Our Voices (Winter 2019)

Last year was productive, exciting, and full of learning. I am most proud of the strides we have made, from the customer service event with Dennis Snow to our winter party and those creative sweaters! Going into this year, we have a lot to reflect on and several initiatives that will improve our services. I look forward to working alongside each of you and cannot wait to see all the great things we accomplish together.

4 Lifetime of Service FROM THE COAST GUARD TO RIVERSIDE COUNTY

5 Employee Discounts SAVE MONEY FOR BEING A COUNTY EMPLOYEE

6 HR Conference EVOLVE 2019

7 Awards HIGHLIGHTING EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM

8 Community Connection REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

9 Employee Recognition & Division Spotlight

HIGHLIGHTING OUR SERVICE

10 Culture of Health HEALTHTRAILS RESULTS

11 Hike with Brenda

WERE YOU ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT LAST YEAR?

12 Year at a glance 2019 WAS A BUSY YEAR!

Matthew Sayers

Senior Human Resources Analyst,Recruiting Operations

What position did you hold within the military?

• In the Army I served in the Military Intelligence Corps providing real time surveillance intel. In the Coast Guard my primary role was a Human Resources Generalist until the last 5 years where I went into Recruiting.

What position do you currently hold within the county?

• Senior Human Resources Analyst. I currently lead the Public Works and Executive Recruiting Portfolio. Prior to that, I was the lead over the Temporary Assignment Program.

What is one cool thing you were able to do at work?

• In the Army I was able to patrol the DMZ and provide real time intelligence back to Operational Command. In the Coast Guard, I was able to deploy and provide counter narcotics support in South America and lifesaving missions in the Bering Sea.

What do you like best about working for the county?

• My co-workers. We have fantastic people here in recruiting and they all genuinely want to do a good job for the departments they support.

What is the best or most embarrassing memory you have?

• My first deployment overseas I went to the motor pool. My new Seargent asked me to jump up and down on a tank to check the shocks. Being straight out of boot camp I was taught to say yes, do it then ask questions later. Jumping up and down on a tank testing the shocks got a laugh from my new squad and platoon. We all went out for drinks that night and the rest is history.

The County of Riverside has a Veterans preference hiring policy and training program?

Learn more here: https://rc-hr.com/Find-A-Job/Job-Searching/County-Job-Openings/ Information-for-Veterans

Employee Discounts

Los Angeles Lakers

Universal Studios General Admission

Riverside County has partnered up with Universal Studios to give county employees memories to remember. Employees can purchase General Admission tickets at a discounted price though our online webstore, a portal to the webstore can be found in our weekly wrap-ups. For more information on Universal Studios’ webstore, please contact communications@rivco.org.

Ready to watch a slam-dunk? Here’s your chance, county employees can watch and experience an LA Lakers’ game all at a discounted price. Employees are able to share the link with families and friends, so they can join in on the courtside fun. Tickets must be purchased two weeks in advance through an online server: https://fevo.me/rivco. For more information on LA Lakers games, please contact Bryan Hart at BHART@LA-LAKERS.COM.

Augie’s Coffee House

Craving some flavorful coffee or tea? Stop by Augie’s Coffee House for a delicious cup of coffee with a side of discount. Riverside County employees will receive a 10% discount on any purchase as long as the employee shows their badge to the cashier while paying. For further information on employee discounts with Augie’s coffee, please contact communications@rivco.org.

The 2019 HR Conference took place on August 20, 2019 at the University of California, Riverside.

To start the event off, attendees were in for an exciting surprise when the executives were running a few minutes late because of an impressive rendition of “Carpool Karaoke”!

After an impressive opening featuring the national anthem, sung by Leslie Gayk from Riverside County Probation, Assistant CEO/HR Director Brenda Diederichs provided her opening remarks and trekking the past year.

One of the highlights included the band from Rancho Verde High School that provided live entertainment while cheering “RivCoHR” during one of their musical ensembles.

To wrap up the conference, Mike Persaud hosted the Executive Roundtable, which featured some cheerful questions.

The Learning and Organizational Development (L&OD) Educational Support Program was recently selected by California State University - San Bernardino College of Extended and Global Education as the Outstanding External Partner of the Year 20182019 on August 15, 2019.

In response to the honor, Shondi Miller, L&OD Manager, said, “As you know, we partner with 19 local regionally accredited educational institutions, which have saved County employees over $9 million dollars off tuition expenses since 2012”. She added, “Congratulations to the team and Coty Wellott for all her past hard work with College Relations. Keep up the great work!”

The L&OD Educational Support Program provides professional development services focused on educating County employees, building partnerships, and eliminating the existing skills and knowledge gap in today’s workforce. The program emphasizes on bridging tomorrow’s recruiting and retention demands by developing today’s employees and fostering future employees through student internships.

For more information, visit esp.rc-hr.com.

REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

Matthew Jones is a husband and father of two as well as the Safety Coordinator for the County of Riverside Human Resources Department Safety Division.

He attended Cal Poly Pomona where he earned his Bachelors in Behavioral Science and became a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE). He would go on to graduate in 1997 and join the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) as a Police Officer. However, in 2006, Matthew was injured in the lineof-duty, thus bringing his career in law enforcement to a halt.

Committed to service, Matthew became more involved in SAE and began volunteering while working closely with undergraduates and alumni to complete charity work.

Eventually, Matthew learned that three of his fraternity brothers died in the line of duty: Kevin Artz (1988), David Nelson (2015, and Daniel Ellis (2015). He would

then receive a call from the CEO of the National Fraternity, Boomer Ayres. Boomer requested that Matthew form a committee to raise money for a memorial of the fallen officers and establish a scholarship fund for the children of the offices.

For the next two years, fundraisers were hosted coast-

to-coast and sponsored by undergraduates as well as alumni. Through this hard work, over $85,000 was raised by the committee.

In April 2018, Matthew and his family flew to the SAE National Headquarters in Chicago to unveil the memorial with family members of the fallen.

Matthew Jones

Safety Coordinator, Safety Division

Q: Can you please introduce yourself (including current title) and tell us how long you have been employed with the county?

A: Tammi Turner, Employee and Labor Relations Manager. I have worked for the County for 31 years; one year in DPSS and the remaining years in HR. I have three grown children who are in no hurry to give me a grandchild. I also have a dog, Rocky, who is 10 and a cat, Shadow, who is 21.

Q: What is it about the county that has kept you here for over 25 years?

A: My passion in HR is Employee Relations. I have also loved doing investigations and I can honestly say, “no two cases are the same.” I have also enjoyed meeting and working with so many wonderful people.

Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

A: That is an easy one. Being in Employee Relations, my superpower would be to know when someone is lying.

Benefits Division

The Benefits Division has experienced quite the year with launching two open enrollment periods back to back. In late August, the Board of Supervisors approved the move for Management/Confidential/ Unrepresented employees to move to CalPERS.

In addition to providing County-wide enrollment, the Benefits Division is committed to providing excellent customer service and education to allow County employees to make informed choices among a wide variety of high quality benefit options.

For more information, visit https://benefits.rc-hr.com/.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

8:30AM TO 1:30 PM

County Administration Center

4080 Lemon St, Riverside, CA 92501

Corner of Lemon and 10th Street

HealthTrails is a county employee challenge that allows participants to track more than just physical activity as a health behavior that contributes to overall health and well-being.

HR took first place for the 2nd time in 2019.

Stay up-to-date with activities here:

http://cultureofhealth.rc-hr.com

UCR BOTANIC GARDENS

MOUNT RUBIDOUX

ETIWANDA FALLS

INLAND EMPIRE SOCIAL MEDIA SUMMIT

For the first time, the Inland Empire hosted the hottest social media summit, featuring speakers from Twitter, Nextdoor, Facebook, Instagram, and other local corporations and County employees. Attendees could not stop raving over the entire summit. PIO’s and guests learned new tips to advancing their social media accounts. Keep refreshing the trending page for the next IE Social Media Summit. #IESocialNow

This Halloween, ghosts and goblins from all around the department dropped in for a spell, or two. We had a horrifying bake-off where all witches and wizards brewed up a delightful treat, under the condition of no poison apples. Everyone had a great time in their costumes and so many memories were made during this Spooktacular event. Join us next Halloween for a wickedly good time.

2019 HR CONFERENCE

Flashback to the 70’s! Pumping music, awesome food and an iconic performance by the Beatles, (as dressed by our Executive Team) the 2019 HR Conference was epic. With unforgettable classes Lauren Roselle, Rob Anderson and Nitro the dog; Don’t miss out on this golden opportunity to bond with your team! Stay tuned for the next HR Conference.

TOM TARANTINO

YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT DAY

Being a teenager isn’t easy, there is a vast world of opportunities that youth must learn to navigate through. Youth in Government Day was one of these wonderous opportunities, where students were given the chance to experience and live through the life of a Riverside County employee. Students were given the inside scoop on what the Human Resources team does aside from the stereotypical ‘hiring and firing.’

Oh, the weather outside is frightful; (well not really, we live in Southern California) but the holiday cheer is so delightful. This winter, we had a very cool holiday party in which many employees would say was the peppermint to their mocha. The dancefloor was on fire as employees got their groove on while the DJ spun some tunes. If you want to experience a winter wonderland, join us for the HR holiday party in 2020.

HALLOWEEN PARTY

HOLIDAY PARTY

PUBLICATION PRODUCED BY HR Communications Unit

BRENDA DIEDERICHS Assistant CEO/HR Director

MICHAEL BOWERS Assistant HR Director

BRANDE HUNE Assistant HR Director

SARAH FRANCO Assistant HR Director

MYLENE DANIELS Deputy HR Director

MEGAN GOMEZ Deputy HR Director

KAREEM GONGORA HR Communications Specialist EDITOR

ULICES DEL TORO Media Productions Specialist PHOTOGRAPHY

MALAYSIA SANDERS Media/Communications Coordinator GRAPHIC DESIGN

ISABELLA AYALA Intern

VICTORIA SANTOS Media Productions Specialist EVENTS COORDINATOR