HR Newsletter, June 2018

DNR HR Newsletter

News and Updates from the HR World

June 2018

HRIS Update

No Action Required

Over the past few weeks, the HRWorks Project Leadership Team has deliberated on how the HRWorks project will proceed after legislation that would have moved state employees to biweekly pay proved unsuccessful. After considering a variety of factors including technical risk, cost, and the impact to end users, the project leadership team has decided to launch the entire HRWorks system on January 1, 2019. This includes replacing CPPS and EdSys with a new HR system and replacing Kronos with a new Time and Leave system. There will be no changes to the current monthly pay cycle.

Who Are Your Customers?

Director Challenge

Who are your customers? Do you have the tools to support your customers and meet their needs and expectations? Do you know what makes your customers feel satisfied? How do you obtain customer feedback and incorporate it into your work?

I’d like to challenge every DNR employee to ask “Who are my customers?” It may be internal staff at DNR or elsewhere in state government, it may be a business or non-profit organization, or it may be a hunter, a camper, a concerned citizen, or a land or well owner.

Regardless of who our customers are, we should all be demonstrating elements of outstanding customer service by treating everyone with respect, sharing knowledge and information, helping solve problems and offer alternatives, and ensuring that we abide by our rules and regulations to support our mission and objectives. By sticking to these core customer-service competencies, our customers will walk away with a positive experience and an understanding of why we do what we do – even if they don’t like or agree with our answer.

We want to ensure that every DNR employee has the tools and knowledge s/he needs to support our business. Look for more information in the coming months about how we survey our customers for feedback and what opportunities we might have for continuous improvement.

Robert W. Randall, Executive Director

Colorado Department of Natural Resources

Featured Story

CPW Programs Teach Next Generation

Currently Colorado Parks and Wildlife Division of Natural Resources is engaged in over 40 youth programs all around the state. These range from local park education programs like Jr. Ranger to State Park Pass and Backpack program at Colorado Libraries program, where kids can get a free park pass and check out a backpack loaded with all sorts of actives like binoculars, brochures and other educations materials to encourage kids of all ages to visit our state parks. .

We would like to highlight one such unique program. Joe Nicholson, Wildlife Manager III, Area 1, Northeast Region volunteers his time to teach Outdoor Education programs. Recently Joe and neighboring Wildlife Manager III Joe Walter, taught a group of Jefferson County, Outdoor Lab students his Jr. Game Warden /Wildlife forensics class. Joe N. says “My goal is ultimately to teach the kids about wildlife in CO, the history of wildlife management as a profession, the role of wildlife law enforcement in wildlife management, and to provide some junior game warden training in wildlife criminal investigations through classroom instruction and scenario based activities where the kids investigate a crime scene. Joe N. has been doing this for 4 years and the students and teachers cannot say enough about the amazing experience and the details Joe shares.

The full day class, sets up a scenario where the students get to collect and process evidence at a wildlife crime scene (staged with real animals, usually roadkill) in an effort to find the bad guys. They discuss and discover possible causes, process fingerprints and collect other evidence from around the crime scene like tossed soda cans or candy wrappers. Joe actually takes them through a necropsy (animal autopsy) to recover more evidence. Mark Lamb, Area 1 Wildlife manager says “Besides getting the students excited about wildlife and science, Joe is also trying to show them some of the aspects of the Wildlife Officer side of the agency. By doing this class, he exposes them to the wildlife around them and how Wildlife Officers try to solve poaching cases using forensic science and some good old "game warden common sense".

On the career side of things, Joe is trying to provide a unique and memorable opportunity for the kids to learn about wildlife careers that CPW offers. He always tells the kids he was in 5th grade when he decided he wanted to be a game warden. He stresses that your are never too young to learn about an opportunity to pursue a career protecting and managing wildlife while working outdoors.

Check out Park Pass and Backpack program: www.stateparks.org/co-check-out-a-state-park-pass-and-backpack-at-colorado-libraries/

What's Up with Safety

Personal Protective Equipment Matters

Why wear personal protective equipment (PPE)?

You’re a safe worker. You’re careful. You don’t make mistakes. Do you really need your PPE? The answer is YES for several good reasons:

1. No matter how careful you are, the unexpected sometimes happens—or somebody else could make a mistake.

2. PPE is designed by experts to protect you against specific hazards by forming a barrier between you and the hazard. Make sure that your PPE does its job and always protects you by correctly identifying hazards and selecting appropriate PPE.

Check for these potential hazards:

• Falling objects

• Dropping objects;

• Sharp objects

• Rolling or pinching objects

• Chemical exposures

• Excessive noise

• Electrical shocks and burns

• Slips, trips and falls

• Extreme temperatures

• Light radiation

• Falls from heights

• Harmful dust

Select PPE that:

• Meets safety industry standards as dictated by either the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

• Provides more than minimum required protection

• Protects against multiple hazards

• Fits correctly (full coverage and comfort)

• Has been inspected to ensure good condition

If you have any questions about what PPE you should be using, ask you supervisor. DNR Risk Management wants you to BE SAFE!

Health Savings Account (HSA) Information

If you are enrolled in a HSA-qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) you may participate in the Health Saving Account which is a tax-advantaged savings account that belongs to you. It works like a regular bank savings account, and unlike a healthcare flexible spending account (FSA), all of your HSA savings rollover from year to year. There is no “use it or lose it” rule and for qualifying employees with High Deductible Heath Plans, the State contributes $60/month to your HSA account but you do need to set up your account with Optum Bank.

Setting up a Personal Contribution into your HSA

For employees wishing to make personal contributions into the HSA account over and above what the State contributes, you can simply deposit funds directly into your HSA account through Optum Bank or you can set up a payroll direct deposit with Payroll. To set up a direct deposit from your paycheck follow these steps:

1. Obtain a direct deposit form – On the intranet, Forms, Payroll Forms, Direct Deposit Form.

2. Obtain your personal account number from Optum Bank provided in your welcome packet from Optum Bank.

3. Use the following info to fill out the direct deposit form: Organization ID is PAA, Transit Number is 124384877, Desc Code is S for savings, Act Type is S for savings, and lastly write in the Voided Check area “For Contribution into HSA”

Keep in mind these direct deposit contributions are not pre-tax so to get the tax benefit you will need to fill out IRS Tax Form 8889 so you can deduct the correct amounts from your taxable income when you file taxes. You do not receive any tax savings from the State contribution placed in the account, that amount is reported in Box 12b on your W2 annually.