Looking Back and Looking Ahead
2005 was good for SAHA. 2006 will be even better.
By Henry A. Alvarez III
SAHA President and CEO
The end of the year gives us a chance to look back at the things we’ve done, and look ahead at the things we will do. When we look back, we should do so with a critical eye so we can improve the way we will conduct business in the new year. We should also take stock of our successes so we can carry them forward in our future endeavors.
Looking back, I see 2005 as a year filled with success stories. From kicking off the revitalization of our older neighborhoods, to refined business practices, to improved customer and employee relations, we should consider 2005 as a banner year for the San Antonio Housing Authority.
SAHA has proven itself a top-flight professional housing authority, time and time again. For example, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded our Section 8 program its “high performer” rating, proving what we already knew: We are among the best at what we do.
Additionally, we enter 2006 with many initiatives taking root. The class and compensation study we commissioned in the Spring will wrap up in early 2006, and we will have a fair and equitable pay system to show for it. We revamped our benefits program, and all of us will have more security and comfort because of that effort.
But we should take caution not to let our success go to our heads. As we continued fine-tuning our business practices, we found many mistakes of the past, many problems, and many errors. We must constantly be on the watch, not only for problems, but for the complacency that causes such missteps.
If we keep our focus on the mission of providing decent, affordable homes for San Antonio’s low-income citizens, we will continue to improve. If 2005 was a banner year filled with successes, 2006 can be a year of excellence far surpassing anyone’s predictions.
As the new year nears, I challenge each of you to make this your resolution: To make the San Antonio Housing Authority the premiere housing agency in the nation by focusing on our mission, one customer at a time.
On behalf of the SAHA senior team and myself, thank you for all you have done in 2005. Your hard work and dedication has been inspirational, and I look forward to another great year with all of you.
Happy Holidays.
Update: Compensation Study
Efforts are well underway to create a fair and competitive pay structure.
by Stephen Werling
Werling Associates, inc.
The compensation project is proceeding on schedule.
I want to thank all of the employees who completed the surveys. We received surveys from 480 employees that contained some good comments that will help us as we move forward with the project. Any employee who still wishes to participate should contact the Human Resources department for a survey and a stamped envelope.
I would like to address two comments that we heard during the survey. First, no employee will receive a pay cut due to the compensation project. The purpose of the project is to develop a system that the organization can use to maintain fair and competitive wages. Second, no employee will be terminated because of this project. We are only looking at wages, not staffing levels or performance.
The next major step in the project involves a review of the current job descriptions. Again, we are asking for input from all employees to insure that we have accurate job descriptions. The job description questionnaires (JDQ) will be distributed to the departments soon. The departments will have until 12/22/05 to return the JDQs. Please take the same care in reviewing the job descriptions as you did with the survey.
As a thank you for your assistance in the project, we will conduct a drawing for those employees in the departments that submit all of their JDQs by the deadline. There will be four $25 gas gift cards given away.
Please contact the HR department if you have any questions about the compensation project.
Alternative Insurance for Children
TexCare offers a plan to insure family members.
TexCare is a family of programs that includes Children’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). When you apply for children’s health care coverage through TexCare, you are applying for both Children’s Medicaid and CHIP. For just $25 a month, or less, you can insure all of your children that qualify.
The TexCare family of programs includes benefits that will help keep your children healthy as well as care for them when they are sick or injured. They include:
- Choice of doctors
- Regular check-ups and office visits
- Prescription drugs and medical supplies
- Medical specialists
- Shots and immunizations
- Hospital care and services
- X-ray and lab tests
- Mental health care
- Dental (covered only by Children’s Medicaid)
- And more
TexCare will determine if your children qualify for Medicaid once it receives a completed application. If your children do not qualify for Medicaid, TexCare will determine if they qualify for CHIP.
For more information and an application, contact Human Resources.
The Candle That Burned Christmas
How safe are your decorations?
There may be nothing more nostalgic than the smell of cinnamon and evergreen to bring the holidays to center stage. Today's world is about stimuli and the Yuletide season does it better than any other: bright lights, cool weather, Mannheim Steamroller's Holiday CD, hot chocolate and seasonally scented candles are all treats for the senses.
Bright lights are relatively safe, as is cool weather and appropriately hot chocolate. And Mannheim Steamroller has been linked to cases of sublime holiday mellowness, but unless you’re driving a fork lift, you’ll be alright.
But candles? Used improperly, candles can send your holidays up in smoke. Keep these safety tips in mind when using holiday candles:
- Please use candles with extreme caution at all times.
- Make sure there is nothing around them that can fall onto the candle causing a fire.
- Never leave a candle unattended.
- Never sleep with candles going.
Speaking of "Safety"
Training for a safer holiday season.
Here is the Safety Training schedule for December 2005. The topics to be discussed are Holiday Safety and Lead Information. Please make arrangements with your supervisor if you are planning to attend one of the training sessions listed below. Reservations to attend the Safety Trainings are not necessary.
| December 8 |
Fair Ave. |
9 a.m., 10 a.m. |
| December 13 |
Fair Ave. |
9 a.m., 10 a.m. |
| December 14 |
Fair Ave. |
8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m. |
| December 20 |
Woodhill |
8:30 a.m. |
| December 20 |
Central Office |
10:30 a.m. |
If there’s one thing Rebecca Ponce believes, it’s that you’re never too old to get an education. It’s a philosophy that neatly ties in with her other belief that education is the golden ticket to all the good things in life.
“We are lifelong learners and should take each day to learn new things,” she said.
Education brought Rebecca to SAHA 22 years ago under a work-study program. Since then, the single mother has worked her way up to her current role as Human Resources Analyst II, and on December 10, she completes her bachelor's degree in Applied Arts and Sciences at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Rebecca has also become one of SAHA’s chief proponents of continuing education. She often helps people interested in going to school and invites employees to learn about the agency’s tuition assistance program.
“I’m a cheerleader for continuing education,” she said.
With the goal of one day being a human resources director, it’s no surprise Rebecca is doing the one thing she believes will help her reach her goal: going back to school. When she finishes her bachelor’s degree, she will work towards receiving her Professional in Human Resources certification and pushing on toward a master’s degree, she said.
