Getting ResultsFocus

A diversity activity need not be huge or time-consuming, and it doesn’t always have to involve food.

That’s one of the messages from Jackie Lemieux, a training specialist in the DHS Training & Development unit. She coordinates a Diversity Book Club for staff on the fourth floor of the Human Services Building in Salem. It started meeting bi-monthly in November 2005.

“The goal of the club is to provide participants with an opportunity to develop a greater appreci-ation for diversity in our community, in our work and in ourselves,” Lemieux says. “We strive to gain knowledge and understanding about cultural differences. The book club discussions provide an open, non-threatening forum for talking about different cultures and lifestyles. It is also our goal to use the cultural knowledge gained to enhance our ability to provide respectful service delivery.”

The book club’s focus is wide, and uses a broad

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In this issue:• Book club &

diversity

• Core values

• Staff tools

DHS Managers Newsletter May 2006

Book club tackles diversity issues

Cont. on page 3

By Lisa Harnisch

One of the most important factors for an organization’s success is a strong message from the top. Our message from Dr. Goldberg and the Cabinet is that DHS strives to

be transparent, accountable and high-performing. And we’ll achieve this through the DHS Core Values: Integrity, Stewardship, Responsibility, Respect, and Profes-sionalism.

You as managers are also “the top” in your offices or units and you need to send the same strong message. That is a big job. You might be asking yourself where do I begin? Here are some suggestions on how to begin building a values-driven DHS.

Connect to the Core ValuesInvite conversation. Explore, individually and collectively, how the work being done in your office or unit supports the DHS Mission to assist people to become independent, healthy and safe. What are the specific things done to realize this mission? How do the Core Values support your work? How are these values real-

Your role in building a values-driven DHSCont. on page 2

Posing with the books they’ve read so far are, from left: front Sudha Ramakrishnan. Jackie Lemieux,Barbara West, Cheryl Weidner, Terri Cardinale; back Lisa Harnisch, Shilo Muller, Judy Gerrard, Diana Woods. Members not pictured: Joe Hesting, Jean Fauth, David Taylor and Marita Baragli

Lisa Harnisch

Bookclub, cont.

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definition of diversity. Its aim is to provide insights into the issues of race, ethnicity, poverty, age, lan-guage, and disability as they affect people’s lives.

Books read so far:• November/December: The Kite Runner, Khaled

Hasseini• January/February: The Plot Against America,

Philip Roth• March/April: Dress Codes: of three girlhoods, my

mother’s, my father’s and mine, Noelle Howey• Currently: The Stubborn Twig, Lauren Kessler

Members vote on which books to read, and meet to discuss the latest book. The group also often holds a panel discussion or forum, to further explore the issues raised by the book and discussions. The panel discussions are open to anyone, not just book club participants.

“The discussions with panels have expanded my learning in ways I would not have experienced had it not been for the opportunity to interact with panel members,” said member Terri Cardinale. I have been captivated, emotionally moved, and motivated as a result of the opportunity.”

Reader Judy Gerrard said, “The Kite Runner pro-vided insights into a culture that I knew nothing about and visions of a pre-war time in Afghanistan. The books have also validated that actions of oppres-sion cross all boundaries -- geographic, cultural and gender.”

Focus

Transparency, accountability pay offBy Bruce Goldberg, DHS Director

It’s no accident that Integrity and Stewardship top the list of the 5 DHS Core Val-ues. I wanted to take this oppor-tunity to underscore these two values in light of the results of the 2006 Special Legislative Ses-sion in April.

As you know, the department began 2006 under a cloud of uncertainty, with a budget that appeared to be as much as $172 million out-of-bal-ance for the 2005-07 biennium. In addition to the budget situation, DHS was the focus of concern in the Legislature because of a history of difficulties in forecasting our needs and expenditures, and a recent history of frequent turnover of leadership.

How did we get from there to where the department stands today? The Legislature in special session on April 21 took only a few hours to overwhelmingly approve a bill that allocates $136.2 million to meet our projected budget shortfall.

We had some help from an improving economy, which reduced the size of the projected shortfall. A lot of hard work was done by Gov. Kulongoski and the House and Senate leadership to get agree-ment on the bill. And people across the department contributed to its success as well.

But the accomplishment also showed a renewed confidence in DHS, a result of our efforts to im-prove our financial practices, become more ac-countable and offer greater transparency. We’ve been working hard to accomplish the Governor’s plan that calls in part for careful management and tracking of revenues and expenditures, and frequent monitoring of caseloads, program performance, policy and fiscal data.

And for my part, I want to reiterate my commitment to working with the Governor’s Office and DHS managers and staff over the long haul.

We’ve seen the results that become possible when we demonstrate our commitment to stewardship of

the people’s resources, and integrity in our busi-ness practices and relationships. I know that all of you as managers are constantly reinforcing our values in your dealings with staff, partners, clients and community members. Thanks for your con-tinued hard work and dedication to executing our core values every day.

Questions or comments? Send them to: dhs.managers-input@state.or.us

Feedback loop

Dr. Bruce Goldberg

Gary Whitehouse, Editor; Theresa Norman, DesignerThis publication is produced through Administrative Services. Editorial board: Clyde Saiki, Fariborz Pakseresht, Sue Nelson, Ann Snyder, Gary Whitehouse.

Core Values, cont.

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ized? How do the Core Values enhance the work being done? Identify what each one of the Core Values means and how they are exemplified in the workplace.

Setting the environmentMaking changes in the physical environment is a good way to keep the values in front of people. Post the values around the office to make them a visual reminder of what we want our workplace to be. Posters will be available in July. Start employee recognition programs to highlight employees who exemplify the Core Values. Be creative. This should be fun.

Attend trainingNew Ethics and Core Values training is available now for managers and supervisors. Sign up on the Training website http://www.dhs.state.or.us/training/. It speaks volumes to staff when managers attending training.

It’s just as important to make the time for staff to attend train-ing. It can be difficult, but training is an investment in your staff and the department. Classroom training for all staff is being piloted in the Portland metro area, and will be rolled out statewide. More information on this will be coming in the summer. The training will be focused on scenarios that face each of our disciplines every day.

Model Your staff members are watching! Modeling ethical behavior is one of the best ways to build a values-driven organization. Make the values part of discussions with staff, make them part of the interviewing process, make them part of the evalu-ation process.

Learn from your peers

Find out what your peers are doing around the Core Values. What ethical dilemmas do they face and how do they handle them? How have the Core Values played a role in a success-ful outcome? Share what you are doing. Create and be part of a conversation across the department.

We will continue to talk about and think through best ap-proaches to the Core Values. If you have suggestions or com-ments, please feel free to contact me at (503) 945-6304 or lisa.s.harnisch@state.or.us

Lisa Harnisch is the DHS Core Values Project Manager in the Office of Human Resources Training Unit.

The DHS Staff Tools Web site is the best place to go for inside information you need about the department.

Unfortunately, many employees remain unaware of this resource. Managers should be familiar with it, and encourage staff to use it.

Staff Tools is here: www.dhs.state.or.us/tools/

Staff Tools is where the department kept all of its “internal” or staff information when the department’s external Web presence moved to the state’s centralized “oregon.gov” Web site in early 2005. Staff Tools will be the basis for the department’s intranet site, which is currently in the planning stages.

Staff Tools has local office information, training links, contacts, manuals, forms and administrative rules for each cluster, as well as department-wide administrative resourc-es, human resources, forms, policies, pub-lications and more. And an easy link to the DHS home page at www.oregon.gov/dhs/

You can make Staff Tools your home page (and you should!), so you see it first when-ever you open Internet Explorer. Here’s how -- in Internet Explorer:

• Go to Staff Tools, www.dhs.state.or.us/tools/

• From the Internet Explorer menu bar, select Tools

• Choose Internet Options• Under “Home Page,” click “Use Cur-

rent,” and “OK.”That’s it; now when you open Explorer, you’ll see Staff Tools.

A similar article will be published in DHS Staff News. In the meantime, next time you hear someone say, “I can’t find it on the Web site,” remind them to try Staff Tools.

Tools & resources