Volunteer to be a Poll Worker

The June 5 Gubernatorial Primary Election will be here before you know it, so the Registrar of Voters is looking for poll workers now. That’s where you come in. The Registrar looks to County workers first for help.

County employees are valued for their experience working with the public and their excellent customer service skills.

Hundreds of volunteers are needed and the County may give you paid time off for your service. Many employees put together teams with coworkers or family and friends.

Like all poll workers, County employees are paid a stipend to cover expenses associated with this volunteer assignment unless they are unclassified managers. Stipend amounts vary from $100 to $150 with supplements for assigned languages and other requirements. County employees who volunteer may also get approved release time to attend required training.

All volunteers will also get a chance to wear their red, white and blue duds, spend the day getting to know neighbors and fulfill a sense of civic duty at the same time.  

For more detailed requirements, type of positions and stipend amounts, read the County Employee Poll Worker Application and Questions and Answers.

For more information, contact County Employee Poll Worker Coordinator Jean.Vukotich@sdcounty.ca.gov or call (858) 505-7241.

New Way to Get Connected to the County

Have you ever found yourself trying to explain to someone what exactly you do? Maybe what the County does? We have a way to help show off all of the great services we provide – and it’s as simple as pushing the “play” button.

Every month, the County Communications Office puts out videos about the awesome work your departments are doing – from adoptable pets to reviving historic routes to highlighting librarians. And then we package it up in an easy-to-share (and watch) show – County Connection.

The show was recently revamped, rebranded (it was originally called County Chronicles) and features some of the past month’s best videos. The short show (we keep it under 15 minutes) also plays out on our TV station. Yup, we’ve got a TV station.

But if TV isn’t your thing, we recommend watching each month on County News Center. And if you find a particular episode interesting, or maybe one that features your department or a colleague, share it around! Help us teach the region how they’re connected to the County!

PerkSpot: Save on Local Groupon Deals

Shop Local Groupon deals through PerkSpot and save even more on everything from pizza to pilates! Take an additional 5 percent off with offer code “Perk5”.

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts through more than 400 service providers and retailers, from movie theaters to florists and jewelers. Go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to register.

Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite.

Still Time to Earn Your $100 Wellness Incentive

Employee Wellness is incentivizing all of us to take the next step toward healthy living. Simply get a wellness screening, take an online health risk assessment and submit proof of completion by June 30 to earn $100.

You still have time to schedule your wellness screening at a convenient County location during the month of April.  Employees can also choose to get a screening with their own doctor or a free screening at KP Care Now, which is located at the County Operations Center, 5530 Overland Ave., 2nd Floor. To make an appointment at KP Care Now, call (858) 278-2802 or email KP-carenow@kp.org.

For program details, forms and to see the April schedule, please visit the Employee Wellness website.

Everyone Has an Accent (Yup, Even You)

Say the word crayon. Now have your coworker say it. Do you both say it the same? Maybe one of you says it cray-ahn and the other says it cray-awn or just cran. And if you speak a different language at home, it might be none of these!

The point here is – everyone has an accent. Yes, even you, English-as-a-first-language speakers. A recent workshop sponsored by the Diversity & Inclusion and Customer Experience initiative teams explored how people can form assumptions about others based on their accents. Employees learned strategies to make sure they give positive experiences to customers who might speak differently.

“Events like this help us reach our goals to be more inclusive and culturally competent,” said Virginia Exner, Senior Human Resources Analyst who led the workshop.

Exner said the workshop brings awareness and attention to challenging topics and creates thought-provoking environments where employees are encouraged to engage in activities and discussion that help them better understand both their fellow employees and those they serve.

“I think it’s a great starting point,” said Keisha Clark, who works for HHSA and is current president of the African American Association of County Employees (AAACE) employee resource group. “One of the highlights for me is seeing some of my coworkers and their thoughts about it, but also then checking my bias about judging them about their bias.”

Diversity and Inclusion champions work on an accent exercise at a workshop focused on accent biases.Clark, who admitted to formerly having her own misconceptions about people with accents different from hers, said she hoped that the attendees would take the information learned back to their departments and share with their colleagues to keep the conversation going.

“When you have rich discussion and things like this, you want more time to interact and talk,” she said. “It gets you thinking a little more.”

Exner said based on feedback from the participants, the workshop was successful. She said one employee who speaks English as a second language was particularly grateful for the experience.

“The activities challenged the audience to look at ways languages and accents can potentially influence our views and the service we provide to our customers,” Exner said. “If success is measured in opening minds and increasing our empathy for others, then I would say the workshop was very successful.”

Things You Can Do to Overcome Accent Biases

• Practice Acceptance
• Be Respectful
• Listen
• Be Flexible
• Be Patient
• Be Empathetic
• Understand
• Have HEART

You can learn more about the County’s commitment to diversity and inclusion on InSite.

Let's Give a Big Hand to Those Giving Their Time

If someone handed you $40 million as a gift, what would you say?

“Wow! Thank you so much,” would hardly capture the depth of your gratitude.

That amount is roughly the dollar value the County gets each year from the combined efforts of its volunteers. Tens of thousands of people, donating their time to help us provide better services. We thank them all, and in a few weeks, our Board of Supervisors will hold its annual volunteer recognition event to express their appreciation. We quite simply could not do what we do without them.

And now – because we’re always looking for ways to do more at the County – we’re preparing for a big enhancement to our volunteer program, meant to put more of those resources at our disposal. We’ll soon be launching a website that will eventually bring all our volunteers into one centralized system.

The system will make it more efficient for department staff to review volunteer applicants, speeding up the process to get them started. It will make it easier for volunteers to search for and choose opportunities based on their area of interest. And if volunteers want to move from one program to another, they will already have a profile. The system will make it possible to do online scheduling, so both volunteers and department coordinators are literally working from the same page.

If we want people to offer us their time, we need to make it as easy as possible for them. In short, that’s what the system will help us do. We expect to get it rolling with a few departments by later this spring, then keep adding to those. 

There’s also more to the value of our volunteer program than what we can put into numbers. One of the County’s top goals is to create ways for residents to be engaged with their community. Volunteers want to feel they are doing something meaningful and making a difference. When we involve them in our work, we’re giving them a stake in that community and the opportunity to have a positive impact.

The experience builds their sense of connection, which is a goal of Thriving, one-third of our three-part Live Well vision for the County. Compared to the other two components, Healthy and Safe, Thriving has more aspects that go beyond basic needs and are sometimes intangible.

Think of the distinction we’re drawing when we use the expression “make a house a home.” One is simply a place. The other captures a complex set of feelings about your well-being. In the same way, we want San Diego to be more than a place people live – we want them thriving. Living a high-quality life.

For many people, volunteering is an important source of that kind of enrichment. So while our volunteers do help us in numerous ways, we’re also happy to give them opportunities for rewarding, thriving activity. I know managing a volunteer force that’s double the size of our regular employee workforce is no small task. My thanks to everyone who plays a part in recruiting, training and coordinating all our volunteers.

While I’m at it, let me also salute the volunteer spirit among all of you. I know many of you, on top of all you do in your County jobs, head off to spend time with countless charities, schools, sports teams, civic and faith organizations, and on and on, touching even more lives.

Then there’s all the pitching in you do on County efforts. The Point-in-Time Count of homeless people. CECO. Our Employee Resource Groups. The Live Well 5K. Employee Poll Workers.

(Note on that last one – it’s that time again. We need you for the June and November elections. Details coming soon on InSite.)

None of these events or organizations would be as successful as they are without your participation. I thank all of you who’ve taken on those duties.

Going through all these examples of volunteerism is really inspiring. So many people pouring all that energy into so many causes, doing what they can to make San Diego better. I’m unbelievably proud to work in a place that is a hub for that positive force, and I’m excited we’ll soon have new tools empowering us to make our community even stronger.

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TED Talk: What Does Ethics Mean to You?

The County Office of Ethics and Compliance hosted a lunchtime viewing of a TED Talk at the Ethics Awareness Month Information Fair on Thursday at the County Operations Center. The theme of the video was “Ethics, Courage and Doing the Right Thing.”

Tracy Sandoval, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the Finance and General Government Group and Auditor and Controller, led a lively discussion about ethics following the video.

Get in on the conversation! Tell us what ethics means to you. Leave your explanation in the comment section below.

Extra Resources:

• Office of Ethics and Compliance on InSite

• Code of Ethics and Statement of Values

5 Reasons to Attend the Ethics Awareness Fair

Don’t miss this year’s Ethics Awareness Month Information Fair, coming up at the County Operations Center plaza on Thursday, March 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The annual resource fair is an opportunity to revisit the most important principle at the foundation of our County culture—ethics!

Here are five reasons to go to the fair:

1. There will be music, prizes and games. It’s a celebration after all!

2. Watch a TED Talk titled “Ethics, Courage & Doing the Right Thing” at 12:15 p.m. in the COC Chambers. DCAO and Auditor and Controller Tracy Sandoval will lead a discussion following the short video.

3. More than two dozen County departments and organizations will have information booths.

4. Learn about the resources that the Office of Ethics and Compliance has available to all employees.

5. Swag. That’s right—it’s hard to turn down freebies.

Do the right thing—attend the Ethics Fair.

See Who Won the Employee Basketball Tourney

Employee Wellness’ first-ever intramural basketball tournament was a slam dunk this weekend. Twelve men’s and two women’s teams competed for the championship. The tournament promoted camaraderie, teamwork and physical activity.

The men’s winner was “Above the Rim” with teammates Cecil Ashley, Joseph Bigler, Michael Duncan, Aaron Garrett, Brian Morris, Carlos Olmeda Jr., Richard Pagdilao, Cesar Ruelas, Christopher Soriano and Karlis Thorpe--all from the Health and Human Services Agency.

Also, see the photo gallery from the tournament.

Employee Blood Drive Coming Up

You’ve probably heard this before: "Your blood could save a life."

That’s because it’s true. And you’ll have an opportunity to roll up your sleeves again this year. 

The 34th annual County Blood Drive officially kicks off Wed., April 4 and will last through the end of the month. You are encouraged to donate blood and, if you qualify, to register to be a bone marrow donor at Be The Match.

Donating blood and bone marrow is safe, costs nothing and could save a life. Bloodmobiles will be at 20 County worksites across the county throughout April. You can make an appointment, or just walk in.

If you can donate blood, do it. If you can’t, try to get a family member or friend to take your place. All blood types are needed.

The drive is one of the largest for the San Diego Blood Bank. Last year, County employees donated 444 pints of blood. The goal for this year is 500 pints.

The blood drive supports the Live Well San Diego vision of healthy, safe and thriving residents and communities.

Be a bone marrow donor

You are also encouraged to register to be a bone marrow donor.

It is easy and pain free. All you have to do is swab the inside of your cheek and you can do it at one of the blood donation sites. You can register at Be the Match.

Be the Match is specifically looking for donors between the ages of 18 and 44 because doctors request them 95 percent of the time. This is because medical research has shown that cells from younger donors lead to better long-term survival for patients after a transplant. Registration is completely free.

People older than 44 can also join the Be the Match, but will be required to make a $100 payment at the end of the online process. The donation is tax deductible.

Be The Match is also looking for members of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds because patients are most likely to match someone who shares their ancestry.