Jon spends time with DCS

The time spent with the recruiting team at SPD was incredibly valuable going into my next rotation. I spent the past month at the Department of Child Services (DCS). I was located at the Marion county office and gained a lot of exposure to real world HR issues. Most of my time was spent doing recruiting activities. I was tasked with managing most of the employment verification, education verification, and background checks for the employees scheduled to start during my time at that location.

In addition to recruiting activities, I was responsible for maintaining the weekly filing, and made an attempt to organize part of the file room. While filing seems tedious, it exposed me to the types of forms and documentation currently being used at DCS in a HR capacity. I also became familiar with the record retention laws that determine what type of paper work needs to be retained and for how long the records need to be kept on site.

I was also exposed to a few employee relations issues during my time at DCS. I was able to gain a better understanding of what a working test period is for classified employees. These employees are considered classified and must go through a six month testing period before their classified status is granted. Some employees require an extension in their working test period while other completed their test period based on performance.

Overall, I would say that my time at DCS was very valuable. I feel that I learned a lot about the HR processes at DCS and a valuable overview into the role of a HR generalist 1. I am now looking forward to spending some time at the Department of Health. Check back in a couple weeks for an update!