A Look Back at the First Year of Leadership Henrico

Leadership Henrico (LH), a brand-new leadership development program for Henrico County supervisors, launched last September and supervisors representing all levels of management and from a wide variety of departments jumped in to be part of it.

Throughout the year participants met with mentors, mentored others, attended leadership workshops, collaborated with one another, met to discuss their leadership challenges, and volunteered in the community.
This past May they celebrated completing Year 1 of the 4-year program. With honesty, humor, courage, and heart, they shared their successes, stories, and lessons learned. Here are just a few of their comments:

  • “I feel I’m learning so much. I love how we get together with other leaders. This is such a difference from other classes or leadership programs taken before.”
  • “I loved hearing different perspectives and how much we all connected: having long-lasting relationships with different people for life.”
  • “I am SO excited. I’ve had such a great experience and am looking forward to continuing next year.”
  • My mentor (a department head) was there for me, made time for me, even though she is very busy. We committed to keeping up our conversations in the future.”

Registration is now open for YOU to join the next class of LH!

The program is open to all supervisors of permanent full- or part-time employees, at all levels of the organization, including anyone who went through LDP. Check out LH Overview: What’s in It for YOU? for a brief overview of all 4 Years.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by! Registration occurs only once a year to ensure that a cohort of leaders can go through the program together. Attending the Kickoff is mandatory for joining LH.

Register NOW!

  • Leadership Henrico Year 1 Kickoff
  • September 14, 2022, 8:30-4:00, Henrico Training Center  
  • To register, log in to HRMS, go to Employee Direct Access > Learning, Learner Home > Browse Catalog > Human Resources > Specialized Training > Leadership Henrico Year 1 Kickoff 
  • Registration Deadline: August 10, 2022

If you have any questions, please contact Shari Bennett Speer (ben14/x7203), Kim Schenk (sch09/x7209), Nancy Outlaw (out/x7208), Rebecca Slough (slo/x7205), or Brett Hooks (Hoo011/x7210) in OLTD (Organizational Learning and Talent Development).

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Henrico’s New Capability Model: The Customer Engagement Capability

As we enter the new fiscal year, Henrico County has introduced a new Capability Model that replaces the County Competencies. This model is designed to help all employees focus on and develop the knowledge and skills to successfully lead and serve in a rapidly evolving workplace and community. View the model below or learn more about the seven capabilities on our resource page.

To help you better understand each of the seven capabilities integral to the model, the County Connection will feature a series of articles, each focusing on a different capability. This article focuses on Customer Engagement.

Providing exceptional service and positive interactions is at the heart of Henrico County’s mission and is a significant component of The Henrico Way. The Customer Engagement capability complements these initiatives and is defined as “Cultivating positive relationships with internal and external customers by proactively seeking customized solutions to increase satisfaction and build rapport.”

Our County employees have consistently modeled the Customer Engagement capability. While it’s always been a priority, customer engagement took on new meaning and importance with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some examples of this exceptional customer engagement before and during COVID-19 include:

  • County Departments automated and converted processes to electronic for citizens to continue to do business during COVID-19.
  • The IT Department converted systems and increased bandwidth within weeks to accommodate remote work due to COVID-19 restrictions while communicating with and educating employees on best practices for working remotely.
  • The creation of a call center to support citizens during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Nourish Henrico program was created to support local restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic by purchasing meals for first responders and other eligible frontline employees.
  • James River Juvenile Detention employees created a food pantry to help coworkers who lost income during COVID-19.
  • A DPU employee assisted a customer at the landfill even though he arrived before the dump was open for business. 
  • A Police officer responded to a citizen whose car broke down, pushed the car to safety, and stayed with her until the vehicle was repaired.
  • A Social Services employee reached out to multiple contacts beyond traditional resources to help a citizen in crisis.
  • Library employees implemented virtual story times for children during COVID-19.
  • DPU employees repaired a broken water service line even though the damage was in the customer-maintained portion of the water line. 
  • The Advocate for the Aging coordinated the removal of a rotten tree from a citizen’s property, even though it was outside the scope of her duties.
  • An Animal Protection officer spent multiple hours searching for a lost dog and continuously communicating with the dog’s owners until it was found and returned.

These examples show how County employees anticipated customers’ needs, both external and internal, and worked creatively to meet them. They went above and beyond expectations through transparent communication, making decisions, and, at times, adapting processes and procedures to ensure the best outcomes for their customers. 

Excellent customer engagement boosts our citizens’ confidence in our county government, enhances productivity, improves processes, expands services, and significantly contributes to our being a high-performing organization. To find more examples of exceptional customer engagement, view our “Who We Are: Leadership Lessons from COVID 19” video series on our OLTD YouTube page and the County’s Henrico Way web page.

For more information on the Capabilities, visit our resource page.

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Team Henrico and the Corporate 5k Recap

Team Henrico wants to thank the Henrico County employees who participated in the Anthem Corporate 5k! This was the first year in a while that we could join in person, and we hoped to reclaim one of our first-place titles. After a pre-race meetup that included lots of socializing around intense games of giant Jenga, the 5k got underway. Congratulations to Colin Baumgartner (HCPS), who finished in 7th place overall with a time of 19:25! Once the race was complete, everyone enjoyed music, mingling, food, and more Jenga before heading home. If you are wondering if Team Henrico accomplished our goal, you will have to watch the accompanying slideshow to find out!

Thank you to all the employees, friends, and family members for their support and cheering on the Team Henrico participants. Be on the lookout for the next Team Henrico event you can participate in, and help us make the group bigger!

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Keep it Cool During Warm Weather Workouts

Time It Right

  • Get outside during the coolest parts of the day, like the morning or evening
  • Avoid outdoor activity from 12-3 PM, the hottest part of the day
  • Give yourself time to warm up and cool down before each activity

Stay Hydrated

  • Drink water before, during and after activities, even if you don’t feel thirsty
  • Fuel up with hydrating fruits and veggies, smoothies and infused water
  • Carry a water bottle or hydration pack with you for easy hydration

Dress for Comfort

  • Wear lightweight, light-colored clothes made with moisture-wicking fabrics
  • Lace up with breathable shoes, lightweight socks and supportive insoles
  • Protect yourself with sunglasses, waterproof sunscreen and a hat or visor

Make it fun with warm-weather activities like:

  • Swimming
  • Hiking
  • Outdoor Yoga

For more ideas on staying active, visit heart.org/movemore

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