To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Patrick L. Hernandez, Director, Human Resources
Prepared By:
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Rachel Beck-Garcia, Sr. Benefits Analyst, Human Resources
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presenter
Presenter: Dusty Sash, Total Compensation Manager, Human Resources
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Subject:
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2:30 PM *Years of Service Program Proposal
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of this study session is to get Board feedback and approval on updates to the service awards process and accepting a new vendor.
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Background and Discussion:
Total Compensation is pleased to share some enhancement options to the Years of Service Awards process. We’d like to share the current state of the program and the enhancements we’d like to make and ask for two points of approval.
Currently, the process is managed by the HR team and is very manual. The total budget is $75,000 and comes out the HR budget with no department or office funds.
The process starts at 10 years of service and then consecutively every five (5) years. The first enhancement we’d like to incorporate is adding the service level of five (5) years. We believe this will increase employee engagement and retention by showing the County’s appreciation sooner than at the 10-year mark.
Currently, recipients are sent an online link for a catalog of “material items” that may be purchased (these expire one year from issuance), plus a plaque to commemorate their service/tenure. We’d like to propose a few changes to this process:
1. Switch from a plaque to a pin. People could display on their lanyards/badges and have more visibility to other employees’ tenure.
2. Another enhancement we’d like to make is to automate the award process, so it is more timely and more meaningful. To do this, we requested Lockton, our broker, to run an RFQ for us to ensure we were following purchasing processes. They reviewed four (4) companies for us, including the incumbent, MTM. Based on the results of that RFQ, we’d like to implement Wishlist, a Denver based company, which will automate the process and send recognition, plus the “gift” on the service/anniversary date. This will allow for more personalized gift experiences, such as an experience, gift card or donation to charitable organization.
3. Through our audit of this process, we also found out that our retirees are recognized through the current process with our current vendor. We’d like to incorporate that process into this as well for the automation purpose and the enhanced options for a gift. The budget for these awards is currently ~$12,000 and is believed to be pulled out of the Treasurer’s budget. Part of this enhancement will increase their award to $250, increasing this budget to $15,000, not an increase to the budget, but dollars will be reallocated within existing budget.
4. Our last enhancement would be to bring the Service Awards Ceremony back to an in-person event. We have worked with the Fairgrounds Staff are proposing the following dates utilizing the Exhibition Hall. We have a tentative date of September 16, 2025.
We also evaluated what the 10-counties surrounding Arapahoe typically do. The chart is attached in the presentation.
Given all this information, we’d like to move forward with the following options:
1. Return ceremony to in person, during the month of September
2. Move from a plaque to a pin
3. Incorporate the retirees into this process/system for automation
And, have approval on the below items:
1. Update timeline to begin at 5 years of service
2. Implement Wishlist to automate the employee experience and gift options, to send on the anniversary date
Alternatives: The BOCC could not approve the new vendor, and manual process would still apply.
Fiscal Impact: This will cost an additional $7,800 annually, plus a one-time implementation fee of $3,000. The total budget would be $85,800 for the first year following the change and $82,800 for subsequent years.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☐Provide essential and mandated service
☐Be community focused
Concurrence: None.