Shasta County is fortunate to have many exemplary employees. On a daily basis, their dedication, integrity, creativity, and professionalism are called upon to maintain the high quality of local public services enjoyed by the citizens of Shasta County. Their jobs are becoming more challenging as public expectations of service and demands for increased efficiency escalate. In this environment, it is important that we recognize those employees who set the standard of excellence and dedication for the entire organization. Their contribution deserves the thanks and appreciation of the entire County family and the citizens of the community.
In this spirit, the Board is being asked to recognize the Employee of the Month, who has been nominated by the Employee Recognition Committee. This nomination is based on a review of all nominations using the selection criteria provided for in the Employee Recognition Policy. It is the recommendation of the Employee Recognition Committee that Sandra Block, Typist Clerk III - Confidential, Department of Support Services, be recognized as the October 2017 Employee of the Month.
Ms. Block is the face of Support Services, and she represents our department extremely well. The Department of Support Services consists of Personnel, Purchasing, and Risk Management, so on any given day, she could encounter a wide variety of individuals, both County employees and non-County employees, as well as a wide variety of dispositions. Regardless of the situation, everyone who walks through our front doors is met with a smile and a greeting from Ms. Block. She promptly provides all guests with assistance or locates someone who can assist them, and communicates with them consistently as she is doing so. When applicants come in to interview for a position, she checks them in, provides them with any necessary documents, and then follows up with words of encouragement. If a dissatisfied member of the Public visits our office, she listens, is empathetic, and reassures them that they are heard and she will find someone to assist them. Ms. Block takes customer service a step further, not only does she provide them with what they need, she also makes them feel like their needs are important.
Ms. Block takes her role within Support Services very seriously. She understands the importance of her role in County government, and her responsibility to the community of Shasta County as well. Within the office Ms. Block monitors, conserves, and recycles office supplies when possible, and encourages other staff to do the same. On many occasions she has saved our Department money by seeking out the best possible deals, or locating surplus when available.
Ms. Block does not hesitate to bring new ideas to the Purchasing Unit of Support Services. Frequently, there have been billing issues with AT&T, as well as other Vendors. She is instrumental in keeping all billing up to date, researching charges when needed to determine corrections needing to be made, and contacting vendors or department as appropriate. When we recently converted the Office Depot account to credit card payments only, she independently completed a huge cleanup of users and "ship to" codes, by inactivating, deleting or revising as necessary.
Ms. Block's hard work and exceptional customer service has been recognized both within the Department of Support Services and countywide. She values her work, her team mates, and her responsibility to the residents of the County of Shasta.