SACRAMENTO, CA – 2023 proved to be another fruitful year for CalHR. Let’s take a look at our top highlights:
- We hosted a conference on Dec. 6, and over 850 state human resources professionals attended. Keynote speakers included Simon Sinek, author and inspirational speaker on business leadership, and Gallup’s Ed O’Boyle, who talked about building a culture of engagement. Other speakers covered topics relating to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (#DEIA); Savings Plus retirement plans; and employee wellbeing at a state department level. Our DEIA materials have been some of our most viewed and downloaded resources.
- We hosted our first #Work4CA No Degree Required Job Fair in partnership with Sacramento Works and the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency on Oct. 3. Attendance exceeded expectations with over 1,200 job seekers and 36 state departments. The “No Degree Required” event also attracted diverse audience of job seekers across age, gender, ethnicity, class.
- In partnership with GovOps, we conducted a statewide Learning and Development Strategic (L&D) Plan Project. We involved all California state departments and agencies, seeking not only survey and written assessments but also interviews to gain a better understanding of each department’s L&D practices. We will develop a statewide L&D strategy based on the information and data collected from each department.
- The DEI Office is now the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (#DEIA) Office. This name change aligns with Gov. Newsom’s vision of a California for All and continues to raise awareness about the importance of accessibility. Equity and accessibility are two closely related concepts that are essential for creating a just and inclusive society. Equity refers to fairness and impartiality, and accessibility refers to the ability to use or participate in something. Both concepts work together to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to participate in society, including the workplace. When there is equity, there is also accessibility.
- We reached labor agreements with 13 bargaining units and negotiated six successor Memoranda of Understanding with state employee representatives, covering various and diverse classifications, including public safety, health care, professional engineers, craft and maintenance, and office and allied, among others.
- We soft-launched our virtual benefits assistant, “Benie the Bot.” Benie was created as a website chat function to increase customer service and provide timely access to information. Benie has been programmed with responses to generic questions and has AI capabilities to learn from other questions.
- Through extensive collaboration with the California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP), we installed the new Governor’s State Employee #MedalOfValor Award SmartTV (MOV SmartTV). The MOV SmartTV will replace the former kiosk and serve as a destination wherein visitors can experience the heroic stories of past MOV awardees. Although the final home for the MOV SmartTV will be the Capitol, it can currently be seen at the Capitol Annex Swing Space (1021 O street) while the Capitol is under extensive construction. This was a multi-party project led by CalHR with the involvement of GovOps, CAHP and DGS. This wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work from our Benefits, IT and Administrative Services Divisions as well as our Communications Office.
- We launched the Statewide Engagement Program that brings the employee wellness, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), merit awards and employee engagement programs together to holistically support the overall well-being of state employees. Our goal is to assist departments through streamlined communication centered around keeping our state employees engaged in the work they do every day through the state’s benefit programs and services.
- On June 21, 2023, we successfully hosted the first in-person California Governor’s State Employee Medal of Valor Award since the start of the pandemic. We honored 20 of the 23 awardees from Caltrans, CAL FIRE, CDCR and CHP, and approximately 280 guests attended. The governor was represented by Cabinet Secretary Ann Patterson who introduced the governor’s video remarks video and presented medals to the awardees.
We are looking forward to celebrating more of our employees’ accomplishments in 2024!