Last days to have your say in the 2022 Employee Survey

There are only four days left to join the more than 6,700 employees who have had their say in the 2022 Employee Engagement Survey and help make King County work better for you.

The survey — which can be taken on your work computer or a mobile device — runs through Friday, March 25, so please take 15 minutes to have your say. The survey can be done during work time. Your responses are 100% anonymous and cannot be traced back to you. The survey is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Amharic and Somali.

All employees are eligible for the employee survey, except the following:

• Employees in Superior Court, District Court, and Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
• Employees who are interns or short-term temporary (STT)
• Employees who have not worked at the county for at least 3 months prior to the survey period (for 2022, employees must have started before December 7, 2021 to be eligible).

View the participation rates data here to find out how your department is doing. For FAQs and more information about the survey visit www.kingcounty.gov/employeesurvey.

Donation campaign to support people affected by war in Ukraine

The King County Employee Giving Program has set up a special campaign to support the people affected by the war in Ukraine.

Between now and 5 p.m. March 28, King County employees can convert accrued vacation leave and/or earned compensatory time – a minimum of four hours to a maximum of 40 hours – into cash donations to one or all of these organizations:

• Global Impact - Ukraine Response Fund #3500
• Médecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders #4172
• Ukrainian Community Center of Washington #9385

In addition to leave and compensatory time, one-time payroll donations, e-check, or credit card are also accepted. Prosecuting Attorney's Office employees can donate by one-time payroll donations, e-check or credit card, but may not donate leave or compensatory time.

This special campaign will be open through 5 p.m. March 28. Please use this form to contribute and find answers to your questions here.

April 4 concert for people of Ukraine and all refugees

King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and more than 30 mayors from across King County are sponsoring a fundraising “Mayors’ Concert for Ukraine and Refugees Worldwide” with the Seattle Symphony and local Ukrainian performers. 

The “Mayors’ Concert for Ukraine and Refugees Worldwide” will be at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall on Monday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. The fundraising concert is free to the public but requires registration for tickets here. The concert will be live streamed via local NBC affiliate KING-TV’s digital platforms, and broadcast live on KONG-TV (channel 16 serving the Seattle and Tacoma area), the Seattle Channel, and Seattle Symphony Live, the Symphony’s streaming platform.  

Donations to the Seattle Refugee Fund at the concert and through related fundraising efforts will benefit relief efforts for the people of Ukraine and other refugees in Western Washington. Musicians at the concert are volunteering their time. Find out more.

Booster shot drop-ins and same day appointments are available

Are you ready to get your COVID-19 booster? Employees and their families have many convenient options. Drop-ins for booster shots are welcome at the Auburn Outlet Mall, Eastgate, and Kent Public Health clinics and partner sites throughout the county, and same day appointments are also available. You can find a clinic or pharmacy near you by visiting www.kingcounty.gov/vaccine or the Washington Vaccine Locator at https://vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.

All COVID-19 vaccinations are free of charge and all King County vaccination partnership sites are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible and open to the public. The County also allows use of COVID-19 leaves for booster shots in the same manner as allowed for primary vaccinations. More information on accessing leave can be found here.

Visit www.kingcounty.gov/vaccine for more information or to schedule an appointment. Click here to learn more about booster shots.

Pilot program offers new ways to turn plastics into new products

A Seattle-King County pilot project will increase the recycling of plastic wraps and bags – known as film packaging – and convert it into new plastic packaging and products, creating a true closed loop system.

See the full story here.

First heavy-duty mechanics graduate from Fleet apprenticeship program

Cross-posted from Executive Services Express

Fleet Services management, colleagues and guests gathered on March 3 to celebrate Tina Taylor, Michael Domiquel, and Mason Keselburg for their successful completion of a two-year apprenticeship program.

The Apprenticeship Program was designed to solve several problems. First, there is a nation-wide shortage of heavy-duty mechanics, a problem forecast to only get worse as more people retire each year than join the trade. The program is designed to grow the workforce from within to provide an ongoing source of qualified mechanics. The program also allows apprentices to become career-service employees at the end of the two-year program. Read the full announcement here. 

Mandatory training deadlines are near

King County Executive branch employees are required to complete three mandatory trainings by the beginning of April: Harassment Prevention, Cybersecurity Awareness, and Immigration and Refugee Ordinance.

Click here for more information. For assistance with the trainings, please contact KCIT and open a HelpDesk Ticket. You can do so here online, or by calling the HelpDesk at 206-263-4357.

Today is Diabetes Alert Day

Diabetes Alert Day is today. Observed annually on the fourth Tuesday in March by the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Alert Day is a one-day "wake-up call" that focuses on the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of understanding your risk.

All King County employees are eligible for Omada’s free Diabetes Prevention program. King County employees who are Regence members diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes are also eligible for Omada’s free Diabetes Management Program; whereas King County employees who are Kaiser members diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes are eligible for Kaiser SmartCare’s Diabetes Management Program.

For more information on these programs, check out this Balanced You blogpost.

Resilience, Power and Healing: Women's History Month event March 30

Over the past several years, we have witnessed women here and throughout the world step into their power and demonstrate an incredible amount of resilience in the face of complex challenges. For each person, that power and resilience has looked different—including caregiving, running for office, advocating for their community, just trying to make it through day-to-day, and everything in between.

Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles and King County Council Chair Claudia Balducci, along with the King County Equity and Social Justice Legislative Branch Team and the King County Women’s Advisory Board, invite county employees to a panel event celebrating Womxn’s History Month, themed “Resilience, Power and Healing.”  

• Wednesday, March 30 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook and King County TV. Event panelists include:

• Karen Arlette Gamez Lopez, Immigrant Rights Advocate and Community Organizer
• Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa, Port of Seattle Position 4
• Cherryl Jackson-Williams, Family and Community Engagement Advocate
• Councilmember Sarah Perry, King County Council District 3
• Victoria Santos, Director of Strategic Development and Wellness Initiatives and co-founder of the BIPOC ED Coalition of Washington State

For more information, please contact Lorena.GutierrezPerez@kingcounty.gov.

District Court hosts Unseen, Unheard, but Not Forgotten gender equity presentation March 31

In honor of Women’s History Month, King County District Court invites all county employees to an informative and inspiring presentation titled “Unseen, Unheard, but Not Forgotten.”

The presentation will celebrate people who have made huge contributions in advancing gender equity. Come hear the struggles and victories of historic and contemporary individuals ranging from Susan B. Anthony to Kamala Harris and Greta Thunberg.

• Thursday, March 31 from noon to 1 p.m. Register here.

Health First Aid@Work 2022 schedule

Back by popular demand, Balanced You is once again offering Mental Health First Aid@Work trainings in 2022.

Mental Health First Aid@Work is designed for all audiences and covers how to: 

• Identify the impact of mental health challenges and recovery on the well-being of adults in the workplace. 
• Recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges and how they impact the workplace. 
• Explain and practice the Five-step Mental Health First Aid Action Plan (ALGEE). 
• Discuss appropriate methods of self-care for individuals in the workplace. 

View full training schedule here or sign up for an upcoming training:

• Friday, April 8 from 8 a.m. to noon. Register here.
• Wednesday, May 11 from 1 to 5 p.m. Register here.
• Tuesday, May 24 from 8 a.m. to noon. Register here.
• Friday, June 17 from 8 a.m. to noon. Register here.

Return flight for offspring of native Kokanee salmon

King County Executive Dow Constantine recently welcomed a small airplane carrying the last of nearly 12,000 offspring of Lake Sammamish Kokanee salmon that biologists flew to an Orcas Island hatchery two years ago.

It completes one of several emergency actions that King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks and partners are taking to help ensure the survival of the unique native species. Watch this engaging video of an important effort to save native Kokanee salmon in the Puget Sound region.

Explore King County Data Tools  –  The Power of Tableau

Join us on a tour of publicly available Tableau dashboards published by King County agencies! See how the King County Department of Public Health, and other agencies connect with residents by offering rich data visualizations showing the latest trends and analysis of relevant and up-to-date data.

See how Tableau can be used to consume, analyze, and visualize open data from King County and beyond. In our final 2022 Datathon session, you’ll learn how to download Tableau desktop, and see a demonstration of connecting to open dataset and designing a simple dashboard. All King County employees are welcome to attend.

• Friday, March 25 from 1 to 2 p.m.  Register here.