Customers Come First
Team Profile: LVMWD’s Human Resources
As a customer
you may wonder, "How does the district’s
Human Resources (HR) team affect me?" After
all, HR is an internal service, for district employees.
But there is a definite
link. Human Resources serves the employees who, in
turn, serve customers. The HR team’s primary goal,
according to Hector Valdez, Human Resources Administrator,
is "recruitment and training of customer-oriented
employees who will keep our customers upper-most
in their minds and enjoy serving customers." That’s
a tall order, but the HR team’s active pursuit of "high
quality people-persons" means positions at LVMWD
rarely remain unfilled for very long and employees
tend to remain with the district, averaging 11 years
of service.
Once employees are on board,
the HR team supports them in many ways. Safety is
one way that is particularly important. Water and
wastewater services involve operating huge and complex
equipment, driving millions of miles annually, working
with high-voltage electrical services, using chemical
compounds, and working in potentially hazardous environments.
HR helps employees learn safe work practices through
training and preparation for industry certifications.
HR offers leadership for the district’s Safety Committee,
made up of employee volunteers from all functions
and area, so staff can self-identify potential safety
issues as well as remedies.
For better customer satisfaction,
HR monitors employees’ ongoing learning to achieve
and maintain industry-mandated certification. Many
water and wastewater positions require intensive
schooling and experience to achieve levels of skill
that are then "certified" through rigorous
testing. Employees are encouraged to upgrade and
broaden their certification.
Training provided by the
district raises employee skills in other ways that
benefit the community and customers. Each year employees
are offered sessions that prepare them to handle
emergencies they may encounter on the job. These
include what to do at the scene of an accident, how
to use a fire extinguisher, and how to administer
First Aid and CPR.
Like human resources professionals
in any organization, LVMWD’s HR team provides employees
assistance with medical insurance, payroll, dental
care, and similar matters, enabling staff to focus
on doing their jobs. They track employee performance
and oversee discipline when needed to get someone
back on track. And, they coordinate recognition of
safe work practices and long-term service to the
organization.
While Human Resource’s primary "customers" are
internal employees, their ultimate "customers" are
the individuals and communities served by LVMWD.
As Valdez relates, "our HR team strives to reflect
the culture and service-orientation that LVMWD has
in meeting its customer needs." |
