Connections newsletter June 2012

JUNE

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER

PH&CS Commissioner Rob Horne takes the bus during the Commuter Challenge

Social Services food drive a success!

Call Centre Update

Rave Awards

The 2012 Commuter Challenge was held June 3 - 9, 2012. The Challenge encourages communities across Canada to adopt sustainable transportation habits. This year, the Region of Waterloo’s TravelWise program coordinated activities across different organizations to help Waterloo Region take top spot for our population category. Pictured here: Public Health Planner Dan Vandebelt commuted for four hours by foot from UpTown Waterloo to Cambridge, one-way!

James LaPointe (PH&CS) rollerblades to work.

The Waterloo Air Show was held June 2 and 3 at the Region of Waterloo International Airport. Crowd favourites such as the Snowbirds and Canadian Forces parachute team were joined by new civilian demonstrations by Red Bull pilot Pete McLeod and comedy act Otto the Helicopter.

Above: Chair Ken Seiling (left) poses with RAVE Award winners (from left) Stacy McLennan, Richard Fuller, Philip Ower, James Jensen and Tom Reitz (Waterloo Region Museum).

Mark Your Calendars

Canada Day at Waterloo Region Museum FREE Sunday July 1, 2012 n!

9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admissio Waterloo Region Museum and Doon Heritage Village are throwing a party to celebrate Canada Day and everyone is welcome to attend! Featuring musical entertainment, fun games like croquet and horseshoes. Bring your own picnic lunch or purchase a tasty BBQ lunch.

Sunnyside Foundation Golf Tournament – Monday, September 10, 2012 This popular golf tournament will be held at Conestoga Golf & Country Club. $135 per person. Includes green fees, golf cart, BBQ lunch, dinner, golfer gift, hole in one, team prizes for female, male, mixed and most honest team, silent and live auction and a $35 donation receipt. There are openings for only 140 golfers – register now by contacting Brenda Schmidt, bschmidt@regionofwaterloo.ca 519-575-4411.

10 Huron Rd., Kitchener, ON, N2P 2R7 Tel: 519-748-1914 TTY: 519-748-0537 Fax: 519-748-0009 www.waterlooregionmuseum.com

50/50 winner collects his cheque

Sunnyside Wellness Expo – Saturday, October 20, 2012 Sunnyside Campus, 247 Franklin Street North.

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Twenty-five display and information booths on osteoporosis, foot care, medications, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, arthritis, chiropractic care, diabetes, heart health and much more. Trial massages will be offered throughout the day. Free admission.

Sunnyside Foundation Bazaar – Saturday, November 3, 2012 Sunnyside Campus, 247 Franklin Street North, Kitchener, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Forty vendors, giant bake sale and the Fabulous Finds Gift Shop is turned into a Christmas wonderland for your shopping pleasure. Free admission.

2

Buddy Maharaj from Facilities was this year’s lucky winner of the 50/50 Draw. He received a cheque for $2,557 and $2,557 was raised for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank. Special thanks to Corporate Publishing for donating their services for printing tickets, to all of our ticket sellers that made this another successful draw and to the Museum for donating a prize. Thank-you to all who participated!

connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

What do you consider the biggest challenge in your job? What is the most rewarding?

Staff Spotlight

The greatest joy for me is getting to know the residents – hearing their stories, meeting their families along with the volunteers and staff who care for them. The challenge for me is to visit and do all that I am able to in a day.

What personal skills are essential to the work you do?

Shirley Ruller

Shirley is the Chaplain at

Sunnyside Senior services.

She has worked for the Region for three years and lives in Kitchener

with her husband.

To listen to hear what is being said as well as what isn’t, and to respond in an appropriate way with whatever is needed, whether it is encouragement, support or comfort.

What do you do to relax after a long day?

I like to go for long walks. It helps me to unwind and clear my mind and it’s good exercise. So after catching up with the latest comings and goings on

‘Coronation Street’ my husband and I explore one of the many trails in our neigbourhood to see where they will take us.

What is your favourite meal?

I like spicy ethnic dishes such as Thai and Indian, the seafood and vegetables in particular.

What is your favourite holiday and why?

Travelling throughout the British Isles, Ireland and Scotland in particular for the history, castles, churches, and beautiful countryside. My favourite spot would be the Isle of Iona, a small island off the west coast of Scotland. I found it to be an extraordinary mystical place.

If you could travel to one place, where would you go?

I would like to take a world cruise to explore all the places I’ve yet to see.

Do you know someone who would like to be spotlighted?

Do you have suggestions for new Spotlight questions? Email your ideas to connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

The Region keeps it cool

Through the collaboration of Public Health; the Emergency Measures Office; Facilities Management and Fleet Services; and Planning, Housing and Community Services, the buildings that will be open to the public for cooling down are: When humidex values are expected to reach or exceed 40, Environment Canada issues a Humidex Advisory. In the event of a Humidex Advisory, some Region of Waterloo buildings will now be made open to the public as airconditioned places where they can cool down.

• 150 Frederick Street, Kitchener (Admin Headquarters ), from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday • 99 Regina Street South, Waterloo (Public Health and Social Services), from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday Friday • 150 Main Street, Cambridge (Public Health and Social Services ), from

8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday

• 10 Huron Rd, Kitchener (Waterloo Region Museum) from 9:30 a.m. 5 p.m. daily • Regional libraries during regular operating hours This list of air-conditioned buildings will be posted on Public Health’s Extreme Heat and Humidity website when an Environment Canada Humidex Advisory is issued. Public Health’s website will also provide links to city and township cooling centres if they have been made available at that time.

connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

3

Staff Spotlight

Corrinne Bernard Corrine provides

administrative and project management support in

Information Technology.

She has worked

for the Region for 22 years and lives in Kitchener

with her 21 lb cat,

Whiskers.

What do you consider the biggest challenge in your job? What is the most rewarding?

The biggest challenge is that there are always conflicting priorities with my new position and being able to prioritize work for several individuals can be stressful at times. However, it is also gives me a great sense of accomplishment in being able to successfully complete tasks in an ever changing environment. I work with a really good team and they are aware of the challenges and help to minimize the workload stress when they can.

There is nothing like going home at the end of your day knowing that you accomplished a number of tasks that may have looked impossible at the beginning of the day.

What personal skills are essential to the work you do?

I think the most important skill in my position is to be able to adapt quickly and positively to challenging situations while remaining calm, focused and positive as well as being flexible to constantly changing schedules.

What do you do to relax after a long day?

Spending time with my three wonderful grandsons, Caleb who is seven and the twins, Dominic and Jayden who are two and a half. They constantly make me laugh, do things I

wouldn’t normally do and are very generous with their kisses and hugs.

Playing in the playground with them or jumping on the beds is always a great stress buster after a busy day at work.

What is your favourite meal?

This is a hard one since I have so many dishes I enjoy. I guess lobster would have to be the top of the list and then lasagna. I am a really big fan of pasta which of course makes it difficult to stick to diets.

What is your favourite holiday and why?

My favourite holiday is Christmas, mostly because of the grandkids. It brings back many wonderful memories spending Christmas with my own children and family and now we continue to do the traditional things that I grew up doing with my family. It is a time when everyone seems so happy and peaceful.

If you could travel to one place, where would you go?

Well, I am hoping to visit British Columbia soon to visit with my younger sister who I haven’t seen in 20 years. We were both so busy bringing up our kids and life kind of got in the way. Neither of us has had the chance to reconnect in person in a long time. If it’s possible, I am thinking to spring a surprise on her and hop a plane.

Waterloo Region welcomes American Airlines

On June 14, 2012 American Airlines launched twice daily jet service from Waterloo Region to Chicago O’Hare International Airport. This service provides guests traveling from Waterloo Region with connectivity into over 140 destinations in 40 countries worldwide. Now you can travel to Helsinki, Honolulu and just about everywhere in between right from your local airport.

Book your flight today at AA.com and help strengthen Waterloo Region’s economy. For more information on additional air service available from the Region of Waterloo International Airport, visit waterlooairport.ca.

4

connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

E&IS recycles used computers for a good cause

Over the past few weeks, Employment and Income Support (E&IS) with the assistance of Information Technology staff have been deploying used computers to be recycled to various agencies within our community, including: Elmira District Community Living, House of Friendship, Wilmot Family Resource, Centre, Kidslink Preschool Support Program, The Working Centre, Cambridge Food bank, Interfaith Community Centre, Woolwich Community Centre and Preston Heights Community Centre.

These organizations work with a range of populations within the community and provide an array of services, including assisting clients to develop their skills and readiness to find employment.

Response from the Working Centre in Kitchener: “I’d like to take the time to say a big ‘thank-you’ for donating to The Working Centre’s computer reuse project. Almost immediately we put the equipment to use assisting some volunteers doing a free tax clinic for low-income earners. The rest of the equipment will be used by volunteers learning computer building, by one of the many Working Centre projects or refurbished for a low-income family.”

Response from the House of Friendship: “House of Friendship appreciates the donation of 14 computer systems. The Courtland Community Centre was the primary recipient. We were able to replace their aging computer lab.”

Employment and Income Support staff unloading computers for donation.

Social Services food drive a success!

Thank you to everyone involved in collecting food, planning special fundraising events, and selling 50/50 tickets and casual day stickers for the 2012 Spring Food Drive. A special thanks to everyone for their generous donations.

Your 2012 contributions to our local Food Banks totalled: • •

Food collected: 2,730 pounds Financial donations: $4,485.98

For every dollar donated, the Food Banks can access $8 worth of food, so we helped provide over $35,000 in food resources for our community! Special recognition goes out to the Coordinators: Denyse Loehndorf, Heather Callum, and all the other volunteers.

Social Services staff organized high tea at 150 Main Street and a chili lunch at 99 Regina to raise money for the Food Drive.

We also appreciated Public Health and Planning, Housing and Community Services supporting the Food Drive. Your collaboration and innovation on this event is a great example of why the Region is an extraordinary place to work. Thanks again for “making a difference in our community”.

connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

5

Service First Call Centre project update Call Centre Operations We have recently completed the shift schedule for full-time staff in the SFCC and are now creating a training plan for staff along with operating procedures for the centre.

so that we have an opportunity to colocate our two call centres in this same building. There are many benefits of this partnership:

The Region is creating a consolidated call centre that will publicly launch in 2014. It’s a big project and can’t be done without people from across the organization coming together. Staff are participating on various teams to ensure we meet our project goals.

Following is the latest in a series of updates on what’s happening with our project teams:

• Sharing space will be more cost effective.

Business Process Redesign During the next few months, Waste Management, Public Health, Operations Centre, Transportation, Airport and GRT will all participate in an exercise to document the way their calls are currently handled. This is a large undertaking. This exercise reinforces how much information staff provide each day and the complexity of the work they carry out. The information we gather will help to ensure that excellent service is provided by the Service First Call Centre (SFCC).

Space Working Group Council has approved a location for the call centre. The City of Kitchener currently houses a call centre at their operations building. They have designed their space for future growth

6

• The City of Kitchener has been given two years to assess if they would like to use our CRM software in which case we will provide software to the City of Kitchener (at no additional cost to ourselves) and we will not be required to pay for the use of their space after that time.

• Sharing training resources and other best practice information.

Major criteria for site selection included finding a bright and welcoming space that has synergies with other service providers, is close to transit, shopping and other amenities. Appropriate safety considerations for a 24/7 operation were also required.

Communications/Change Management The communications team is starting to develop an external communication plan. This includes determining what the call centre phone number will be.

Human Resources Human Resources has directly communicated with staff whose positions are affected by the creation of the SFCC. Human Resources staff have developed a support plan to assist staff and their supervisors through this process.

Technology Council has approved the selection of our Customer Relationship Software.

Creating a safe work environment Mike Murray used Health and Safety week to remind everyone of the Region’s commitment safety to providing management a safe and system healthy work environment. “Our new Safety Management System (SMS) will help all employees promote a collaborative safety culture; one where we recognize risks and look out for each other. I want employees, contractors, visitors and students to work safely throughout the Region.

Whether you work in road maintenance, a childcare centre or an office, everyone is expected to contribute to continuous safety improvement.” Stay tuned for input opportunities and SMS activities in your area.

connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

RAVE Awards presented to 17 employees The Employee Awards for Values Excellence provides recognition to staff who have demonstrated actions that exemplify our values in their dayto-day work with colleagues, citizens/customers or community partners.

On June 6, the 2011 RAVE awards were presented to 17 Regional employees. More than 200 staff were nominated by their peers for living our Regional values. Recipients were selected by a group of senior staff from across the organization and represented each of our five Regional values: service, integrity, respect, innovation and collaboration.

The awards were presented by CAO Mike Murray and Regional Chair Ken Seiling. For more details on each award recipient, visit the portal.

Lorraine Eisenporth, Community Relations Worker, Housing (Collaboration) Lee Ann Paiva, Case Aide, Employment and Income Support (Service) Diana Fox, Sharon Michael and Sheryl Wilk, Team of NCAST Trainers, Public Health (Innovation)

Brian Stahle, Supervisor, Facilities Operations (Integrity) James Jensen, Philip Ower, Richard Fuller, Stacy McLennan and Thomas Reitz, Waterloo Region Museum Exhibit Team (Collaboration) Robert Arseneault, Bus Operator, GRT (Respect) Kaoru Yajima, Senior Project Engineer, Water Services (Innovation)

Carolyn Hilborn Vasco, Property Manager, Waterloo Region Housing (Service) Oriana Sharp, Manager, Information Management & Archives (Collaboration) Roger Mitchell, Chief Building Operator, Facilities (Innovation) Kathleen Barsoum, Waste Management Coordinator (Respect)

Tap water – ours to drink!

While on the go, remember your reusable water bottle to fill with refreshing and healthy tap water.

Why drink tap water?

• A healthy beverage choice • Affordable – less than a penny per glass • Convenient – close at hand, easy to access • Environmentally friendly option

The Region makes drinking tap water an even more convenient choice through these programs.

Look for the Blue W symbol at participating businesses and public buildings. The Blue W tells you this location will refill your reusable bottles with tap water for free.

To find a Blue W location, visit www.BlueW.org.

When heading out to one of the many outdoor events this summer, look for the Water Wagon.

Refill your reusable bottle with free tap water or enjoy a refreshing drink from one of its water fountains. For a list of participating events, visit www.waterontap.ca.

connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

7

At the Region of Waterloo, we are lucky to have a large group of talented and dedicated employees.

Every day, all of you work hard to deliver the many programs and services that make a difference in the lives of our citizens.

Recognizing and celebrating the efforts of our employees is important.

This recognition can be internal, like the RAVE awards, or given by an external organization or professional association. I would like to take a moment to highlight some staff and program areas that have recently been recognized.

In early June, the 2011 RAVE awards were presented to 17 employees who have demonstrated actions that exemplify our values of service, integrity, respect, innovation and collaboration in their day-to-day work with colleagues, citizens/customers or community partners.

These award winners, who were nominated by their peers, come from all parts of our organization. They truly exemplify what it means to live our Regional values every day. Thank-you and congratulations to our 2011 winners: Lorraine Eisenporth, Lee Ann Paiva, Diana Fox, Sharon Michael, Sheryl Wilk, Brian Stahle, James Jensen, Philip Ower, Richard Fuller, Stacy McLennan, Thomas Reitz, Robert Arseneault, Kaoru Yajima, Carolyn Hilborn Vasco, Oriana Sharp, Roger Mitchell, and Kathleen Barsoum. You can read more about

the award winners on the portal or on page seven of this newsletter.

The Urban Leadership Awards program is an annual initiative of the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) designed to recognize those who have made significant contributions to improving the quality of life in Canada’s cities and urban regions.

This year, two Regional partner projects are being recognized with leadership awards: STEP Home (Support to End Persistent Homelessness) and the Accelerator Centre at the University of Waterloo Research and Technology Park.

The STEP Home program received the CUI Innovation Award for bringing together a unique collaborative of 12 programs through 10 agencies at 19 sites to provide options and supports to end persistent homelessness in Waterloo Region. The Region is an active member of the initiative and provides both planning and financial support.

The Accelerator Centre received the CUI Global City Award for cultivating technology entrepreneurship and transforming Waterloo Region into a recognized cluster for innovation and commercialization within the hightech and information communication industries. The Region contributed $4 million toward the construction of the building and is active on the Board of Directors.

Congratulations to all our winners. I encourage all of you to nominate your deserving peers for RAVE awards and to continue to pursue awards and recognition that are supported by various external organizations.

Do you have a question for Mike?

Send it to connections@regionofwaterloo.ca

New Windows make everything brighter

An upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 on all desktop and laptop computers is only one way that ITS is planning to help staff deliver excellent and more responsive services.

The entire project will include upgrades to Internet Explorer (from 7/8 to version 9), Microsoft Office (from 2007 to 2010) and DOCS. The new Internet Explorer will be faster and easier to use while Office 2010 offers additional features to help you do your job better. Getting upgraded software helps us stay current and maintain services and programs that make a difference.

More good news With faster software comes the need for fast computers to support them. If you have a computer made in 2007 or 2008 you will be on the list to receive a new one within the next six months. Stay tuned for software demonstrations coming to your location. For more information contact David Peplinski at ext. 3567 or Louis Labib at ext. 3211.

connections@regionofwaterloo.ca