Employee News - Feb. 16

A service of the King County Department of Human Resources

King County Employee News

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Highlights

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Celebrating Black History Month: The face of change

The image of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that now adorns everything from buses to park signs to our websites and social media presence represents not only the programs and government of King County, but what we strive to achieve in service to our community.

To learn more about the journey to make Dr. King our namesake and the image of King County, click here


Announcements

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Vehicle licensing offices offer language interpretation for first time

In a first for Washington state, vehicle and vessel licensing subagent offices in King County have access to live language interpretation, thanks to a pilot project through the Records and Licensing Services (RALS) Licensing section.

These subagent offices are small businesses that contract with King County and are appointed by the state to provide vehicle and vessel titling and registration services. Read more about this innovative program.


Mechanic Shop

Fleet adjusting hours to meet customers’ needs

Starting March 1, Fleet’s Renton shop hours will be from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, a shift from their current 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule. The change is being made to better serve late-night sheriffs and workers. Find out more here


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How was your Benefits Open Enrollment experience?

The COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges for the Benefits team and required them to do some things a little bit differently in 2020. Before they start making plans for this fall’s Open Enrollment, they’d like to hear how last year’s Open Enrollment went for you.

Please take a moment to complete the four-question Open Enrollment Survey by Feb. 28. Your responses will help us take actionable steps to ensure a great experience this fall.

 If you have questions about your employee benefits, call the Benefits team 206-684-1556 or email KC Benefits.


Metromance Kathy & Ninus

Metromance: Kathy & Ninus

Kathy and Ninus met in 1968 through one of Ninus’ family members. “It was pretty much love at first sight, and we didn’t spend many days apart from then on,” said Kathy.

They were married in 1969. And they both work for Solid Ground Transportation, one of the contractors that provides Access Paratransit service. Read their story.


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Balanced You Self-Care 30 Day Challenge: Week 3

Congratulations! You made it to week three of Balanced You's Self-Care 30 Day Challenge. Hopefully, you have found the suggestions we provided over the last two weeks helpful for you and your family. Here are our week three suggestions for self-care: 

  • Combat isolation by playing games with family and friends! Dust off the board games for a game of Monopoly or Checkers. Traditional board games are a fun way to connect with family. There are also a many online games available to keep you connected with friends and loved ones near and far. 
  • Managing finances is an important form of self-care. Balanced You partners with My Secure Advantage (MSA) to provide access to free tools and individualized coaching to help you plan your financial future. More details, including how to sign up, can be found here.
  • Are you living with a long-term health condition and looking for ways to manage it?  Balanced You's Living Well program helps employees and their loved ones with long-term health conditions improve their quality of life and connect with others. Check out this Balanced You blog post for more information. 

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Coffee Connections: Arts & Crafts

As part of the Hope and Joy Campaign, the Balanced You team is hosting a series of informal, virtual zoom sessions, called “Coffee Connections”, to provide spaces for employees to connect over fun topics and events. Join in to share your favorite hobby or arts and crafts and get new ideas from fellow employees.  


Training Spotlight

Brain-based Time Management – Online – What we do and how we do it are driven by how our brains are wired. Neuroscience tells us we have 10 brain skills and each one of us has skills that are strong (and skills that are not so strong).

In this class, you’ll hear about each of these skills so you can identify where the weak areas are for you and most importantly, learn what you can do about it. This three hour class is $50 and space is limited. The next session will be held tomorrow! 

  • Wednesday, Feb. 17, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. 
  • Cost is $50
  • Register here.  

Please visit our King County Eventbrite website and our Learning and Development website for more learning opportunities. For more information, contact the Learning and Development Team at KCTraining@kingcounty.gov or visit Learning and Development at www.kingcounty.gov/learning


Career Services Support

  • Creating Effective Application Materials – This two-hour virtual workshop will provide you tips and strategies on how to make your application materials stand out.  Learning objectives include: 
    • Understanding the purpose of the job application, resume, cover letter and supplemental questions and how to make each of them more effective 
    • Deciding what to include in your resume and the best format to showcase your qualifications 
    • How to write a cover letter tailored to the specific position 
    • Identifying and showcasing your accomplishments 
    • Tuesday, Feb. 23 from 1-3 p.m.
    • Register Here. 
  • STAR-LA Interview Practice and Feedback This one-hour VIRTUAL, small group workshop is designed to provide mock interview practice and feedback using the STAR-LA method as taught by King County Career Support Services. This workshop is ideal for participants who have attended the Strategic Interviewing Tips and Techniques workshop or have watched the 10 minute STAR-LA method video found on the Career Support Services website
     

For additional online workshops offered by King County Career Support Services (CSS), visit their Eventbrite page. For more information about CSS along with links to career related tips and resources, visit www.kingcounty.gov/CSS


Tech Security Locks

Tech Tip: What's the deal with data breaches?

Data breaches are becoming more and more common these days. You hear about them in the news all the time. So you might be wondering: what exactly is a data breach? How do I protect my information? What do I do if my information was already exposed in a breach?

Don't panic! For the answer to these questions and more, click here


Featured Job

Rail Grounds Specialist - Non-CDL

Salary: $24.72 - $35.31 Hourly

Location: Seattle, WA

Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week

Department: MTD - Metro Transit

Job Number: 2021MC12795

Division: Rail

Closing: Feb 26

Rail Transit Grounds Specialists are responsible for a variety of landscape activities including overall care and maintenance of lawns, gardens and ornamental planting.  They install, modify and perform routine maintenance and repair of irrigation systems and related gardening equipment.  

Learn more about this position or view all available positions.


King County Headlines

Public Health Insider: Containing COVID-19 at home

Dr. Jeff Duchin update on COVID-19 trends and vaccine rollout - Feb. 12

Looking for back issues?

Click here for previous editions of the Employee News e-newsletter going back to 2019.

Contact us!

Interested in sharing a news story, or have a news tip? Click here to submit an item to Employee News. For questions or suggestions, please contact KCEmployees@kingcounty.gov.