senior program manager

administrative specialist

senior project manager

finance officer

attorney

King County, WA

Dow Constantine tells the public that we are an inclusive work force.  Not discriminating on race, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability.
  
This is not followed in the IT department.  This department relies on bullying tactics to get the work done, but to keep you off balance in the work environment.  Yearly Reviews were doled out by the personality giving the review.  If the supervisor didn't get along with you, they wrote poor things about you, which were not true, but since it was put in my file by a supervisor, it must be true.
This Personal Evaluation(PA) needs to be done by an outside party.  Having your own boss rate you, doesn't work.  They have emotions, which bleed into the PA.  Asking for a review does nothing, as upper management HAS TO support their supervisors, even if the decision was poor.
The employee gets the brunt of the stick all the time.

They do not hire permanent employees.  They hire Term Limited Temps.(TLT)
This practice wastes time, as you constantly have to train new employees, while doing your own duties.  Just because they assign you more duties that take you away from your own tasks, you are still required to meet a quota every day.
The Customer Service part of the IT department is the on group to have this type of management.  Other groups are not yelled at, nor belittled in front of others.  Managers hire their friends as TLT's then make a position just for them, and hire them into it without the person having to submit an application for the job.  If you are an employee, you do not get this benefit offered (promotions), as it is only for Managers. "Managers prerogative" what I was told when I asked about this.
Unfair labor practices Law Suite has been filed, and King County, KCIT lost.  Nothing changed after this law suite, as managers feel like they can do anything, like make salaried employees work extra time if they wanted to work remotely.  Hourly people did not have this requirement.
When asked about this, we were told management was saving us an hour per day, because of no commute.
I would not recommend working for KCIT in King County.
Other Departments are OK.  It's the management in KCIT that needs to be changed.  HR states that it is not their problem if we get a bad manager.
this really instills confidence in the work force.

Dual standards out in the open.

King County Public Health was the best job I have ever had. I think the fact that I absolutely loved, and still do love my co-workers played a major role in my job satisfaction. We were all a team, and pretty much a family. I love my Public Health colleagues. All of them, including management. I also loved the people that we served every day. We served daily with excellence, passion, and from our heart. We grew together and became attached to each other, and we were all deeply saddened that such a good thing had to end due to budget problems. I also learned much more than technical skills at Public Health. I learned to serve with compassion, integrity, excellence, and empathy. I learned to enjoy the good and challenging days. Every day at Public Health was filled with special moments, fun while working, and genuine, exceptional patient care. Our patients felt at home when they came to visit, they felt comfortable, and welcomed, and they knew without doubt that we cared genuinely for every concern they had. The hardest part of working for Public Health was our clinic closing, and getting laid off, saying good bye to my co-workers and patients. The most enjoyable part of my job were the people we served, and all of the different personalities we got to enjoy, and also helping people to feel better by the time they leave than when they first arrived.

Although government is pegged with being overburdened with red tape, this employer had very few written management processes and didn't use management systems or tools (e.g. Lean). I understand they are starting to do so now but the culture is one of "we will outlast them". Top management is elected rather than being seasoned managers and, depending on the elected official, they can chose to select cronies or professional managers. And it is true, employees outlast the 8+ years of any political/executive management reign. The result is program/work group oriented rather than corporate oriented culture, direction and loyalty. Decisions at many levels are based on organizational quirks rather than best practice, professional standards or even selection among researched alternatives.

There is a lot of potential to do good work in a variety of areas (environment, transportation, public health). However there is a disconnect from top management direction and worker productivity. It is an unusual organization, even for a public sector organization.

The current Plant Manager (yes there is only one) has reigned terror upon the workforce. Office of labor relations and the unions (Teamsters, SEIU mainly) have terrible relationships. Master Labor Agreement (bad idea) has created fractures amongst consistent past practices. Division Director has never spent a day in Wastewater. Assistant Division Director has spent a few days in Wastewater and it shows, I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t. There is no trust. No integrity. No true vision at the Management level.  If you want to trade time for money, it’s a great place. If you have true aspirations of effecting any change improvements, move on. There’s only one way to do things there. (Reference overflows as mentioned earlier) I have given my knowledge, skills and abilities to an employer that appreciates them and values me as a professional. 

A typical day includes assessing the needs of the clients who come in looking for services.  In addition to assisting them with their needs, be it a methadone voucher, vein care, or teaching a class on overdose prevention, a typical day would include maintaining adequate stock levels of supplies for the clients.  I've learned many things about drug dependency as well as human behavior through this position.  The coworkers are passionate about what they do and this helps in making the clients feel comfortable and dignified.  The hardest part of the job is seeing the toll that drugs take on the human body, mind, and spirit.  Each day presents different challenges and being able to rise to those challenges is essential for job survival.  Self care is very important.  The most satisfying part of the job is the interactions with the clients in an ordinary, universal way: we are all human beings. Management is supportive of employees taking initiative and making suggestions.  In turn, things run more smoothly.

What is the best part of working at the company?
salary and benefits, remote work location

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
An unsupportive, competitive work environment with an inexperience and self-focused manager.  He was promoted even though he had no experience leading a team, and no desire to make sure that all individuals thrived. He viewed his role only to glorify and bring attention to himself. He micromanaged some of the staff based on his insecurity, and didn't know how to overcome challenges, except by blaming others. KC will be good riddance of him in 2 years. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Since KC is a large organization, I can't say this is the norm, but KC DLS has no idea what they are doing. The culture is toxic: unsupportive and competitive. There is no room for improvement, and an unrealistic expectation of expertise. Coworkers will focus on your mistakes rather than success. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Chaos. Confusion. Uncertainty. Lack of direction. Smoke screen of support.

Working for the government possesses a challenge as it tends to cycle through the ups and downs of the economy and along with it the political nature of the environment tends towards the hiring of management that may lack the technical knowledge to manage the staff that reports to them. Political positioning tends to hamper employee engagement in creating efficiency and processes. Budget efficiency is at the expense of employee reclassification and layoffs. Morale is normally low but can get really low. King County is known for its hiring of temporary employees rather than hiring of Full Time employees. Lots of unofficial OJT opportunities are present but professional growth is not a priority. CoWorkers are hardworking and passionate about the service they support. Hardest Part of the job, is trying to complete a task correctly lacking resources to accomplish it. Most enjoyable part, my team/workgroup.Some of them are awesome people.

This review is for the Dept of Public Defense. The director and deputy director run this place like a dictatorship and everything is about politics. They put managers in place who put office politics above management principles and everyone fights the union at every turn. The union is ineffective because every level from the top down has gotten very good at manipulating the system so that supervisors and managers can treat employees badly and burn them out with no real checks and balances in place. They hire more attorneys as cases increase, piling on more work for paralegals and legal assistants, but constantly make excuses about why they won't hire more support staff. The only thing that keeps anyone here is that the county offers the best benefits around and it's nearly impossible to transfer to different county departments. I've wouldn't recommend anyone work here under any circumstances.

I'm sad to be leaving (re-locating out of state with partner), but King County welcomed me with open arms when I first started 3 years ago, and I'm so glad I was hired on. I worked in clinic setting and everyone is so kind and helpful. The colleagues and even patients I've interacted with are all so nice - it helps make the work day more enjoyable. During COVID, King County was one of the forefront employers in ensuring their employees needs were met and helped everyone safely wfh with any materials and workspace items needed. If you land a job here you won't regret it! Good luck!

What is the best part of working at the company?
The pay and benefits were excellent and ultimately made it a tough choice to leave.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of support from upper leadership. Working with staff with poor work ethics who get moved from one dept to the next instead of reprimanding, correcting or terminating their employment. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Too much work for the time allowed to complete it. Difficult to meet deadlines without bringing work home. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Start with a team huddle. I was in middle-management and had a large team. Triage the work for the day. Many, many meetings with leadership, often with the same people discussing similar items. These took a lot of time that could have been better spent on projects that needed to be completed.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior program manager 51 salaries reported	$56.66 per hour
Administrative specialist 52 salaries reported	$34.41 per hour
Senior project manager 30 salaries reported	$66.28 per hour
Finance officer 32 salaries reported	$56.24 per hour
Attorney 21 salaries reported	$158,642 per year

Working at King County, WA: Company Overview and Reviews

King County, WA

King County, WA Ratings

Popular jobs at King County, WA

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected