Season of Giving Starts with CECO Campaign

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Halloween is less than a month away. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And the December holidays will be here before you know it. As we head into the hustle and bustle of the season of giving, consider joining your co-workers in giving to the community.

The County Employees' Charitable Organization launched its annual fundraising season Oct. 1 and membership drive Thursday, and it will run through end of November. What makes CECO different from other charitable organizations is that it is run by our very own County employees and 100 percent of money donated benefits local non-profit agencies and employees in crisis.

Donating to CECO makes a big difference to our local community. (Check the infographic below to see where some of the funds go.) Earlier this year, the organization awarded grants to 107 non-profit programs totaling $200,000. And since its founding in 1956, it has distributed more than $5 million throughout the San Diego region. This is quite a feat and something that we, as County employees should be proud of.

Making a big difference has never been so easy. Here are six ways to give:

  1. Biweekly Donation via Payroll Deduction: For as little as $2.00 a pay period, County employees can participate in the CECO tradition of giving. Please see CECO pledge instructions.

  2. One-Time Donations: To make a one-time donation, contact your CECO Department Representative or a member of the CECO Executive Committee.

  3. CECO Auction: Donate an itemand or bid at the annual CECO auction Oct. 15 at the County Operations Center. Auction items include beach cruisers, art and memorabilia. There will also be food and music at the event.

  4. Department Fundraisers: Keep your eyes open for upcoming fundraisers, including bake sales, on InSite.

  5. Amazon Smile: Select “CECO” when you shop at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to CECO. Learn more.

  6. Volunteer Your Time: To help with an upcoming fundraiser event, please contact your CECO Department Representative or a member of the CECO Executive Committee.

Beware! Halloween Is Coming to the County

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Winners of the Scariest Costume Contest at the Haunted Plaza at the COC in 2014.

Winners of the Scariest Costume Contest at the Haunted Plaza at the COC in 2014.

Get ready for an eerie and cheery time. The County is hosting an amazing amount of Halloween happenings from now through Oct. 30.

Masters of Disguise: This year theCostume Contestfor employees is Countywide. Entry into the contest is simple—don your Halloween best at work on Oct. 30 and submit a single photo of yourself in costume to communications@sdcounty.ca.gov by 4 p.m., Oct. 30. Be sure to include your name, title, department and who you are dressed up as. Tips: Submit a photo that shows your entire outfit. Be the only person in the photo—we want to know who you are! And on Monday,Dia de los Muertos, County employees will vote on Insite for the top costume from five finalists.

Yummy Mummies: Frighteningly delicious Halloween Menu Specials will be served at the CAC and COC cafeterias on Oct. 30. Kitchen staff have wiped the cobwebs off of the cauldron and are currently brewing up some mouthwatering recipes to delight and entice. Check the menu boards later this month.

Hollyweird: The County will roll out the red carpet for a Halloween party at the COC Oct. 30. This is not your average Halloween gathering. It is a Hollywood-themed bash with one wickedly weird twist—it’s a Hollyweird Halloween party. It’s where werewolves and vampires brush elbows with icons like Marilyn Monroe, modern day pirates like Johnny Depp, fictional favorites like Hans Solo and classic cartoon characters like Betty Boop. Look for the Hollyweird sign outside the Commons and join the fangtastic festivities scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

  • Stroll down “Hollywood Boulevard” to meet celebrity look-a-likes and snap a scarefie with the celebs.

  • Hunt for stars along the “Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

  • Attend an open “casting call” for scream queens. Show off your vivacious vocal chords at the Scream-O-Ramacontest.

  • Be nominated for the coveted Best Performance Oscare by competing in theLip Sync-Off. A total of 10 nominees will bewitch us with their style, lip sync ability and dramatic performance! The tournament-style event will start at the witching hour (12:15 p.m.). Come out to cheer on your favorite contender. Interested competitors can “audition” by sending a 30-second lip sync video clip to Jessie.bishop@sdcounty.ca.gov by 4 p.m., Oct. 15. The email should include your name or team (if applicable) and the song title you plan to perform. Costume and song choices must be work appropriate. The 10 nominees for the Best Performance Oscare will be announced on InSite prior to the big bash.

  • The peculiar contents of several macabreMystery Boxes could be straight off of a Hollywood movie set! Bravely place your hand into the box to guess which one is braiiiiiins, eyeballs, ears, bones and other creepy crawlies.

  • Move over Elvis and Shakira! County employees will have a chance to shake their hips to Taylor Swift’s most recent anthem. In Shake It Off, contestants will attempt to remove ping pong balls from a box attached to their waists without the use of their hands. (This sounds way easier than it actually is!)

  • Dare to embark on the Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt. Tasks include devilish challenges and hair-raising dares.

  • If you strike out during the Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt, try your arm in Pumpkin Bowling

Start planning your costume and watch for next week’s tips. Let the games begin!

You’re All Showing a Lot of HEART

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Making sure our customers get exceptional service is a year-round, 24/7 business. But this week is officially Customer Service Week across the country.

It also happens to be the one-year anniversary of the County’s launch of its Customer Experience Initiative to push our customer service to the next level. Employees across the organization have embraced the effort in a variety of ways, all driven by using a positive approach to create a positive experience.

To help us learn from each other, here are a just a few samples of things departments have been doing over the last year to spread the message and make people’s experience with the County better.

Spell It Out

Auditor and Controller has created several kinds of recognition for employees using the HEART commitment: serving customers with Helpfulness, Expertise, Attentiveness, Respect and Timeliness. Employees can receive on-the-spot recognition from colleagues in the form of one letter representing the HEART quality they demonstrated. For example, an “E” if they showed expertise in helping a customer. Anyone who puts together an entire HEART in a quarter gets special department-wide recognition.

The department also invites recognition from the public, and even vendors, providing a form that allows them to identify employees for a HEART of Service Award. Auditor and Controller sends a team to visit recipients of either type of award and salute them with some pomp and noisemakers.

You Are Here: Customer Journey Mapping

The term you commonly hear now across the service industry – and the one we’ve adopted at the County for our initiative – is customer experience. It emphasizes the whole series of actions a customer can have and their overall impression.

People who need self-sufficiency services from the County need to go through an eligibility process at one of the Health and Human Service Agency’s Family Resource Centers. The South Regions center recently engaged in what’s called “customer journey mapping.” The staff documented all the different points of customer interaction, from their arrival outside the building to waiting in line to submitting an application to interviews. Then staff found a few willing clients and shadowed them through the whole process, talking to them along the way about their experience at each point and noting what worked and where there were difficulties. They are now reviewing the mapping and identifying areas for improvement.

Click image to view full size.

This particular journey map looked only at the visit to the FRC itself. But it could include everything from personal referrals to website visits to phone calls. Take a look at some sample journey maps from federal government.    

You Could Ask

What do your customers want? The Air Pollution Control District decided the best way to get that answer was to spend a little time asking – in person and in-depth. APCD works regularly with the shipbuilding giant NASSCO on a variety of permitting and inspections. The department invited a company representative to come to a meeting of several dozen employees and explain what she thinks is working well and areas that could use some improvement. APCD is using the feedback to work at streamlining procedures. The department plans to hold similar meetings with other regular customers.   

Check Them Out

The County Library has two awards focusing specifically on employees serving patrons. Excellence in Customer Service recognizes staff at the branch locations who interact directly with the public. The Four Corners Award is for the people behind the scenes, those overseeing programs or working at the central offices. The latter is a special emphasis in the Customer Experience Initiative: making sure we understand everyone in the organization plays a part in delivering customer service, not just those who see customers face to face. Library recognizes the award winners at its quarterly trainings, which are one of the few times members from the far-flung system all gather in one place.

On the Road and Off Hours

It can be tough for a working parent to get to the Department of Child Support Services offices downtown and during regular business hours. So the department is adding flexibility with time and location with DCSS in Your Neighborhood. Case workers have begun offering dates when they set up shop at County Library branches during the evening, when more customers are available. (There’s also the advantage of not dealing with parking downtown.) The department plans to expand the program to additional locations. It’s all part of its effort to be more family-centric in its approach.

HEART with Pizzaz – and Pizza

Child Welfare Services has created customer service boards in all its facilities to highlight employees’ excellent work. The bulletin boards include recognition messages from supervisors or colleagues. They’ve also created employee badge inserts with HEART to keep the qualities a constant presence.

A member of CWS knows one way to HEART is through your stomach. Chef Isa Olloni at Polinsky Children’s Center has baked heart-shaped pizzas as a unique way to help reinforce the message. That will give you a real appetite for customer service!

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 (hearts – or pizza slices?)

Those are just a few of the things departments are doing to keep customers at the center of their business. We’ll periodically be sharing success stories, and continue to post the Positive Experiences quotes on InSite.  Visit the Customer Experience website for more about the County’s initiative.

If you can’t wait for more customer service news, the federal government has a Customer Experience Community of Practice open to all levels of government. It offers a weekly email with a roundup of articles and trainings on various customer service topics.

Open Enrollment 2016

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Open Enrollment is coming Monday! This is your annual opportunity to review your insurance coverage and make any necessary changes. All elections will need to be made between Monday, Oct. 5 and Thursday, Oct. 29.

Do your homework now! Take a web-based training on e-Benefits. Visit the 2016 Open Enrollment information page from your work or home computer. And learn more about what's new, what's changing and what's staying the same. In addition, review a comprehensive open enrollment guide.

Have an Open Enrollment question, ask your Benefits Ambassador.

Animal Control Officer Helps Save Human

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Despite his official title, Animal Control Officer Tony Wade is no stranger to helping out humans. But recently, one incident had zero animal involvement.

Wade was working on a dog bite call at Mission Bay on a Sunday morning when he was flagged down.

“When I went over to see what was going on, a man advised me that he believed his friend had died. I contacted dispatch and requested medical assistance,” Wade said.

Lt. Mitchell Levy, who was listening to dispatch up at Animal Services’ Carlsbad animal care facility, heard the whole thing.

“I could hear Wade on the radio very calmly advising our dispatcher of the situation and asking her to send paramedics to his location,” he said.

With the help of a bystander, Wade then pulled the distressed man out of the vehicle and laid him flat on his back. Guided by an emergency dispatcher, Wade began conducting chest compressions, and a nearby doctor came over to assist. Once paramedics arrived, it took them about five minutes to get a pulse and they transferred the man to a medical facility.

“From what I could hear on the radio, Wade remained calm, professional and instinctively did what needed to be done to save this person’s life,” said Levy.

Wade, who’s been with the department for a year, said he learned CPR in the County’s Animal Control Academy – a skill he put to use for the first time in this situation. The officer said he often assists with sick or injured patrons on a regular basis, but never in this type of capacity.

“I just wanted to help. I would suggest that people learn CPR, because you never know when a situation might need that particular skill,” he said.

You can learn CPR, get a refresher course or get recertified with classes in our LMS. Just visit the system and search for “CPR.”   

Game On: Get Discounted SDSU Football Tix

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Celebrate Aztecs homecoming and college football season with a few hundred of your co-workers. San Diego State University will host San Diego County Day with discounted tickets and a free fair for County employees and their families at SDSU’s Nov. 14 home game against the Wyoming Cowboys.

Tickets are just $10 for employees and their family members. Purchase tickets online with coupon code COUNTY. Parking will be $10.

The pregame activities at Qualcomm Stadium, including activities, games galore and free rides, start at 5 p.m. in parking section C1/D1. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

There is no need to wait all the way until the game to show your red and black pride. Join County supervisors and fellow employees for a pep rally next month. The San Diego State Marching Aztecs, spirit squad and cheerleaders will stop by the County Operations Center on Oct. 28 from noon to 1 p.m. (Watch last year’s County employee fan fest.)

CECO Seeking Auction Items

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San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO) is about to launch its annual membership campaign and is looking for donations for its upcoming Silent Auction. Some potential items include gift cards, collectibles, memorabilia, art, and new or gently used sports equipment.

The auction is a fun fundraiser for CECO, which puts 100 percent of all its donations toward grants for local non-profits and assistance to employees in crisis. Earlier this year, the organization awarded grants to 107 non-profit programs totaling $200,000. And since its founding in 1956, it has distributed more than $5 million throughout the San Diego region.

CECO, a nonprofit itself, plans to make this year’s auction the most successful to date. So mark your calendar for the event. The Silent Auction will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Oct. 15 at the Commons at the County Operations Center. Registration starts at 5 p.m. It is open to County employees, family and friends.

CECO already has some great auction items, including beach cruisers, a Warner Springs Ranch Resort golf package, signed sports and music memorabilia, and passes for a variety of San Diego attractions.

Donations can be arraigned by contacting sdceco@sdcounty.ca.gov.

In addition to the auction, employees can make a big difference by getting involved and contributing a one-time donations or bi-weekly payroll deductions to CECO.

SDCLA Hosts Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

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County employees celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a fiesta on Tuesday at the County Operations Center.

The San Diego County Latino Association (SDCLA) hosted the occasion with food, entertainment including dance and a mariachi band, and well-earned recognition for founding members of this employee resource group (ERG), which formed in 1983. The County Latino Association is considered one of the oldest ERGs in the country.

Live Well Center Opens in Escondido

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The County's new North Inland Live Well Center in Escondido will be home to about 400 County employees. The center houses facilities for HHSA's Public Health Center, Child Welfare Services, Family Resource Center, Aging & Independence Services and regional administration as well as the Department of Child Support Services and a Military and Veterans Resource Center.

Located on Mission Avenue,  the center also has meeting space for non-profit community partners, an atrium and a fitness room for employees.

County officials were joined by City of Escondido leaders in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new North Inland Live Well center located on Mission Avenue in Escondido.One of the marquee features of the new Live Well Center is a large naturally-lit atrium. There are four conference rooms adjacent that can be opened up into one big room.

This center also houses the County of San Diego’s first Military and Veterans Resource Center, which features 14 community-based organizations dedicated to assisting active duty military, veterans and their dependents and survivors.

The employee fitness center features several different types of machines and equipment for just about any type of workout.

The Child Welfare Services offices has several rooms for families that features play areas for children and amenities such as changing tables.

The Department of Child Support Services has a large lobby with an intake area and a family resource room.

The vaccination area of the Public Health Center. The center also has examination rooms and a TB isolation room.

The Family Resource Center has plenty of room for eligibility work staff.

The front entrance to the North Inland Live Well Center.

 

Open Enrollment Coming Soon

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Open Enrollment is coming soon, but you don’t need to wait to learn about benefits changes for 2016. The Department of Human Resources is hosting several information sessions at more than a dozen work sites through Sept. 30. See the full list of dates and locations on the DHR’s Benefits page.

Benefits elections can be made Oct. 5 to 29 from a County computer. Plan details, a medical plan cost comparison tool, and answers to frequently asked questions will be posted in the next few days to both DHR’s internal InSite page and public website, so that you’ll be able to access the information from your home computers, too.

In addition, if you have any questions leading up to or during the enrollment period, you can reach out to your Open Enrollment Benefits Ambassador. These departmental and senior Departmental Human Resources Officers know the ins-and-outs of 2016 benefits. Questions can be directed to an ambassador from your group.

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