, you must follow these guidelines:
• Photo must be of you.
• Your face should take up at least 60% of the frame.
• Look forward and have both eyes open.
• Wear professional attire.
• Use a plain white or off-white background.
• Do not use filters.
• Photo must not be digitally enhanced or altered to change appearance.
• Photo must be in JPEG file format (preferably 240 kilobytes or less).
Follow these instructions to change your profile photo in Microsoft Teams. Once your profile photo is updated in Teams, it will be synced throughout all of Office 365.
Please note that the digital image/photograph you choose to upload to Microsoft 365 is private personnel data and you are not legally required to provide your digital image/photograph for this purpose. Your digital image/photograph may be used across all Microsoft 365 applications and viewable by all users of Microsoft 365. Your digital image/photograph may be released to other persons or entities as required or allowed by state or federal law.
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