CAO Message: Happy Employee Appreciation Day!

Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

I try to take every opportunity I can to say thanks for all you do. I say it again here, but since it’s Appreciation Day, I also want to emphasize that fuller meaning of appreciate. That I’m really conscious of the value you bring to our organization and to the people we serve. I may not know the details of each individual job, but I can see the results of your collective efforts and appreciate – I do understand – what a ton of work it is.

And I know it’s been a very tough year. Again, I may not know everyone’s individual challenges, but I do appreciate that each of you has had challenges of some measure.

The need to adapt is going to continue. We have a new Board of Supervisors, and they are very actively moving the County in new directions. That could mean subtle changes for some of you, more dramatic for others.

I appreciate that, as you so often hear, change is hard. We’re a big ship, and rapidly putting it on a new course isn’t easy. All throughout the pandemic you’ve been asked to adapt and adapt again, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your tremendous flexibility and resourcefulness. Seeing those traits also gives me confidence that you’ll display them again as we bring new policies to life. Change is hard but also exciting, giving us new opportunities for growth and innovation.

I appreciate how hard it’s been acting in isolation so much of the time this past year. We’re social creatures, we feed off each other’s energy. Teams and Zoom are fine for what they are, but they can’t replace activities in person.

The good news is that the combination of growing vaccination numbers and dropping case numbers points to the possibility of resuming on-site work. It’s still too early to talk any kind of timeline. And everything won’t go back exactly how it once was. I also don’t expect it to happen overnight. Things will be phased in, and we’ll do it safely.

But we can start to think about it. I miss office camaraderie, and I know many of you do as well. More importantly, many of us miss the ability to work directly with the public. We’re in a people business. The feeling of connection that comes from real-life interactions helps us fulfill our mission. Our renewed commitment to equity means doing more to build relationships and being closer to our communities. Meeting people where they are – literally – will help make those efforts more successful.

Buuuuut – not quite yet. Let me add to things I appreciate: your patience. A few times it looked like we might be approaching an exit from pandemic mode, then have had to keep going. I get how frustrating it’s been. I appreciate you continuing to stretch that patience for what I hope won’t be too much longer.

You’ve had to help our residents through a crisis like none they’ve ever faced, all while living through it yourselves. I’ve always appreciated your work and felt so proud to be part of this organization, but that’s only grown this year. Unprecedented times means unprecedented appreciation on my part. Thank you, today and always, for everything you do.