Throw Out These Lines
Five commonly heard workplace phrases that have no place at SAHA.
By Henry A. Alvarez III
SAHA President and CEO
If you spend enough time in the offices, halls, break rooms and work centers of SAHA, you hear just about every workplace cliché ever uttered. If I could banish five common workplace statements from our vocabulary, these would be my top candidates:
5.) Good enough for government work.
SAHA is a public agency, but that doesn’t mean our work effort should be any less than what we would give a private employer. In fact, because we are stewards of the taxpayers’ investments, our quality of work should be exemplary. As a point of personal pride, I can’t give less than my best effort to my job, and I am continually baffled by people who willingly do less than they are capable.
4.) That’s not my job.
It may not be your job, but your cooperation is necessary to ensure SAHA does what it was chartered to do. Saying “That’s not my job” is really saying, “I don’t care” or “I lack the ability to find the proper person to assist you.” Neither response is good enough for SAHA. “How can I help?” works a lot better.
3.) That’s the way we’ve always done it.
Everyone is allowed a little hindsight to provide perspective for today’s events, but when it comes to how SAHA does business, you probably shouldn’t look back very far. Over the past two years, we have made many improvements in our processes and systems and we still have a ways to go in some areas. So please remember --- This is not the same SAHA. We have set the bar higher, and you shouldn’t be working the same way you may have in the past.
2.) Manana (or variations).
Think of SAHA as a fast-moving ship. If you wait until tomorrow to take care of something you could have handled today, you may end up waving at the ship from the dock.
And my top choice for a phrase I never want to hear a SAHA employee say is:
1.) It's not my problem.
At SAHA, problems are every employee’s responsibility. If you pass off a problem, or avoid participating in a solution, you deprive the agency of the skill, expertise, knowledge and talent we hired you for. When you say, “It's not my problem,” you might as well say “I don’t care.”
Eliminating the use of these phrases is easy. Eliminating the mind-set behind them is much harder. To be a world-class organization, we must have world-class employees. That’s a high standard, but by embracing our core values and ridding ourselves of outdated, negative thinking, we can be world-class.
Battling Fraud
Your role in battling fraudulent activities.
$660 billion.
That’s about how much investigators believe U.S. companies lose each year to occupational fraud. In a 2004 report, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reported that the typical U.S. organization loses about 6 percent of its annual revenues to fraud.
SAHA has long made fraud prevention and reporting a priority. SAHA employees who report fraud are protected by federal, state and local laws, and all contact is treated confidentially. The agency will not retaliate against any person who, in good faith, reports perceived fraud or financial impropriety.
If you suspect fraud is occurring anywhere in SAHA, contact Risk Manager Veronica Guevara at 477-6061, by email at veronica_guevara @saha.org, or by mail to Risk Management, 818 S. Flores, San Antonio, Texas, 78204
Central Office Shuffle Update
The dust is settling and SAHA's new look is taking shape.
The dust is settling and the work will soon be finished as the most recent phase of the Central Office renovation nears completion.
Workers are installing modern office cubicles in what was the Community Initiatives portion of the building, creating a vastly improved and far less crowded workspace for Real Estate Services and Housing Choice Voucher Program employees. The entire first floor renovation, including improved offices for Property Management and a new meeting room across from the Boardroom should be complete by the end of the year, said Patrick Bourcier, SAHA’s Director of Procurement.
The renovation began nearly a year ago with redevelopment of offices on the second floor to house Legal, Human Resources and Fiscal operations. After the offices were completed and cubicles installed, workers gutted vacant offices on the ground floor and began an extensive effort to expand the Section 8 offices.
“The expanded space gives caseworkers more room to comfortably seat families who come in for appointments,” Patrick said. “Our customers will also see a modern, efficient workplace, instead of cramped, overcrowded offices.”
The renovations are part of the agency’s overall plan to modernize business operations and improve efficiency, Patrick said. All office space is designed with supervisor input, and square footage is allocated based on employee duties.
The renovations will also help improve air circulation in the building. Since it was built in 1983, the building has had several interior changes and many walls were built, torn down or moved. The as-designed air flow was changed, resulting in concentrations of cool or hot air in parts of the building, blocked vents and intakes and poorly routed ducts.
Second floor renovations will continue in 2007, pending Board of Commissioners approval.
Defeat The Treat
Halloween treats bring unhealthy tricks.
Burn off those extra Halloween treats with this Defeat the Treat walking program. Walking at a moderate pace for just 30-60 minutes a day will not only help you burn stored fat, but it can also speed up your metabolism by building more muscle.
Don't deprive yourself of your favorite holiday indulgence. Simply increase your physical activity with this easy-to-follow walking program. Both your waistline and taste buds will thank you!
DEFEAT THE TREAT WALKING WORKOUT
Short Day:
• Warm up 5-10 minutes.
• Walk at fast pace for 30 minutes. Slow to easy pace for 5 minutes.
• Finish with gentle stretching.
Long Day:
• Warm up 5-10 minutes at easy pace.
• Walk at target pace for 60 minutes.
• Slow to easy pace for 5 minutes.
• Finish with gentle stretching.
Long Easy Day:
• Warm up 5-10 minutes at easy pace.
• Walk at target pace for 30 minutes.
• Slow to easy pace for additional 30-90 minutes.
• Finish with gentle stretching.
Day Off:
When walking for weight loss, you should take no more than 1 to 2 days off a week.
Walking Schedule: Day - Workout – Duration
Sun.: Long Day - 60 min.
Mon.: Day Off - 0 min.
Tue.: Short Day - 30 min.
Wed.: Short Day - 30 min.
Thu.: Long Day - 60 min.
Fri.: Short Day - 30 min.
Sat.: Long Easy Day 30 min.
Alternate these days to fit your personal weekly schedule.
SAHA Notes
Happenings, reminders and tidbits.
Holiday Luncheon:
All SAHA employees are invited to a free holiday luncheon December 1, 2006 from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pueblo Hall. More information is available on the desktop.
Holiday Schedule:
‘Tis the season for holidays. SAHA is closed for Veteran’s Day, Nov. 10, as well as Thanksgiving Day and the day after, Nov. 23 and 24. Christmas closings are Dec. 22 and Dec. 25.
Mercedes Raffle:
Help the SAHA Foundation and win a Mercedes. The SAHA Foundation is raffling a restored 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SCL for $10 per chance. The raffle takes place July 2007. Contact Lori Mendez at 477-6030 for more information.
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Loretta Perez
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Denise Caballero
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Congratulations to Loretta Perez from the Legal department and Denise Caballero from the Finance department. They were randomly chosen from the list of names of successful Mystery Employee "guessers." They won two Santikos movie tickets. Way to go!
