Highway 97D flood repair Drone footage by David Retzer CLICK TO SEE VIDEO RoadRunner Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Employee Newsletter June 2017 All Aboard for TELP – Improving Onboarding and Orientation Submitted by Kim Struthers, Manager of Workforce Programs/TELP Administrator and Lean Project Team Member Since September 2016, a Lean project team has announce that we have wrapped been hard at work to improve the Technician Entry up the project, and are celebrating Level Program (TELP) onboarding and orientation its conclusion with the launch of a process, for supervisors and employees. new TELP website! I am part of this awesome team, which is made Check out these great new up of colleagues from across the province who resources which are now are involved in the program, and I am pleased to available: report out on behalf of my team members. • Frequently Asked Questions for As part of the project’s research phase, we TELPs and TELP Supervisors surveyed past and current TELP employees (aka TELPs) and their supervisors. TELP supervisors • A program Roles and requested more knowledge and training for their Responsibilities document role, whereas TELPs indicated they could use • TELP and TELP Supervisor more support and a clearer sense of program key work goals for their roles and responsibilities. MyPerformance profiles p Eight of our project team members mapping out the TELP onboarding and orientation process: Stephanie Lorentz, Nicole Folk, Kim Struthers, Hali Davenport, Tanya Barrett, Krysta Groenewegen van der Weiden, Desiree Veness and Jarret Wedel. Missing: Melanie Robbestad and After we identified these pain points in the • A TELP Supervisor Guide process, we went through a series of brain- photographer Nick Nixon. storming and problem-solving exercises to come • High-level roadmaps of the up with some solutions. These solutions fell into onboarding and orientation process for TELPs I’d like to give a huge shout out to my team employees and help make the onboarding and three main categories – training, communications, and TELP Supervisors members, whose dedication and commitment orientation process as smooth and efficient and tools and materials from which we built our to this project have resulted in these great new as possible. In addition to the hyperlinks provided above, action plan of 16 items. resources and a new website. I know I speak on the site is accessible through the TELP intranet behalf of the team when I say that we hope this If anyone has any questions about the program or The team has been hard at work on these action hyperlink on TRANnet. resource will benefit our TELP supervisors and project, please don’t hesitate to contact me. items over the past eight months. I’m pleased to More on Page 2… 1 RoadRunner June 2017 RoadRunner Editor’s Note Spring and summer have delivered some unusual Along the emergency response line, this issue I know that the collaborative spirit, CONTENTS June 2017 situations this year, including extra-high water of Road Runner also features the work of communication and professionalism that is levels and flooding in many parts of the province. Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangement typical of ministry employees, will help everyone Co-op Chanpreet Gill, to deal with the costly continue to step up to the demands at hand. District employees in the Okanagan Shuswap, consequences of last fall’s flooding in the Peace Thomspon Nicola, West Kootenay, Peace, Rocky District. With all the 2017 floods, there will “It’s always helpful to have somebody help Mountain and Cariboo have all been responding be more of this kind of work coming up. It’s buoy you in difficult times and problem-solve to widespread flooding, to keep people and goods wonderful to hear of the cohesive efforts by with and to share the marvelous moments moving safely along our roads and highways. individuals across our ministry to perform the with as well.” All Aboard for TELP – Improving During these prolonged massive efforts, it’s great daunting task of gathering and preparing damage – Jane Poynter Onboarding and Orientation Page 1 that humour – even poetry – can put a refreshing and repair documentation, which brings in Nancy McLeod Editor’s Note Page 2 perspective on big challenges. Check out Heidi financial assistance from the federal government. Editor Alaska Highway Celebrates 75 Years Page 3 Postiknoff’s original use of the word “squirrely” Partnerships Learning Moves in describing the impact Forward with Move-U Page 4 of March freshet that led Employee Advisory Forum to West Kootenay District terrain “Slip Slidin’ Away.” 2017 Direction Discussed at EAF Leadership Team Meeting (At last take, the West with Executive Page 5 Kootenay District and Information Security and Privacy others were still dealing – Lessons Learned Page 6 with the power of nature What the Leader In You Means to Me Page 6 that led to extensive road closures.) Piecing the Peace Back Together Page 7 p Intersection of Highway 97C and Highway 97D, on May 5. p Work at Hot Spring Road, near Nakusp, on June 1. Slip Slidin’ Away Page 8 TRAN Who’s Who In the email for your story, please attach the All Aboard for TELP – The Climate Action Program Word document and graphics (photos, charts, THANKS TO – Here to Help Reduce GHGs Page 9 etc.) separately. Please DO NOT embed graphics Improving Onboarding in the article — this compromises reproduction OUR SUPPORTING CAST Introducing the Information and Orientation Management, Security quality and the images may not be useable by Ashley Cousens – for and Privacy Team Page 10 our graphic artist. Photos supplied should be one … Continued from Page 1 her winning submission megabyte. So Long, Farewell… for our new TELP logo But Hopefully Not Goodbye! Page 11 For contributor guidelines, writing tips and upcoming deadlines, see Road Runner on DID YOU KNOW? Corrin Peet – for her TRANnet. graphic design skills More than 265 TELPs have Check out the Employee Advisory Forum website for our onboarding and The RoadRunner employee newsletter is been hired into the program TELP Ashley Cousen’s for regular updates: gww.th.gov.bc.ca/EAF/ orientation roadmaps published four times a year, on the Ministry of since it started in 2006. winning TELP design. Transportation and Infrastructure Internet site. home_intra.asp. Melissa Thickens and TELP has a current retention rate of We welcome your story submissions. Email your For @Work – the Public Service Community Sandra Toth Nacey – for being our Website, visit: gww.gov.bc.ca/ article as a Word document (approx. 500 words 65 per cent. project sponsors maximum) and your high-resolution photographs as Graphic design for Road Runner is provided JPEGs to: [email protected]. by Kathy Macovichuk. 2 RoadRunner June 2017 Alaska Highway Celebrates 75 Years Submitted by Lisa Bush, District Clerk The Alaska Highway in northern B.C., highway) is at Mile 20 – the Kiskatinaw Ultimately, the U.S. military got its supply route, the Yukon and Alaska is turning 75 Bridge. This is the first curved wooden from rail’s end in Dawson Creek, through B.C. and years old this year – it’s been around bridge ever built in Canada, and one of the the Yukon, and into Alaska. The Alaska Highway for half of Canada’s history! very few that still remain. This 190-foot has come a long way from that “corduroy path,” curved and banked structure was built to built of logs through the bush, to where it is now I would go so far as to say the Alaska accommodate the bend in the highway at able to accommodate all kinds of transport – from Highway was to Second World War- this point along the river. industrious commercial traffic to the innumerable era North America what the railroad tourist vehicles that make the pilgrimage each year. was to Confederation. Just as the There are still people around who remember railroad was of greater significance the collapse of the Taylor Bridge across the There is a lot more fascinating information to the country than merely a way to Peace River in 1957. It was precipitated by available about the historic route and get from point A to point B, so too a landslide, which completely displaced the engineering achievement, including a 1944 does the Alaska Highway tell our bridge’s concrete anchor blocks. (Happily, archival documentary produced by the U.S. history, as it puts place names to our there were no injuries or loss of life). This Army, the unheralded contributions of African- pioneering spirit. event is well documented, and although American workers and celebratory events ◆ p “Corduroy road” was put in by the U.S. Army. (Photo: U.S. Army Corp of Engineers) the learning from this experience was planned for this summer. Back in 1942, the Americans were applied to the replacement bridge, the river feeling a little jumpy, with Japan banks at Taylor continue to challenge the best breathing down their necks in the engineering minds. North Pacific. Alaska was pretty isolated because the only way to get to most places was by air or sea, both of which were vulnerable to the Japanese. RENOWNED AUTHOR TRAVELS A permanent, all-season land access ALASKA HIGHWAY TO was needed, so Canada agreed to allow the U.S. military to push a road RESEARCH BLACK WORKERS through the Canadian wilderness. With the strategic requirement for an In the early spring of 1942, thousands The Alaska Highway overland route from mainland United States of troops and wave after wave of stretches from to Alaska and a shortage of military personnel Dawson Creek, B.C., p Handshake at Contact Creek where crews working their equipment were dispatched from at the time, the U.S.