Leadership Transformation in the Department of Social Services

The Department of Social Services (DSS) in Alamance County NC is a state supervised, locally administered agency of 170 employees who provide a wide range of human services to children, adults and the aged.

Like most government agencies, employees' salaries are below those paid in the private sector, so the additional benefits provided to government employees and the ability to better balance personal and work life, are important in attracting and retaining talented employees.

The Challenge
As a result of the economic downturn of the past couple of years, government revenues from taxation were reduced and with that came the need to reduce expenditure. One of the areas considered for reduction was employee benefits.

Unfortunately, the outcome for DSS in Alamance County was a significant increase in turnover. The interesting thing was that during the exit interviews, the main reason given for leaving was not the reduction in benefits. The primary reasons given for what they would need to stay were: better leadership; a work environment where they could learn and grow; and a more satisfying career path.

The Director of DSS Alamance County, Susan Osborne, was very aware of the need to develop their leaders... there were too many examples of a lack of accountability among their supervisors. Susan was also aware that the department's practice of promoting the best workers into supervisory roles without giving them the training or tools to do the job was a major contributing factor to the lack of leadership effectiveness.

The Process
Susan and her leadership team knew that it would take time to turn supervisors into leaders who would willingly be accountable for the environment they create and for developing their people. It could not be achieved as a result of a single training event. So in early 2003, twenty-six managers and supervisors embarked on Integro's leadership development process.

There were a number key factors in Integro's approach to leadership development that led the leadership team decide on this process. The process started with a measurement of the current level of leadership and management competencies of each manager and supervisor using a 360 degree approach. This provided each person with a benchmark of how they were perceived and helped them focus their learning on their own individual needs.

The learning modules in Integro's process were designed to be spread over a twelve to eighteen- month time frame, giving participants the time they needed to apply what they were learning back in the workplace before going back to learn more. The expectation of accountability was also a key factor. Each manager and supervisor was expected to complete specific application exercises with their direct reports and report back at the next session.

The one-on-one coaching provided to each manager and supervisor between each of the learning modules has also had a significant impact on the success of the process and increased accountability.

The Results
The leadership team was able to significantly raise the bar on what was expected from the managers and supervisors and, as a result, a much higher standard is being achieved.

The area within the organization that had the highest turnover and the lowest morale has made a complete turnaround. Not only is morale up and turnover way down (despite reduced benefits), but regular client complaints have been replaced with spontaneous calls to Susan from clients thanking her for the way the staff in this area are helping them.

Other noticeable improvements are: · Performance management has become a year round focus rather than a once a year event. · Performance reviews are regular, ongoing discussions that are more conversational in style. As a result, they are more valued by employees and perceived as genuine. · Supervisors have started building real teams. They were always called teams, but before working with Integro Leadership they did not function that way. · The DiSC Behavioral Model has had a significant impact on improving communication at all levels and has meant that recognizing and valuing individual difference is becoming a reality rather than just lip service.

• Performance management has become a year round focus rather than a once a year event.
• Performance reviews are regular, ongoing discussions that are more conversational in style. As a result, they are more valued by employees and perceived as genuine.
• Supervisors have started building real teams. They were always called teams, but before working with Integro Leadership they did not function that way.
• The DiSC Behavioral Model has had a significant impact on improving communication at all levels and has meant that recognizing and valuing individual difference is becoming a reality rather than just lip service.

"In the past, the focus of our managers and supervisors was on knowing their programs and policy. Now the focus is on leadership. They now understand what it means to be a leader...and that it means being accountable."
--- Susan Osbourne, Director of DSS, Alamance County, North Carolina