Oct. 26 

Tami Klinski (Administrative Services)

Oct. 28

Tyler Loebel (Purchasing)

Oct. 30

Austin Little (JPM Operations)

Nov. 1

Cindy Huber (JPM Maintenance), Nicky Metzler (Accounting & Finance)

BIRTHDAY RECOGNITION CHANGE

Reminder: Beginning next week with the Nov. 2 Short Circuits, birthdays will be recognized on WorkTango instead of in the weekly Short Circuits employee newsletter. This change is occurring because an application that currently generates the birthday list for Short Circuits is being retired when Dairyland transitions to the Workday software at the end of October.

Employees are encouraged to visit WorkTango regularly to celebrate and recognize achievements and milestones in our workplace.

It is easy and enjoyable to show gratitude to each other with a post, like or comment on WorkTango. Note: There is an option to opt-out of having your birthday shown on WorkTango.

Reminder #2: Kazoo acquired WorkTango and subsequently rebranded under one identity. The Kazoo employee rewards and recognition platform is now WorkTango. Access WorkTango through the Quick link on the Breaker home page. 

Employees will notice a refreshed look and email notifications will now come from WorkTango. The functionality of the platform remains the same. 

National Co-op Month Incentive:

There are just a few days left to capitalize on this incentive! Take a few minutes to send meaningful recognition on WorkTango to a coworker within the People Power Cooperative Purpose during the month of October and earn 200 points.

RISING STAR

Congratulations to Human Resources Business Partner Ah Vang on being honored as a Rising Star Under 40 winner from the 7 Rivers Alliance and River Valley Media Group!

Ah was recognized at a reception on Oct. 19 at the La Crescent Event Center as one of 28 recipients from three states. Rising Stars are recognized for their professional successes while maintaining a commitment to strengthening local communities in our region.

Ah was nominated for the award by Director, Safety & HR Elizabeth Ressie. Don't miss the special feature on Ah, published in the La Crosse Tribune. 

Thank you for being a leader at Dairyland and in our region!

SAFETY BREAK

Safety Break will be emailed to all employees this week. Dairylanders will get to know Director, Safety and HR Elizabeth Ressie through a spotlight feature in this issue, which will also include a safe driving share and safety toolkit information.

Please share Safety Break at your next team meeting to help ensure all employees have the opportunity to read the newsletter and discuss ideas or concerns.

In addition to arriving by email, Safety Break is available on the Breaker. Look for the Safety Break button on the home page. 

POOL VEHICLE RESERVATIONS

If you are reserving a vehicle from Dairyland's pool car fleet, please follow the instructions on how to book the vehicle on Outlook. Instructions are also found on the Breaker under Resources>Help Desk Portal>Click Knowledge Base and then by searching Pool Vehicles.

Questions? Please contact Tami Klinski (Administrative Services) or Nikki Sobotta (Fleet Operations). 

SCEC POSITION

Communications and Events Coordinator at St. Croix Electric Cooperative, a Dairyland member. 

Responsible for writing, review and production of all general internal and external communications for members, employees and the general public. Also responsible for creating, coordinating, production or procurement of all marketing materials. Other duties include coordinating member meetings and public events. This position also acts as a Member Services Representative. If interested, please submit your resume to humanresources@scecnet.net.

CIRCUIT BREAKER

NAT'L CO-OP MONTH DONATION: HINTGEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SNACK FUND

Photo: Hintgen Elementary School Principal Amy Oliver and Dairyland President & CEO Brent Ridge. 

Dairyland's partner school, Hintgen Elementary, will benefit from a $2,000 combined donation from Dairyland and President & CEO Brent Ridge. Dairyland's Contributions Committee approved a $1,000 donation in support of Hintgen's schoolwide snack fund; Brent and his wife, Lisa, personally provided a matching contribution for a total of $2,000.

"The generosity of Dairyland Power is amazing for us here at Hintgen," said Principal Amy Oliver. "This donation will help to ensure ongoing free snacks to all students here at school this year. Thank you for making a real difference to our students!"  

Nearly 70 percent of Hintgen's students qualify for Free and Reduced meals, due to their household income level. (The state average is 42% per school.) Based on the needs of the student population, Hintgen also qualifies as a "certified free school" for breakfast and lunch. However, students also need a daily snack, which carries an annual cost of over $10,000 for the school. To offset costs, Principal Oliver seeks donations and writes grants to ensure students are able to receive a nutritious snack during the day. "Dairyland was our first donor supporting schoolwide snacks," noted Principal Oliver. 

“Dairyland's partnership with our neighborhood school allows us to put cooperative principles in action by supporting education and quality of life for local families," said Brent. "Our donation will help students power through their school days and we hope to grow the collaboration with energy education opportunities in the classroom."  

Did you know? Dairyland helped kick off a great school year at Hintgen with a special delivery for students and teachers on the first day of school in September. All students received Dairyland and Hintgen-branded water bottles and teachers were celebrated with gift cards to a local coffee shop and cookies.

Dairyland collaborates with the La Crosse Public Education Foundation on its Adopt-a-School program as Hintgen Elementary's partner. The Adopt-a-School program matches businesses and community organizations to specific schools in La Crosse.

SOC MODERNIZATION PROJECT UPDATE: 1980s MAPBOARD GOES DARK

Jeff Sexton, Chad Hagen, Justin Sprosty and Eric Hammes stand by a portion of Dairyland's System Operations Center "mapboard" immediately after it was de-energized on Tuesday after over 30 years of service. 

Dairyland's System Operations Center (SOC) modernization project is hitting major milestones in its first week. "We pulled the plug, literally, on the 1980s tile mapboard on Tuesday," said Manager, SOC Eric Hammes. "It symbolized the end of an era for our System Operations Center as we will replace the vintage tile display with a modern video display."

SOC Modernization Project Manager Staci Pieper reports that equipment is being moved to the temporary Back-up Control Center in System Operations this week. (Dairyland’s real-time operations has successfully transferred to our standard BCC at the Genoa Site, thereby making that location our Primary Control Center.) Contractors will hold pre-construction meetings at Dairyland, and Padesky Electric will begin demolition activities on Thursday. Dairyland's Building Services work group is removing furniture and other items from the SOC for future use. 

Dairyland's SOC has been in continual operation for over 30 years. “Equipment end-of-life, evolving System Operator tasks, new standards for 24/7 control desk ergonomics and new technology improvements highlighted a need to evaluate the current control center facility environment. As part of that, we determined what changes could be made to ensure the SOC meets and exceeds expectations that will be brought by the complex future operating environment,” said Eric Hammes, Manager, SOC.

Robert E. Lamb, Inc., specializes in control room modernization and will be the primary contractor on-site. Dairyland is utilizing local contractors, such as Padesky, for additional construction and remodel activities.

Everyone Home Safe Every Day: If your work takes you to the south end of the Administration Building, stay alert to potential safety hazards related to SOC project construction activity. As a reminder, Conference Room 2A&B will be closed to meetings for the duration of the project. (It is blocked for reservations on Outlook during this time.)

Project completion is estimated to occur by the end of February 2023.

OUT & ABOUT FOR EDUCATION

Cooperative Principle #5: Education, Training & Information

President & CEO Brent Ridge is the keynote speaker today at Marquette University's 2.0 Sustainability Conference. In keeping with the conference theme, Toward a Measured, Sustainable Future, Brent will discuss opportunities and challenges related to the safe and reliable energy transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon generation. Dairyland is a sponsor of the educational event. Also attending from Dairyland are Brad Foss (Power Delivery Services), Brandon Gustafson (Project Engineering), Ellie Meyer (Communications & Member Services), Mony Mohr (Communications & Member Services), Staci Pieper (Project Engineering) and Brian Waite (Communications & Member Services).

Human Resources Business Partner Jodi Roesler conducted mock interviews with junior-year students at West Salem High School on Tuesday. The in-person training helps students prepare for job and college interview experiences, with real-life scenarios and opportunity for feedback. Dairyland's Human Resources team periodically partners with schools and colleges in our service territory to support career-related readiness and share information on careers in energy. 

ALMOST THERE: OCT. 30 WORKDAY LAUNCH

Photo: Manager, Total Rewards Amy Haakenson leads benefits enrollment training this week at Dairyland's Elk Mound site.

Workday launches this weekend! Go Live is Sunday, Oct. 30.

Starting next week, employees will track their time, find and update personal information, access payroll, benefits and learning courses all in one place. Through Workday, you will also be able to request and schedule time off requests, apply for open positions, refer external candidates, change benefit elections, update direct deposit banking information and more.

Last-minute reminders:

• Watch for Payroll-related emails this week from Lori Flock with important information about timesheet and expense deadlines
• All employee timesheets need to be submitted and approved by 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28.
• All out of pocket employee expenses need to be submitted and approved through TREM by the end of the day on Thursday, Oct. 27. 
• Questions? Contact payroll@dairylandpower.com.
• If you have an issue within the Workday application or accessing Workday when it goes live, please click on the Service Now link on the Breaker or contact your designated Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP).
• Monday, Oct. 31, will be the first day non-exempt employees will clock in/clock out on Workday. This process has been covered during the Listen & Learn sessions; if you missed a session or would like to revisit the information, recorded presentations are posted on the Workday site. 
• All employees will be utilizing Workday to complete their benefits enrollment in the first part of November. Training (in person and virtual) on the new benefits enrollment process continues this week and next for all employees.
• The Bring Your Own Device program launches next week, permitting employees to use their own phone to utilize Dairyland applications, with the additional benefit of a $30/month stipend. In addition to the flexibility benefit to employees, the program brings cost management and operational efficiencies to Dairyland.
• If you currently use a Dairyland mobile device, you will be eligible for BYOD at the time your Dairyland device contract expires.
• If interested in BYOD, complete a request by clicking here. IT will then provide information to transition you onto the program.
• Question? Use the Ask a Question about Workday form and also check out the posted Q&A!

Continuing Education

Workday training will continue for all employees after the launch. Stay tuned for details and Outlook invitations from HRBPs for training sessions on the Learning Management System (LMS) and Performance Management areas of Workday in November and December.