Policies and Procedures Are the Backbone of Every Organization

Know the Code is a monthly series highlighting different sections of the County of San Diego Code of Ethics.

By the Office of Ethics and Compliance 

Policies and procedures (P&Ps) help shape workplace culture and reinforce a standard set of behaviors that reduce risk. They are an essential tool for reducing risk, establishing shared standards and expectations for workplace behaviors while providing guidance for decision making. In some cases, policies and related expectations on the workforce are also a mandatory legal or regulatory requirement. 

You are not expected to memorize every County policy, but we do want you to keep these best practices in mind: 

• Make sure you are always using or referencing the most current version of the policy – resist the urge to save copies on your desktop. Policies and procedures on your desktop might not be the most current version and increase the risk of noncompliance and errors. 

• Don’t operate in a vacuum – coordinate any policy or procedure changes, updates, or requirements. 

  • Is there a legal requirement for a new policy or change in policy?

  • Does the policy already exist? Seek out stakeholders and subject matter experts.

  • Coordinate through your own HR representative which will coordinate with the Office of Labor Relations as appropriate. 

• Speak Up – be curious, ask questions and report concerns. Assume responsibility for knowing, understanding and having a practical working knowledge of the County policies and procedures and where to find them. Don't assume there isn't a policy on it, ask your supervisor, peers, HR representative to grow your own knowledge on it and where to find it. 

Check out the OEC webpage on InSite for information about upcoming Ethics & Compliance Program events, training, and resources including monthly “Know the Code” articles and micro-training videos. 

If you have questions about Ethics & Compliance training or how to access the training and other resources, please contact the OEC team at oec@sdcounty.ca.gov, 619-531-5174. HHSA staff may also contact the HHSA Compliance and Privacy team at compliance.hhsa@sdcounty.ca.gov, 619-338-2807.

Celebrating National Payroll Week

Celebrating National Payroll Week makes cents! The week recognizes payroll professionals who make sure employees are paid timely and accurately.

Last fiscal year, about 260 payroll professionals helped process over 534,000 paychecks amounting to more than $1.86 billion in wages. 

A big thanks to our payroll professionals during National Payroll Week and every week!

Race or Volunteer at the LWSD 5K

Over 3,000 people have registered for the Live Well San Diego 5K! Don’t miss out - join them by registering for the race at LiveWellSD5K.com. Or, if you are interested in volunteering, please speak with your supervisor and complete the Volunteer Signup Form.

Join ISN ERG at Sycuan Pow Wow

Our Indigenous Sovereign Nations ERG invites employees, family and friends to attend the annual Sycuan Pow Wow Sept. 9-11. The event at Sycuan, 5577 Dehesa Road, El Cajon is free.

Hours are:

• 8 to 10 p.m. – Friday

• 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.– Saturday

• 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Sunday

INS ERG provided this background on Pow Wows:

Originally a Pow Wow or "celebration" as it was once called, was held in the spring to welcome the beginnings of life. It was a time for people to get together, sing, dance, renew old friendships and make new ones, and a time for young people to meet and court.

The Pow Wow had religious significance as well. It was a time for families to hold naming and honoring ceremonies. The celebration was also a prayer to the one called Wakan Tanka–the Great Mystery or Great Spirit in Lakota. Some trace the word "Pow-Wow" to the Algonquin language.

The circle is an important symbol to Indigenous cultures. At a Pow Wow, the dancers are in the center of the circle and the audience forms a larger circle around them. The Pow Wow brings the circle of the people closer together to their community and their culture. Pow Wows today are still very much a part of the lives of modern Indigenous people.

Most religious ceremonies are no longer a central part of the Pow Wow and often are conducted in the privacy of a family gathering. However, blessing ceremonies, honoring ceremonies and ceremonies for dropped eagle feathers remain today. Competitive singing and dancing for prize money is a recent change in the traditional Pow Wow celebration. Only registered contestants can participate in the dancing contests, but everyone can take part when an "intertribal" dance is announced– visitors included, as each of us shares a place in the circle. There are no spectators at a Pow Wow. Everyone is a participant!

See the flyer below.

Registrar Recruiting Employees to Work at Vote Centers

County employees are invited to serve as paid poll workers for the upcoming Nov. 8 Statewide General Election. Poll workers play an important role in democracy and ensure elections are fair, accessible, and safe.

The Registrar of Voters needs at least 220 County employee poll workers for a four-day period at vote centers located throughout the County.

Poll workers would work from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 through Monday, Nov. 7. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, the hours would change to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

Poll workers must also attend two consecutive eight-hour days of training.

Employees participating as poll workers will receive their current pay rate. Employees will record poll worker time on their employee timecard using pay codes assigned by their department. If eligible, the excess poll worker hours combined with regular worked hours will count toward the overtime hours. 

Interested employees must complete a County Poll Worker Application that requires supervisor approval.   

For more information, visit sdvote.com for a list of frequently asked questions or contact Jean Vukotich at the Registrar of Voters.

Get Ready for Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment is coming soon. Get plan information through the Open Enrollment website or attend an upcoming Open Enrollment fair. Be ready to enroll Sept. 26 through Oct. 20! 

• Check out the Virtual Open Enrollment Fair Schedule to plan for the sessions you would like to attend. 

• Registration is required. Use the presenter links in the Virtual Fair Schedule to register. 

• During the Q&A session, submit your questions and the representative will respond to all participants.  

• We have Benefits Ambassadors throughout the County that can also assist with any of your Open Enrollment questions. 

• Can’t attend a session? No problem! Recordings of all Virtual Open Enrollment Fair presentations will be available on the Open Enrollment website. 

The Employee Benefits team can be reached at 888-550-2203 or DHRBenefits.FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov for questions. 

Praise for Your Labors and Requests for Your Help

From CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer

As we head into the long Labor Day weekend, I’m taking the occasion to applaud the tremendous work you do. All of you, all year long, for all our residents. The vision of our leadership is nothing without your efforts to turn it all into reality.

You’ve done it through a remarkable upheaval in how we work. Without missing a beat. The pandemic was disruptive in awful ways, but it also opened our eyes to new modes of operating. Changes we made in a crisis have now turned into options we can employ deliberately and strategically. It’s your flexibility and commitment that have made that shift possible.

Along with my thanks to everyone, I want to share a few other notes on the labor front – and ask for your help.

This Labor Day, I want to recognize the partnership that the County has and values with its labor unions. We are in a new era at the County, and our recent labor negotiations put a focus on our shared values in reaching agreements that had a positive impact on our workforce. Labor Day’s origin was in honoring the labor movement and its achievements. We appreciate the stability and contributions our unions bring to serving the public. I thank our labor leaders and members for their spirit of teamwork and look forward to moving ahead together.

Turning to employee engagement. We’ve put a lot of emphasis on community engagement externally. We need to do the same internally.  

A next step toward that will be an employee engagement survey to help us understand what we are doing well and identify areas where we need to make improvements.

 We turned to an outside consultant and also worked with labor associations to get their input. We want the consultant’s expertise in this area and fresh perspective. We also want their independent status. They’ll run the survey. You’ll get an email directly from CPS HR Consulting, and your responses will be confidential. We really want your frank opinions so we can assess strengths, identify gaps, and take action to make sure we have high levels of engagement. Here’s a little more information on how it will run.

The survey goes out to participating departments September 12. Watch for it – and please take it! 

One more thing we need help with, and we’ll pay you for it. We have a lot of job openings to fill, and we’re competing in a tight market. So the County is starting a referral bonus program. Employees can get $1,000 for referring someone who winds up hired into a number of hard-to-recruit positions. Lots of nursing and health care positions, sheriff’s deputies, engineers, and others. For all the details, check out these program guidelines and the referral form. In the future, you’ll find those links on InSite’s Employment page. 

Besides the cash incentive, you’ll be helping your colleagues by bringing much needed staff on board.

I want each of you to have a high level of satisfaction with your work. For one, I truly want that for you personally. But getting people in place, keeping them here, making sure they stay motivated – these are all essential to fulfilling our mission of serving the public with excellence.

I’m in awe of what you accomplish. We take on enormous challenges, and it’s hard work. However you celebrate the holiday weekend (and thank you to the many staff who will work those days), I want to celebrate your labors and all your achievements. Thank you, and happy Labor Day!

In-person IT Help is Back with Tech Bar

Are you looking for easy, in-person support for common tech issues and specific IT needs? If so, we have good news for you: “Tech Bar” is back at the County Operations Center! After a successful pilot run last year, the service will return on Sept. 6.

You can:

• Get help with issues like WiFi connections, mapping a drive or software installations.

• Get help connecting to County network remotely with EAA and MFA.

• Get computer accessories, like a mouse and keyboard, or other parts for a quick fix.

• Arrange with Peraton to pick up items you ordered from the catalog. 

• Ask general questions about using Outlook or your Employee Timecard (formerly Kronos).

• Get a loaner laptop for an on-the-spot swap if your device needs more service.

• Get a scheduled laptop refresh done.

And much more!

Tech Bar doesn’t replace the Service Desk, but adds another option for routine technology issues. More complex problems may require something more, but the Tech Bar is a great place to start.

You can drop in or make an appointment. Those with appointments will be served first. Make an appointment online and then check in online (available starting Sept. 6) or at a kiosk at the Tech Bar. Appointments are 30 minutes and are generally limited to one session per person a day.

Tech Bar Location and Hours

County Operations Center (COC)
5520 Overland Avenue, COC Commons, in former cafeteria*
Monday through Thursday
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

*For October, Tech Bar will move to 5560 Overland Ave., Room 172. Days and hours will stay the same. Tech Bar returns to the Commons Nov. 1.

The County Technology Office and County IT outsource partner Peraton are teaming up to provide the Tech Bar after hearing from you that the Tech Bar served your needs.

If you have any questions, please contact Joseph Schlientz at the Technology Office at joseph.schlientz@sdcounty.ca.gov or find him on Teams.

How Engaged Are You at Work? We Want to Know!

The Employee Engagement Survey is coming to your inbox on Sept. 12. CPS HR, an independent public consulting agency, will administer the survey and provide overall results and analysis to the County. So, look for an email from CPS HR in a couple of weeks. Take this opportunity to shape the future of your workplace. It’s anonymous. It’s quick. It’s your voice. The survey will be open for three weeks, and it takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

Why are we conducting this survey?

We want to hear from you to make this an even better place to work! We recognize the time and energy you put into serving the public as part of the County team, and research in both the public and private sectors has clearly shown the value of higher levels of employee engagement. Improved engagement not only enhances the individual employee experience, but also leads to better decision-making and improved individual and organizational performance. Learning more about what keeps you engaged can lead to:

• greater personal meaning in work

• a heightened employee connection to work, co-workers, and our overall County vision

• improved employee retention

• improved individual performance

• better organizational performance and outcomes

• a higher level of customer satisfaction

• increased involvement and collaboration in decision-making, resulting in better organizational performance and more effective use of resources

• stronger partnerships across the organization

How was the survey developed?

The independent consulting agency CPS HR developed the survey, which is based on the best questions from other surveys specifically designed for the public sector.

How long will it take me to complete the survey?

It should take 5 to 10 minutes.

Will anyone be able to find out how I responded?

All survey responses will be confidential. No one in the County will review any individual employee’s survey responses. All results will be aggregated either organization-wide or by work units within the County. Candid participation in the survey will help assess strengths, identify areas for improvement and suggest action items.

When will the survey be administered?
CPS HR will launch the survey on Monday, Sept. 12, and it will remain open through Friday, Sept. 30. CPS HR will send each eligible employee an email invitation or provide a hard-copy invitation. CPS HR will also send three email reminders during the survey period.

How will the survey be administered?
CPS HR will administer the survey online. Eligible employees will receive an email invitation with a web link that will enable you to access the survey. Employees who do not have a computer will receive paper invitations with passwords.

Will I be allowed to complete the survey during work hours?

Yes, you may complete the survey during work hours.

What if I don’t want to take the survey?

Your participation is voluntary, yet highly encouraged.

What if a survey is started but not submitted?

Surveys not submitted will not be included in the final results.

Will I receive the results of the survey?
The County plans to distribute the results of the survey after receiving results and analysis from CPS HR in the weeks following the close of the survey.

How can the survey results be used?
The County of San Diego is committed to employee engagement, and the results will be used to assess the current level of engagement to enhance positive activities and make improvements where needed.

If I have technical problems completing the survey, who would I contact for help?
Contact CPS HR at surveyhelp@cpshr.us.

If I have other questions about the survey, who should I contact?
Please contact Dominic Fulgoni, HR Services Manager, at dominic.fulgoni@sdcounty.ca.gov.

CAC Lit for Women's Equality Day

The County Administration Center is lit tonight for Women's Equality Day.