Tompkins County Human Resources staff told the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee on Aug. 27 that HR is collecting data for its first equity indicator on workforce recruitment, producing an HR newsletter, and collaborating with the Department of Emergency Response on a proposal to expand a peer-support program to all county employees.

Why it matters: equity indicators and a peer-support expansion could affect staff recruitment practices, employee wellness offerings and how the county supports employees after stressful incidents.

Details: Samantha Allmendinger, the county’s new training and development coordinator in Human Resources, said HR is working on data collection related to workforce recruitment as its first equity indicator; staff member Ruby is coordinating data delivery to the county’s chief equity and diversity officer for reporting. Allmendinger said HR has launched a newsletter (first issued in May) that highlights department programs for county employees; recent issues noted caregiver support at the Office for the Aging and a childcare-assistance program at the Department of Social Services.

On employee wellness, Allmendinger and Department of Emergency Response staff described a proposal to expand the county’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) peer-support program beyond first responders to all county employees. John Halachik, assistant director of 911, confirmed recent utilization of CISM with successful outcomes and department leaders said there were multiple utilizations in the last 60 days. No final decision or budget authorization to expand CISM was taken at the meeting; staff said the expansion remains at the proposal and feedback stage.

Ending: HR and Emergency Response staff will continue collecting feedback and updating the committee; the equity-indicator work and any formal proposal to extend CISM will be reported in a future WDIC meeting when materials are ready.