The Division of Social Services S.H.I.N.E. culture initiative began in 2016. S.H.I.N.E. appeared as a result of the agency's vision to grow in customer service excellence. S.H.I.N.E. is an acronym and stands for a number of elements which help promote both internal and external relationships. "S" stands for the DOSS Service Values of Integrity, Compassion, Quality, Accountability, and Teamwork. "H" stands for Hello, "I" stands for Proper Interaction, "N" for Nice/Compassion, and "E" stands for Proper Exit. The S.H.I.N.E. elements include all the necessary behaviors which make customers feel valued and appreciated. S.H.I.N.E. also includes many employee engagement events and an internal employee recognition program. The S.H.I.N.E. Award recognizes employees for demonstrating the Agency's Values, on a daily, quarterly, and yearly basis. Annually, one employee is selected as "Employee of the Year" and is honored at the S.H.I.N.E. Recognition Celebration.
This year, the S.H.I.N.E. Employee of the Year was Stephanie Hunter. Stephanie demonstrated all the values that the S.H.I.N.E. award encompasses and was therefore recognizes as this year's awardee.
From left to right: Division of Social Services Director Cheryl Golden, Deputy
Freeholder Director Darlene Barber, S.H.I.N.E. Employee of the Year Stephanie
Hunter, and former County Administrator Ken Mecouch