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Human Resources regularly hosts events on employee engagement, workforce development, health and wellness, and more. All sessions are virtual unless otherwise noted. Join us for these upcoming events:
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Launch My Health Nutrition Services Overview, Wednesday, Jan. 3 (noon to 12:30 p.m.)
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Nourishment and Cooking Demo: 30-Minute Meals – Enchiladas, Wednesday, Jan. 10 (noon to 12:45 p.m.)
For more health and wellness events, visit the Fit For Life events page.
Looking for training opportunities? Sign up for one of these upcoming instructor-led classes still open for registration:
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Art of Leadership, Thursday, Jan. 18 (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.), in person
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Transformational Leadership, Wednesday, Jan. 24 (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.), in person
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Problem Solving Methodology and Tools, Thursday, Feb. 1 (9 to 11:30 a.m.), virtual
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Leading and Supporting Continuous Improvement, Wednesday, Feb. 14 (9 to 11:30 a.m.), virtual
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Advanced Presentation Skills, Thursday, Feb. 15 (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.), in person
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Delivery Feedback, Wednesday, Feb. 21 (9 to 11:30 a.m.), virtual
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Responding Well to Feedback, Thursday, Feb. 22 (9 to 11:30 a.m.), virtual
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Positive Performance, Thursday, Feb. 29 (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.), in person
For class details and registration instructions, or to explore more upcoming classes, visit the class schedule page.
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In each newsletter, we highlight job openings at the Met Council to present the wide range of opportunities we have across the organization. Perhaps you will want to apply, or you will share them with your professional networks, family members, or friends. To help make it easy, we're linking to the Met Council's LinkedIn post about the job, which you can share or use as inspiration to write your own.
Director of bus transportation (job announcement)
Bus transportation administration, Metro Transit
This person will direct, plan, organize, and control the operation of bus transit services, including oversight of the department’s 1,100+ operators and 150+ dispatchers, coordinators, instructors, and administrative employees. Our ideal candidate will have knowledge of the principles and practices of operating a mass transit system, experience in building collaborative teams, and strong interpersonal and negotiation skills.
LinkedIn post about this job
Traction power maintainer (job announcement)
Rail systems maintenance, Metro Transit
This person will install, inspect, maintain, repair, and provide diagnostic analysis for all components of the electric traction power systems and all light rail transit facilities. Full training on the traction power system is provided as part of the first year on the job.
LinkedIn post about this job
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Tip of the week
Are you considering applying for a Met Council position? These tips can help you better position yourself to get promoted or transferred through a competitive process:
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Read the job posting thoroughly.
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Verify how your skills match the listed qualifications. Most Met Council positions are competitive, and people must apply and compete for the position.
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Apply and attach a resume, if desired or asked for. Include any positions you've had at the Met Council; they are part of your work history.
- If you're invited to a structured panel interview, answer questions as though you are not known and be confident.
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Sell yourself as a candidate! Highlight skills that are most relevant to the job and present your best self.
Be patient as the hiring process is completed. If you do not get the position, this can be used as a learning tool to help you better position yourself for any future job postings.
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Now is the time to use up the money in your flexible spending accounts (FSAs). To avoid losing any funds, you will want to spend down your health FSA to less than $550 and use up all your dependent care FSA.
Spend down your health FSA balance before Sunday, Dec. 31.
Eyeglasses, vitamins, band aids, and dental expenses are commonly used to spend down health FSA dollars. Log into the TASC website for a list of eligible expenses.
Filing deadlines for 2023 FSA claims:
- Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024: Parking
- Sunday, March 31, 2024: Health and dependent care (daycare)
2023 claims filed after those deadlines will be denied.
File online, via paper form, or call TASC at 800-422-4661.
Rollover
If you have funds left over after the claims deadlines above, rollover amounts are as follows:
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Health FSA: Up to $550 in health FSA funds will carry forward into a 2024 health FSA, in mid-April.
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Parking FSA: Any funds left over after the parking claims deadline will carry over into a 2024 parking account, in mid-February.
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Dependent care (daycare) FSA: There is no carryover of daycare dollars.
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FSA debit card
Remember that your FSA debit card from TASC is good for several years; don’t throw it away!
- If you enrolled in a 2024 parking or dependent (daycare) FSA plan, your account will be funded with each payroll deduction. Your debit card will decline if you swipe it for a parking or daycare charge that is more than your account balance.
- Your entire health FSA election is available for use on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.
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DO NOT use your debit card in 2024 for 2023 expenses. If you accidentally do use it, call TASC right away so they can correct the expense back to 2023. If you do not call TASC before the Sunday, March 31, 2024, claims submission deadline, you will owe the money back.
Debit card tips and resources
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Pay separately for each date of service. If you pay for multiple dates of service or multiple family members in one transaction, you will be asked for multiple documents.
- Use your debit card for eligible expenses only. If you know something is ineligible, use another form of payment for that item.
- Do not use your card to pay for expenses you had in a prior year.
- For substantiation, an explanation of benefits (EOB) from the insurance company is the best document to use.
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Due to new card access technology, all Met Council employees will receive new badges in 2024. Along with this technology upgrade, we are urging all employees – especially those hired before 2020 – to submit an updated badge photo so it is more accurate to their current appearance. This will help provide better security for everyone onsite.
Over the years, HR has heard from staff who want to update their photo, and now with this new technology platform we can more easily facilitate a large photo refresh for staff.
Submit a passport-style photo into Employee Self Service by Sunday, Dec. 31.
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All Perform tasks should be now completed and signed by all parties. Although the due date was Monday, Dec. 11, please keep working on closing out the performance year. As you can see from chart above, there is still work to be done.
If you know that a performance evaluation will be delayed, for example due to a leave of absence or extended probation, please send an email to Todd.Rowley@metc.state.mn.us with related details.
Questions? Email Perform@metc.state.mn.us.
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Did you know competencies are used in the hiring process? The Met Council embraces a leadership competency model that identifies core and level-specific competencies for all positions that are critical to serving the region. Therefore, when filling an open position, the desired competencies are listed in the posting and, during the interview process, questions to assess them.
Employees can review the competency descriptions and behavioral expectations of positions when they apply and go through the interview and selection process. By reviewing this information, applicants can provide examples of specific competencies in the application. Candidates can also be better prepared to respond to interview questions with specific examples that demonstrate the desired competencies.
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LOD training and programs may count toward supervision requirements listed on job postings. Below are the Met Council programs with supervision experience equivalents that are granted upon completion:
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Metro Transit Leadership Academy – 1 year supervisory experience
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Project Management Development Program (12-month session) – 1 year supervisory experience
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Project Management Development Program (6-month session) – 6 months supervisory experience
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Four Learning Institute programs (complete all four certificates below) – 6 months supervisory experience
Make sure to attach your certificate(s) to your application when applying for an open position.
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Fit For Life is thrilled to bring Launch My Health into the lineup of available wellness programming for 2024! Whether you have diabetes, hot flashes, migraines, or other health conditions, Launch My Health’s nutrition services are designed to support a variety of goals such as improving blood sugar control, cooking skills, and enjoying the foods that will benefit you.
Starting in 2024, employees and their household will have access to a variety of cooking classes, self-paced programs, and educational tips!
Digital nourishment programs kick-off event
At this interactive webinar, learn about Launch My Health and discover what programs and services will be most helpful to you.
Wednesday, Jan. 3
Noon to 12:30 p.m.
Calendar invite coming soon
First online nourishment and cooking demo
30-Minute Meals: Enchiladas
Wednesday, Jan. 10
Noon to 12:45 p.m.
Calendar invite coming soon
Every month join us for a live and interactive webinar. Find the full monthly calendar below.
Raising happy, healthy children is never easy. You want to keep your kiddos protected at daycare, school, on the playground, and when visiting friends and family – but what’s the best way of doing that? In most cases, it’s the stuff you do before your kids get sick that can help them stay healthy and avoid an unexpected doctor’s visit.
At Well@Work, children 18 months and older can be seen for a variety of needs, including:
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Sore throat
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Ear infections
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Rashes
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Sports and camp physicals
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And more
Make an appointment online or by phone:
To schedule an appointment online:
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Visit our Met Council scheduling page.
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Click the "Schedule online" button and sign into your HealthPartners account, or click "Find an appointment first" if you don't have a HealthPartners account.
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Select "Primary care" as your visit type.
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Answer the questions about your visit – including if you want a phone or video visit.
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Select the Met Council St. Paul or Heywood Well@Work clinic when the page appears.
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After answering a few questions, you will be asked to create an account if you don't have one.
If you prefer to make an appointment by phone, you can call the appointment center for your desired location:
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Minneapolis (Heywood Office and Police building): 952-967-7468
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Saint Paul (Jackson Street building): 952-967-5474
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Human Resources has launched a new electronic form in Manager Self Service for reporting relationship changes, which is one type of Personnel Action Request (PAR).
Manager Self Service is a section within the Employee Self Service portal that allows managers to view their direct reports’ information. To access this section, log into Employee Self Service and click “Manager Self Service” in the main menu. With the new electronic form, you will only have access to submit requests for your direct reports.
The regular PAR form on HR’s Forms and Resources page on MetNet should still be used for all other employee changes. Over time, HR will add new electronic forms into Manager Self Service for the other types of PAR actions, and we will send notifications out when those are available.
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