Hello BIS Team,

Happy Fri~YAY! This weekend is St. Patrick’s Day weekend and there’s plenty of going on in STL to help celebrate this joyous holiday. St. Patrick’s Day kicks off a worldwide celebration also known as the Feast of St. Patrick. On March 17th, many will wear green in honor of the Irish and decorate with shamrocks. According to lore, the wearing of the green tradition dates back to a story written about St. Patrick in 1726. St. Patrick (c. AD 385–461) used the shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity and worn green clothing. And while the story is unlikely to be true, many will revel in the Irish heritage and eat traditional Irish fare, too. 

St. Patrick’s Day Traditions

• Eating corned beef and cabbage … and bacon! …
• Rocking shamrocks. …
• Looking for leprechauns. …
• Wearing green. …
• Looking for 4 leaf clovers…

Patrick’s Day Parade in Downtown St. Louis: will take place on March 16, starting at noon. One of the top St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country, it encompasses more than 120 units, including marching bands, floats and balloons. More than 250,000 spectators – donning festive green attire, of course – regularly attend.

Events in STL links:

• KSDK St. Patrick’s Day in StL Area
• Sauce Magazine St. Patrick’s Celebrations other than Dogtown

Looking to Celebrate St. Patricks’ Day at home rather than going out? Here are some activities to do at on Shift, at home, or with family that everyone can enjoy!

• Good Housekeeping St. Pat’s Day Activities
• Pioneer Woman 37 Fun St. Patrick’s Day Activities

2024 DSP Conference Spotlight: every year there is a DSP conference and this year we’d love to send you! In addition to amazing learning content and presentations, attendees will also include lunch for the day and some sweet swag!

If you’re interested in attending this special event please reach out to Pierre Dobbins (pdobbins@bis-stl.com) to submit your interest. We will be doing a drawing for those who get to attend. There are 4 slots for attendance!

Setworks Spotlight: Expiration Reminders are now in Setworks! These reminders are sent a few weeks out for what trainings or items that are needed to stay current and up to date for your position. This include, training for CPR-First Aid & Mandt, Med-Aid, Annual online training, Driver Insurance, Driver License, and ISP/BSP Trainings.  It’s exciting to have reminders all in one place. But what does this means for all those helpful email notifications I get? I’m so happy you asked.

• Email reminders for required expired items will now only be for 30 day reminders for:
  • CPR-First Aid
  • Med-Aid
  • Mandt
• Final reminders will only be sent via email for Driver License and Driver Insurance

Once a required training/ item is expired SetWorks will lock you out! Any late notes submitted during this period will be paid at Minimum wage (so be sure to keep your items current)! Additionally, expired items also run the risk of disciplinary action up to and including unpaid suspension. Be sure to check your SetWork Reminders AND schedule your recert classes BEFORE the expiration date. If you have questions about signing up for a training or submitting your items, reach out to Sheena Cole, Staff Training Coordinator at scole@bis-stl.com or via Setworks!

Remember you can check your expiration dates any time by following the instructions below: 

• Log into Set Works at www.set-works.com (username is always the email address you provided to us, password is set up on your first day of training. Need a reset? Contact your Department Director)

SET-Works – Electronically manage your disability service agencywww.set-works.comOrganizations use SET-Works to manage their client records and all documentation and reporting needs, across all their programs. SET-Works connects directly to funders, and interfaces with internal billing, payroll, and HR systems.

• From the home page, click on the gear or flower icon in the upper right corner  , this should bring you to the My Profile page
• Click on the Edit My Profile button to access a list of your information and training expiration dates. 
• If you see any information that you believe to be incorrect, please reach out to the HR Director for adjustments. 

CORE Performer for January 2024 (yep, we’re catchin’ up): Ciera White

Ciera White is a DSP at who works at the Chevron ISL since December 2023. In her short time here at BIS  and has shown an exemplary performance of our core values! Her supervisors had these amazing things to say about her performance:

Ciera is one of the most dependable staff we have. She not only picks up whenever she can, she also arrives early or on time to every shift. She’s considerate and compassionate when working with both ladies in the home. She assists in the ISL whenever asked and has great communication with her supervisors! We are lucky to have her!

Congrats Ceira! We’re so excited and happy to have you on the BIS Team. You exemplify our core values of Compassion, Honesty, Commitment, and High Standards!  You’ll be receiving a $50.00 gift card and a spin on the prize wheel at the BIS office! Look out for a separate email from me on how to claim your prize.

BIS Bucks Spotlight: BIS Bucks is going to be getting a New LOOK! We’ll be updating the employee recognition system beginning TODAY Friday, 3/15/24 to 4/1/24. During this time you will not be able to use the bucks system. You can keep track with good old’ paper and pen, keep a running list in your “Notes” or send an email, and then submit that once the system is up and running again. Some of the updates we’ll be incorporating:

• Easier calculation of total bucks when cashing out
• Adding job titles to track data on the utilization of recognition
• Incorporating clients to be able to send/ receive BIS bucks

Policy Spotlight: Personal Appearance

705 Personal Appearance

Effective Date: 1/1/2015

Revision Date: 12/3/2019

Dress, grooming, and personal cleanliness standards contribute to the morale of all employees and affect the business image BIS presents to customers and visitors. During business hours or when representing BIS, you are expected to present a clean, neat, and tasteful appearance. You should dress and groom yourself according to the requirements of your position and accepted social standards. This is particularly true if your job involves dealing with customers or visitors in person.

Your supervisor or department head is responsible for establishing a reasonable dress code appropriate to the job you perform. If your supervisor feels your personal appearance is inappropriate, you may be asked to leave the workplace until you are properly dressed or groomed. Under such circumstance, you will not be compensated for the time away from work. Consult your supervisor if you have questions as to what constitutes appropriate appearance. Where necessary, reasonable accommodation may be made to a person with a disability.

Without unduly restricting individual tastes, the following personal appearance guidelines should be followed:

• Shoes must provide safe, secure footing for the job responsibilities of the position, and offer protection against hazards.  No flip flops are permitted.
• Tank tops, tube or halter tops may not be worn under any circumstances.
• No undergarments or midriff may be seen or clothing that reveals too much skin or your underwear. Yoga pants, leggings or other tight fitting clothing must be covered through mid thigh
• Skirts and shorts need to be mid-thigh or longer. No scrubs or loungewear should be worn.
• No jean shorts are permitted.
• No torn, dirty or frayed clothing.
• No clothing with comments or pictures that are perceived to be obscene or offensive are allowed.
• No garments advertising or depicting drugs, alcohol or that have suggestive sayings or inappropriate verbiage may be worn under any circumstances. Mustaches and beards must be clean, well-trimmed, and neat.
• Hairstyles are expected to be in good taste for the position held. Long hairstyles should be worn with hair pulled back off the face and neck to avoid interfering with job performance. Ball caps or hats may be worn to work and may be a requirement of some client teams.
• Offensive body odor and poor personal hygiene is not professionally acceptable.
• Perfume, cologne, and aftershave lotion should be used moderately or avoided altogether, as some individuals may be sensitive to strong fragrances.
• BIS recommends that all jewelry be removed during work hours. If an employee chooses to wear jewelry, the pieces should not be functionally restrictive, dangerous to job performance, or excessive. In the event that jewelry were to become damaged or broken, BIS assumes no fault or liability to the repair of the item in question.
• Facial jewelry, such as eyebrow rings, nose rings, lip rings, and tongue studs, is not professionally appropriate and should not be worn during business hours.

14. Torso body piercings with visible jewelry or jewelry that can be seen through or under clothing must not be worn during business hours.

• Tattoos that may be deemed offensive or distasteful may be required to be covered in order to continue working.

Office attire is business casual. However, not all casual clothing is appropriate for the office. Take your day’s schedule into account and dress appropriately. If you have a meeting scheduled, or if you are advised that others in the company will have visitors with whom you will come in contact, you will want to dress professionally. If you are mostly out of the office or working in the homes for the day, a more casual dress may be acceptable.