Your View: County Employees Bike to Work

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The General Services Department shared this photo last week of staff participating in “Bike to Work Day,” now called “Bike Anywhere Day,” at the County Operations Center.

General Services hosted a booth at the COC and handed out goodies and free T-shirts to more than 80 bikers who stopped by the booth. This is part of an annual event to promote alternative transportation like bikes for commuting.

Share your photos! If you see a coworker getting the job done, a beautiful sunset over your office or a wonderful County program being offered—snap a pic and submit it.

Be sure to include information about the photo and your name. Images may be posted to InSite and shared on social media. 

See more of Your View photos. 

Don’t Miss Fireside Chat on Cultural and Career Identities

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Join the Employee Resource Group Council’s Fireside Chat on Friday, May 31 from noon to 1 p.m. on Teams. This is the tenth ERG Fireside Chat in the quarterly panelist series between County leaders and our County community.

These quarterly sessions are moderated conversations with County leadership on the secrets to their career success and are held in partnership with the County’s Human Resources Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team.

This event will feature Treasurer-Tax Collector Financial Division Manager Loreta Ah-You-Fiame and Child and Family Well-Being Program Coordinator Liki Porotesano. The Pacific Islander Society of County Employees will moderate the chat.

Come to the conversation and hear about…

  • Conflicting nature of culture, in its many layers, and career identities.

  • Strategies and influences that have shaped the panelists’ journeys.

  • Lessons from mentors and constants in our panelists’ own mentoring.

Join in the discussion in one of two ways:

  1. Register to get an automated calendar link. (Open in Edge.)

  2. Save the following information to join on May 31.

    a. Join the meeting.
    Meeting ID: 265 326 376 063
    Passcode: TVXqVx

    b. Dial in by phone +1 619-343-2539,,78048454#

Phone conference ID: 780 484 54#

This session will be recorded.

See the flyer below.

Your View: Otay Lakes County Park

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Otay Lakes County Park

This photo was submitted by Marino Garcia from the Public Defender Department. Otay Lakes County Park is best known for its gorgeous views of Otay Lake and the surrounding hills. 

The park has a spacious playground, horseshoe pits, hiking trails and more. Otay Lakes has five reservable areas that can accommodate many people for special events or weddings.

Share your photos! If you see a coworker getting the job done, a beautiful sunset over your office or a wonderful County program being offered—snap a pic and submit it.

Be sure to include information about the photo and your name. Images may be posted to InSite and shared on social media. 

See more of Your View photos. 

Othering & Belonging Conference Lessons

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A message from the Office of Equity and Racial Justice:

In April, staff from three County departments attended the Othering & Belonging Conference in Oakland, California.

When the Office of Equity and Racial Justice was founded, the County partnered with the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley (OBI) to build the office’s foundation.

Fostering belonging, “the feeling of safety in being one’s authentic self,” is central to the County’s equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts.

Presentations and panel discussions covered topics such as disability justice, public infrastructure, and food access. These sessions encouraged conversations about the practical application of belonging in various global contexts.

Mica Miragliotta was one of the OERJ staff who attended. They were impressed by the broad diversity of viewpoints and experience highlighted and how the event was integrated with the Oakland community.

Different from many traditional conferences, creative offerings such as dance, spoken word, and collaborative projects from local artists were integrated throughout the agenda.

According to Bethany Facendini, of the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Justice, these cultural experiences, “allowed me to open my heart and mind to perspectives that I had not previously considered.”

She noted that the conference provided concrete examples and inspiration for how to shift narratives, practices, and relationships towards belonging. This emphasis on connection versus othering is integral to the County’s focus on community engagement.

From the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Division at the Department of Human Resources, Holly Norton expressed that one message that resonated with her the most was from john a. powell (who spells his name lowercase).

He stated that many times our belonging is dependent on the othering of others. What we are moving towards is a belonging that is no longer dependent on anyone’s othering but where we all can belong. “That is a future I want to be part of and a future I think we are called to be part of as public servants,” Norton shared. 

You can access recordings of selected performances, panels, and presentations on the OBI Conference website. OBI also offers free online classes for those who want to learn more about belonging at OBI University.

Go to Survey Now: County of San Diego IT Customer Satisfaction Survey 2024

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"survey" over people working at table

A message from Chief Information Officer David Smith:

It’s that time of year again for you to participate in the annual IT Customer Satisfaction Survey. This is your chance to tell us what works and what does not, and importantly, what matters to you most in the world of IT.

The delivery of IT services is not just about the County’s service provider; it is a team effort, involving my office, the Group IT Managers, Departmental managers and other County technology professionals.  Therefore, when you are entering your scores, all of us involved are keenly interested in how we are doing and what, if anything, we can do better. The answers we receive, both collectively and individually, are invaluable – because they come from you, the ones who use our technology and services every single day in serving the County’s customers.

Here’s the link to the survey (available until 5/31): County of San Diego IT Customer Satisfaction Survey 2024

If you are wondering what we did with what you told us last year, take a look at summary below.

Thank you for participating!

Last year, 2,221 of you completed the IT survey, and you provided lots of great feedback (over 2,300 comments!) on how we can improve. At the same time, we also achieved best in class again with a score of 4.36 and achieved best in class for the public sector. “Best in Class” – means our score ranks within the top 10% of all scores recorded in the 25 years Gartner, Inc. has offered the independent survey.

To see how your own Department or Group scored and some of the data regarding teleworking, click here.

Last year we found these recurring themes in your responses…and this is what we did about it.

  • Computer Services improved again but…

    • You rated this as the most important IT service.

    • This past year, computer services score improved and received a satisfaction score above the previous year’s score. We heard that you like the ability to visit the Tech Bar located the COC and would like that to continue. In addition, several of you want more options for hardware to suit your needs. The monthly fee the County pays enables a replacement every 3 years for laptops & 4 years for desktops, so please take advantage of your new device when it’s time for a refresh. If you have questions about the status of your refresh, please contact your department IT personnel and or send an email to COSDAssetRefresh@sdcounty.ca.gov.

  • Service Desk improved, but….

    • You rated this as the second most important IT service.

    • This past year, the Service Desk score improved. We see opportunities for improvement. For example, we’re striving to offer more ways for you to engage with the Service Desk through phone (888) 298-1222, e-mail sdcounty@service-now.com, Enter your own issue on the Service Portal​​​​​ , Chat with a Service Desk Agent and new a feature called Virtual Agent that will enable self-service tasks to be completed.

    • Annual Incidents

      • 94,530 Incidents Created

      • Average Incident Duration: 86% Less than 1 day, 97% less than 5 days

      • Average Request Duration 69% Less than 1 day, 91% less than 5 days

      • 10,397 Passwords Reset

      • 8,585 Accounts unlocked

      • 39,500+ Supported accounts

      • 57,700+ Supported Devices

      • 797 Supported Applications

    • Annual Surveys

      • Total survey sent: 52,938

      • Surveys received: 3,089

      • Response Rate of 6%

      • 93% Positive

    • Knowledge Articles

      • 2,109 Knowledge Articles

      • Increased 6% total, 42% in self-help articles in the past year

      • Articles updates increased 199% over last year.

      • 413 Comments and Feedbacks in articles, a 230% increase

      • 42,262 - Knowledge Article Views, a 2% increase from previous year

  • IT Teleworking….

    • Satisfaction scores in this category increased the most year-over-year reversing the drop in 2022 following the implementation of two factor authentication. However, we received feedback that you’re being asked to login multiple times. The good news is you don’t need to if you start your remote workday by logging into the client instead of opening a browser. Please refer to this desk aid for the Enterprise Application Access (EAA) User Guide.

    • We have additional resources for you to take advantage of to stay current and learn. Check out our new Technology site which offers news, events, training and other tools to assist employees.

Rewind: Speaking Our Stories IV

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Content Warning: This video contains discussion on topics including abortion, domestic violence, rape, gun violence, murder, forced marriage and genital mutilation. We encourage you to care for your safety and well-being while watching this video. Resources are available through our Employee Assistance Program and Behavioral Health Services. 

Watch the Rewind video here.

Did you miss the Speaking Our Stories IV? The May 2 event, which coincides with Mental Health Awareness Month, was a collaboration by the Middle Eastern Employee Resources Group, San Diego County Latino Association, County of San Diego Filipino-American Employees Association and the Emerging Workforce Association. 

Watch the video above. 

Resources shared during the session: 

Your View: Mental Health Awareness Community Mural

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The San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital staff shared photos of a mural they worked on in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month to help break the stigma. Staff also joined together for a moment of silence on the patio.

Share your photos! If you see a coworker getting the job done, a beautiful sunset over your office or a wonderful County program being offered—snap a pic and submit it.

Be sure to include information about the photo and your name. Images may be posted to InSite and shared on social media. 

See more of Your View photos. 

Know the Code – Financial Oversight: The Code and Best Practices

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We need your buy-in.  

Working at the County, you may feel like buying is someone else’s job. And yes, there is a department for that. But chances are your department has paid for something you needed with a p-card.

Did the item come at a fair price from a reputable vendor?

Fair and reputable are both key words. No matter how your department is using County funding, it must be used responsibly.  

You must pay careful attention to details when working on any financial agreements with outside parties, and that even includes grants.

Employees must make sure the County is not overcharged, there is no real or perceived conflict of interest or vendor misconduct that could hurt the County’s reputation.

These actions require due diligence.  

It includes:

  • A thorough vendor vetting process

  • Reviewing operational and legal risks

  • Regular Monitoring

We need vendors, suppliers and contractors to help the County provide quality programs and services.  But we also need to evaluate risks and threats to the County before we put our money down.

If you have questions, touch base with your department’s point of contact at Purchasing and Contracting, the Office of Ethics, Compliance and Labor Standards at oec@sdcounty.ca.gov or Agency Business Assurance & Compliance office (for HHSA staff) or call the Ethics Hotline at 866-549-0004.