CVB Life Employee Blog

Congratulations are in order for Ron Kuhlman and Courtney Dyer – Ron for 25 years of service and Courtney for 40! Way to go, guys!

Dave Hansen, City Manager, opened the meeting with the following comments:

• Budget passed with a little bump in revenue
• City Council is comfortable with the organization and in a good mood
• A Leadership Retreat was recently held with City manager, deputies and department directors and the following themes emerged
  • Compensation
  • Recruitment and retention of high performers
  • Resources, technology and staffing
  • Employee performance
  • Policies and procedures
  • Culture

The top 8 issues that emerged included

1. Create a new performance appraisal system
2. Increase spending in IT & HR
3. Review Administrative Directive for administrative increases
4. Define our Culture
5. Hire a consultant to redo or recreate the City’s compensation system
6. Create a learning environment, even if it means shutting down for a short period to get the entire team together
7. Establish an innovation center
8. Change City Council Workshop format (1 year budget, 3 yr., 15 year, 2040 Vision) too complicated and conflicting.

• Dave challenged the organization: Balance the status quo or Challenge complacency and move forward with courage, candor and ambition. He was clear that the ladder was the route he was taking.
• Dave encouraged everyone to think about what it would take to always say YES, and only allow department directors to say NO. What does it take to say yes? Staff, other resources? Example: I need you to bring 100,000 more visitors to the beach each week. Response: YES, we can do that with 100,000 gas cards at $1,000 each. OR, Yes I can rehabilitate the aging water infrastructure with $800 M and three years’ time.

Other Presentations

• 19^th Annual Mayor’s Cup blood drive is coming soon and we want to win the trophy back from Chesapeake. Power Red Cell donations are now viable where only red cells are donated and plasma is returned to the donor. Rapid Pass in a new online registration system that can save donors time at the donation site.
• Monica Kopin presented an update on Taleo, the City’s new web based employment application system. This application will replace WAVE.
  • Taleo Learn Live available June 1
  • Taleo is an applicant tracking system
  • Cloud based
  • Oracle based similar to InSite.
  • Why change?
    • Integrates with InSite
    • Two sided – Applicant and Hiring Manager
    • Applicant creates candidate profile
    • Applications can be reviewed online
    • Hiring process remains the same
  • Differences
    • Visually different, dashboard view for hiring managers
    • Candidate notification when an action occurs
      • Automatic email once hiring manager has reviewed application
      • Appointments and resumes can be sent to panel members
      • Offer letters can automatically be generated (but conversations should first be conducted with successful candidate)
    • Candidates must have an email address to build an account
    • PCN will pull directly from InSite
    • Closing will be 12:01 a.m. on the date the position closes – Meaning, you can’t submit an application on the closing date. BIG CHANGE, BEWARE.
    • Working title field will be available
    • Applications can go straight to departments w/out HR review for lesser qualification positions.
    • Data tracking and reporting
    • New Feature – Onboarding
      • Planned for August or September
      • Allows for candidates online information filing of forms, background checks, tax information. Information is automatically populated in InSite
      • Departments must still follow onboarding process
      • All onboarding must be complete one working day prior to employee start date
    • Key Dates to remember
      • June 14 – last day to advertise current openings
      • June 25 – Last day to access WAVE
      • If you have a current profile in WAVE, you should print it since access will be closed after June 25 and your information will be retired to the cyber universe of scrambled bits and bytes.
      • July 1 – New WAVE goes live
      • No position advertising June 15-30
    • ZIKA Virus – Heidi Kulberg, M.D. Public Health Director
      • 80% of people with Zika don’t know they have it, 20% experience minor symptoms
      • No medicine available for treatment (other than for symptoms), no vaccine
      • Discovered in 1947
      • 544 documented cases in US from people who had visited areas of transmission
      • Complications include microcephaly and other brain abnormalities to unborn children during pregnancy from exposed mothers
      • Guilain-Barre – an auto-immune nerve disorder
      • Who is at risk?
        • People traveling to 39 countries where specific mosquito and virus lives
        • Imported vs. local exposure
        • Not spreading in VA
        • 15 cases identified in VA, all were travel related
        • Mosquitos can bite an infected human during the 15 day illness cycle then transmit it to another mosquito.
        • Sexually transmitted from infected partner
      • Stop breading mosquitos by eliminating standing water in your yard
      • Mosquitos sense CO2 we exhale
      • Fight the Bite – Day time biters, use insect repellent, wear long sleeves and pants, close screens

For more information see www.vbgov.com/mosquito