A Note From the Director
Wishing you all the best time during the holidays! We encourage you to take time off to relax and enjoy quality time with your family and friends.
Thank you to the HR Leaders who attended the in-person 2024 Innovation Meeting last August in Richmond, Virginia. We are planning for the full day Innovation Summit in the Spring of 2025 and look forward to continuing the innovation dialogue. Your thoughts and suggestions are welcomed for the Summit. Please email me directly.
I am so proud of our HR Community and look forward to continuing our great efforts together in 2025!
Thank you and happy holidays!
Janet L. Lawson, DHRM Director
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We are happy to announce that effective January 1, 2025, DHRM Policy 1.60 Standards of Conduct (SOC) is revised. It is currently available on the DHRM website for your review. Please find the Summary of Changes here, which outlines the significant revisions or additions to the policy.
Earlier this year, we announced plans to initiate a targeted data cleanup project to ensure that Cardinal records are accurate and up to date. During the first phase of 2025, the focus will be on FLSA status classifications.
We are on the cusp of modernizing the Commonwealth’s Performance Evaluation process to include competencies and a 5-point rating scale. Please see the document here that shows our COV Competencies and new rating scale. More information will be available in the next month or two.
On October 11, 2024, the Adjunct Emergency Workforce (AEW) was activated for the first time since COVID-19 to support the staffing at Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in 11 counties. Since its first activation in 2021 to support COVID Vaccination Centers, the AEW program has undergone many programmatic updates to support different disasters in the Commonwealth. Visit the AEW webpage to find out more information or you can register here to become a participant. To learn about how your agency can support disasters in the Commonwealth, please reach out to Rebecca Heins with VDEM.
While there is no policy that defines a paid leave category for absences due to bereavement, the Commonwealth recognizes the special needs employees have during periods of this type of loss. Please ensure state employees are mindful of the need to reserve appropriate leave time for such circumstances.
During the HR Conference held at the end of September, we revealed a new initiative, DHRM’s HR Capabilities Center and Innovation Lab. It is a reimagined approach to HR Development and is centered around a single idea, that sustaining a best-in-class state workforce requires an elite level of human resources. This framework consists of three core elements: strategic HR consulting, new communication methods, and the COMPASS Human Resources Academy, that would all be tailored specifically to the Commonwealth of Virginia Human Resources. You can explore this PowerPoint presentation here to learn more details about each of the core elements, submit questions, and learn how to get involved.
The Employment Dispute Resolution team is publishing updates to the Grievance Procedure Manual and Rules for Conducting Grievance Hearings, which will be effective January 1, 2025. The updated documents are currently available on the EDR webpage. A summary of changes is also available to understand the topics being addressed, though most of the updates are minor. If there are any questions, they should be directed to Chris Grab at chris.grab@dhrm.virginia.gov.
During the month of November, a total of 1874 state employees accepted the challenge to be active for 20 minutes or more on at least 25 days. Kudos to all participants and congratulations to all who completed the Turkey Trot challenge!
Engagement
26 Senior leader participants and Secretary of Administration, Lyn McDermid.
The Commonwealth Leadership Academy Graduation Ceremony
The Leadership Academy graduation was held on November 12th. This eight-week executive development leadership program is sponsored by Governor Youngkin and designed for Cabinet level and agency senior leadership: Deputy or Assistant Secretaries, Agency Heads, Deputy Directors, or other Senior leadership with significant accountability for leading change and innovation within their agencies. The graduates presented their recommendations for five different strategic projects and attended a graduation ceremony and reception at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC).
The 2024 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) launched statewide on Wednesday, October 2nd! We appreciate all of the state employees from around the Capitol Square area in downtown Richmond, who participated in the 2024 DHRM Charity Fairs in October, November and December. Supporting local charities makes a positive impact in the communities we live, work and play. Donations don’t have to end with payroll deductions! State employees can continue to give using credit card until December 31, 2024, or by reporting direct donations to a charity by January 31, 2025. For questions regarding the CVC, please reach out to cvcsupport@dhrm.virginia.gov.
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In Case You Missed...
As we embark on our journey to implement the Performance Management module in PageUp, we needed to make changes to the Position Description in the PageUp RMS module. The updated Position Description went live on November 26, 2024.
On November 15, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the Biden administration's proposed overtime rule. While this ruling may have struck down the salary threshold increases beginning July 1, 2024, at this time, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has not provided updated guidance or announced any changes in response to the court’s decision.
We are excited to announce that the DHRM 2024 Mandated Reporting Activities for Human Resources calendar is now available for agency Human Resource Directors. This document provides a summary list in date order of mandated reporting and other requirements of Commonwealth agency Human Resources. These mandates are set in the Code of Virginia, Appropriation Act, Executive Orders, Executive Directives, observations and ongoing additional requirements of state officials. This is a living document and will be updated as necessary. If you have any questions or want to provide us with any feedback regarding the calendar, feel free to contact DHRM, Deputy Director, Stacy Pendleton. We hope this will be a helpful tool for you.
We are excited to announce several changes to the COVApp for Telework Agreements that went into effective on December 11th. Please find the changes here.
Goings....
We are excited to announce Alexander T. Hamilton (A.T) retired in November after serving the Commonwealth of Virginia since 2000. Throughout his tenure at DHRM, A.T. served as the subject matter expert for the Commonwealth of Virginia Learning Center (COVLC). His expertise with the COVLC, experience in training, and customer focus has been instrumental in the growth and use of the COVLC over many years. A.T. made a significant impact on the COVLC and in supporting agency customers.
After 32 dedicated years of career service to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Pat Waller is stepping from Shared Services Manager into a well-deserved retirement. Pat has been passionate about her work and the opportunities to help others. Having a career in human resources was a dream come true for her because she has always been passionate about helping and mentoring others and seeing people succeed in their careers. Her positions in state government provided so many opportunities to help others.
For 14 years, Pat has been the DHRM Shared Services Manager where she and her team provide HR services and support to 16 state agencies. To Pat, serving state employees is an honor and a privilege. Prior to her current position, Pat held the position of State Career Advisor providing career coaching to state employees who wanted to progress in their careers in state government and helping citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia navigate the state’s recruitment and hiring process for employment in state government. She was promoted to the role of State Recruitment Manager where she was responsible for statewide recruitment efforts and managing the state’s Recruitment Management System.
Pat has been a mentor to many including serving as a mentor in the Virginia Management Fellows Program. In her next chapter, Pat is looking forward to spending more time with her family and is very excited about being a grandparent for the first time. She plans to travel, continue volunteering at her church, and having more time for her hobbies reading, crafting, and decorating.
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