Business Transformation Deliverable 11 Change Readiness Assessment May

Business Transformation: Deliverable 11 Change Readiness Assessment May, 2016

Contents § Executive Summary. . . . 3 § Organizational Readiness Report – L&I Enterprise View • Survey Results & Analysis. . . . . 11 • Readiness Assessment. . . . . 28 – Divisional Readiness Reports. . . . 33 § Summary of Findings & Observations. . . . 77 § Appendix. . . . . 83 Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 2

Change Readiness Assessment Executive Summary

What is the Change Readiness Assessment? q A measure taken at a point in time What is it? q Of commitment and understanding of change(s) q From which to develop action steps What does it tell us? Why is it important? What comes next? Action Steps: Use what we learn from the (baseline) Readiness Assessment to develop the Change Enablement Plan q Where L&I, divisions and staff are in terms of their understanding of Business Transformation Initiatives today q Their commitment (willingness, open-mindedness, trust) to begin their change journey q And where L&I’s change management activities should focus q This initial Readiness Assessment provides the baseline data needed to know where and how to target change activities and tools q While assessment results may show familiar themes and messages, collecting this baseline readiness data is the critical first step in being able to measure the agency’s future change progress q Using what we learn to develop a Change Enablement Plan, which provides: § Suggested organizational structure to enable change § Change methodologies, approach, capabilities and tools § Identification of stakeholder impacts and observations for the enterprise and divisions to manage the impacts of Business Transformation q L&I conducting future readiness assessments to regularly collect the data needed to know in what ways, to whom, and how to apply change management practices over the course of transformation Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 4

Change Readiness Assessment The Change Readiness Assessment provides the data needed to know in what ways, to whom, and how to apply change management practices by addressing four fundamental questions. Where are we today? Of what do we need to be aware moving forward? Where do we want to be? Washington State Department of Labor & Industries What do we do next? 5

Where are we today? L&I Enterprise View Opportunity exists for L&I to take advantage of the current positivity around Business Transformation by building on the communications and engagement that has been started. L&I’s current level of readiness – Enterprise view Overview L&I as a whole is starting in the “Uniformed Optimism” quadrant of Commitment. However when broken down, some individual staff spread into the pessimistic range. The current overall agency level of understanding is in the lowest quartile of the Understanding scale, which is expected at this early stage of the process. Key Points • 85% of all staff reported having heard about L&I Business Transformation. Awareness is high even though it is early in the process. • Even so, few staff feel that they know enough yet to describe Business Transformation to others. This is normal and explains the position on the Understanding scale. • In general staff believe that L&I is making decisions and changes that will be good for staff and customers. L&I has a unique opportunity to capitalize on this current positivity by building on the communications and engagement that has been started. • Staff indicate confidence that they’ll be informed about changes resulting from Business Transformation. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 6

Where are we today? Divisional View Sample Divisional Breakdowns* Overview Across divisions, staff are largely in a very common place of baseline readiness – uninformed optimism. There a handful of areas where distinctions are seen. Key Points • Operations vs. Support: Staff in business operational areas had a wider spread of Commitment into the pessimistic end of the scale than did support areas, as illustrated by the division views for Field Services and Administrative Services. • Training: Staff in support divisions reported more positive responses to feeling they get enough time to complete training than other divisions. Even so, staff in business operational areas reported stronger agreement that they receive “adequate” training. Divisions with concentrations of staff in the pessimistic range will want to start early to engage staff for in-person opportunities with Business Transformation, or seek other ways to assist staff to ask questions, provide feedback and get involved. *See Appendix for all divisional breakdowns Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 7

Of what do we need to be aware moving forward? Previous experiences drive how L&I staff feel about change in general. Change Management efforts will be needed to change these beliefs that have been built on experience. Critical themes from the Readiness Assessment Resulting Needed Actions While the agency as a whole is in the place of uninformed optimism, L&I cannot assume this positive direction will continue. Currently there exists lack of engagement, leaving many staff feeling that they are not informed about changes until they are happening, at which point it is too late for those highly impacted to influence the change. Decisions are made at high levels in divisions and the organization. Conversations happen at upper management levels, leading to information failing to filter to supervisors and employees. Across L&I, uncertainty is high when change happens. Staff lack understanding of why a change is happening and what impact it has on them. Divisions primarily are autonomous in decision making and managing change. Most do not consider downstream impacts of their efforts on other divisions. • Prior experiences will influence people’s attitudes once they begin to be directly impacted by change. From previous experiences, staff often do not trust that a stated change will actually take place or that leadership is giving them full transparency of what is known or what had been decided. This diminishes staff trust in leaders. Current change practices fail to reach all audiences with the information they need to understand what is changing, why it’s changing, what the impact is to them, and what the desired outcomes are. • L&I needs to prepare for potential resistance and plan change activities that target these known concerns. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 8

Where do we want to be? Target Levels of Commitment & Understanding The goal for L&I is to support staff through change management activities to develop understanding and commitment to a level where staff are prepared to do their work using new processes, skills and / or technology, and are willing to make these changes. (Highlighted green quadrant indicates target state) Build Commitment A change management program would support staff to help changes “stick”, bringing staff to a level where they are willing to prepare for and make the necessary changes. To get there, L&I and divisions will need to support change efforts by: • Building trust through sharing of what is known and being honest and forthright about what is not known • Engaging impacted staff throughout the process • Supporting managers and supervisors in cascading messages and leading their teams through the change Develop Understanding Through a change program, staff would develop their understanding of the coming changes including why change is happening and what the impact is to them. • Grow staff through the layers of understanding from “know” what is happening, knowledge to “talk” about the changes, ability to “do” their work, and at the highest levels to “teach” others. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 9

What do we do next? Start by rethinking how L&I should manage change • Change the way the leadership thinks about their role in change. Leadership needs to be willing and able to let go of control and delegate to staff after the vision has been set, and decisions necessary to be made at the executive level have been made. • Establish agency priorities and use them to determine allocation of resources for change efforts. • Manage change at the enterprise level. Develop the organization, dedicated resources, and positions within an organizational structure to successfully drive and manage change. The Change Enablement plan provides more detail on the suggested components of an Enterprise wide change organization, and actions needed to build it, including: • Standing up a change team responsible at the agency level to lead change, ideally using dedicated resources • Identifying the relationship of accountability of the change team to the project team responsible for a given initiative • Establishing a “Change Network” for initiatives comprised of change agents / champions who are representative of the impacted stakeholder groups. • Follow an enterprise-wide defined set of practices, processes and planning for change initiatives. Next, build out L&I’s change management plan for the next phase of Business Transformation Then, take action to execute change plans Deliverable 12, the Change Enablement Plan, provides strategic– level guidance for L&I in structuring its approach and setting up its plan to manage change throughout the lifecycle of Business Transformation and for the transition to a steady state of operations. Using the Enablement Plan as a base, L&I’s next step is to build out its detailed change plans for the next phase of transformation. Based on the priorities from the Transformation Roadmap, begin applying L&I’s newly instituted change practices and change plans to help L&I move along its path toward its future state. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 10

Organizational Readiness Report L&I Enterprise View

Organizational Readiness Report L&I Enterprise View Survey Results & Analysis

Change Survey Analysis: Feelings During Change Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? When change happens, uncertainty is high for L&I employees, followed by feelings of frustration and excitement Observations and Insights: The top words selected overall were: #1 = Uncertain 43% #2 = Frustrated 37% #3 = Excited 29% In general, staff indicated pessimistic feelings significantly more frequently than optimistic feelings when change happens at work. This is indicative of staff’s historical experience at L&I. Understanding the past experiences and perspectives with which staff approach change will help L&I in developing change plans. Change management practices can mitigate uncertainty and frustration, the two feelings most frequently selected by staff. Organizational change management follows a deliberate, planned and managed process, with a supporting structure and governance. For example, to combat uncertainty, add transparency and clarity of expectations to messaging and engagement. To address frustrations, first understand where the frustrations lie. (Through open ended questions and focus groups, many staff included the reasons for their frustrations; see next page. ) Deliverable #12, Change Enablement Plan will examine applying change management practices further. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 13

Change Survey Analysis: Feelings by Level Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? When change happens, uncertainty is high at all levels, and frustration is twice as high for supervisors and employees vs. managers and executives Observations and Insights: Uncertainty and frustration remain the top two feelings stated when the data is grouped by level. Supervisors’ #1 selection: Frustration “Frustration” was selected as a response by almost half of supervisors, making it the most frequently selected of all emotions for that group. Through open ended survey responses and focus group discussions supervisors shared that they are not included in the change process and feel they often are hearing about changes and decisions together with (and not before) their employees. Frustration is twice as high for supervisors & employees vs. managers & executives Results also reveal a difference in reported “frustration” for employees and supervisors compared to executives and managers. While all levels listed uncertainty at a high rate, frustration was listed at a rate of 14% for executives and 20% for managers, about half the supervisor and employee rate. This observation is consistent with reported differences in engagement during change processes. Management levels feel that they are typically included in updates and information from leadership, and that they are sharing information with their staff at the right time. However, employees and supervisors feel they are left out of the loop until the last minute prior to change, which leads to high levels of frustration. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 14

Change Survey Analysis: Feelings by Length of Time in L&I Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? Staff is largely pessimistic, indicating potential resistance and challenges when initiating change efforts Observations and Insights: As typically seen in similar organizations, we expect staff with the least experience to indicate least resistance. We measure potential resistance by looking at the “pessimistic” responses to the question, “Which words describe how you feel when change happens at work. ” % of level responses As expected, the newest additions to the workforce (0 -2 years) indicated the highest level of optimistic and mixed feeling responses. The group with lowest level of optimistic and mixed feeling responses were those with 1115 years of service. Reading this graph The responses were grouped as follows: If only pessimistic words were selected, this response is categorized as “pessimistic. ” If only optimistic responses were chosen, the response is categorized as “optimistic. ” If choices from both lists were chosen, “Mixed Feelings” was used. With the exception of newest joiners, we see the population skewed largely toward pessimistic feelings that would indicate potential resistance and challenges when initiating change efforts. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 15

Change Survey Analysis: Feelings by Division Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? Divisional staff differs regarding their feelings regarding change. Composite: Feelings by Division % of division responses Observations and Insights: This chart lists divisions in order from left to right, by least to most optimistic feelings. The feelings that staff have when change happens is different across the divisions. The total of mixed responses (which include both optimistic and pessimistic) plus pessimistic responses have a spread of 21% across divisions. Fraud and DOSH show the highest combined total of mixed and negative feelings, with 80% of these staff reporting at least one pessimistic feeling. Half or almost half of staff in these divisions selected only pessimistic words: 1. 50% - Field Services 2. 47% - DOSH 3. 45% - Admin, Fraud Of the remaining divisions, 1/4 to 1/3 of staff in those divisions also selected only pessimistic words, with the exception of Web & Communication Services. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 16

Change Survey Analysis: L&I Decisions and Change Q: In general, I believe L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work. Close to 70% of staff agree to some extent that L&I is making decisions that will make the agency a better place to work % of total responses Observations and Insights: There is agreement by length of service demographics that L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work/ make improvements for our customers. Of all the staff segments, newest staff selected “Agree” the most, with almost half of them making that selection. This group has the least historical experience with L&I to frame their perceptions, and similar to the previous question about change feelings, we expect this group to be most receptive toward changes and new ideas. The group with largest number of “disagree” or “strongly disagree” responses for better place to work are those with 16 or more years of service with L&I. The other groups were closer to 3% or below of respondents answering a degree of “disagreement. ” This is a strong positive response. The response for the effect on customers is weighted even further toward agreement. This likely can be attributed to how people feel when changes affect them personally verses how people perceive the experiences of others to be. When considering previous questions about change feelings, there appears to be more concern with the way that change is conducted than with the decisions being made in terms of their impact to employees and customers. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 17

Change Survey Analysis: L&I Decisions and Change Q: In general, I believe L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work. Managers and executives are highly confident in decisions and changes being made. % of total level responses Observations and Insights: Managers and executives are more confident than employees and supervisors in decisions being made. Managers and executives report almost uniform agreement that “L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work. ” Only a handful of responses were in the disagree range. Manager and executive confidence in decision making and changes is important for an overall change program and will be explored in Deliverable 12 – Change Enablement. Though employees and supervisors do not have the dramatic “left tail” as seen with managers and executives, 65% of staff and 75% of supervisor responses were in the agree range. While a relatively small percentage (20%) of employees disagree, even fewer supervisors are in the disagree range (12%). This is one indication of overall trust and confidence in leadership decisions and changes. The subsequent pages will explore whether what staff reported in focus groups and open-ended survey questions supports this observation. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 18

Change Survey Analysis: L&I Transformation Q: I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. Staff have heard about, but do not have a firm understanding of L&I Business Transformation Observations and Insights: This question is used to determine the level of current understanding that staff have about Business Transformation. Note that responses were removed for those who said they have been part of the L&I Business Transformation Initiative work. This type of question is used to assess an individual’s level of knowledge. If asked, “Do you understand what X is? ” we would find that many respondents will say “sure – yes. ” But if asked, “Could you explain this to someone? ” they are forced to think more critically about their ability to form words to describe the subject. As expected, at this stage very few respondents said they could explain L&I’s Business Transformation Initiative to colleagues. Even though we know that 85% of staff responded that they had heard about Business Transformation, the majority appear to honestly answer this question that they do not yet know enough to explain to others. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 19

Change Survey Analysis/Focus Groups: Transparency and Trust Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? Feelings of mistrust and lack of transparency can erode confidence in leadership. Responses Addressing Trust and Confidence: Examples of Quotes from the Open Ended Survey Question • “Do not ask for staff input about a decision that has already been made …” • “Quit wasting all of our time and energy talking about changes that never happen or are so far in the future that they are just a dream. ” • “ANY time they say "we're putting in a change that will benefit employees, " we all tend to brace ourselves because the minute it's couched that way, we know we're in trouble again. . . ” • “By being more transparent and forthcoming” • “Stop deceptions and denial of the changes’ real purpose” • “L&I does not prepare the staff for changes. The LT just executes the change and the staff has to manage the change. ” • “From my perspective, changes often feel cloaked in secrecy until the very last minute. “ • “Most changes are promoted as being great & productive, but when they occur are never as good as promised and when you ask for even the slightest fix or explanation you are looked at as "Not being a team player. " Observations and Insights: While staff appear to have trust in leadership and confidence for the most part in decisions that are made (prior page), a number of staff felt that the topic of transparency was necessary to raise in order to help L&I improve in preparing staff for change. The issue centers around transparency and feelings that leadership is not forthright with information. These feelings can erode trust and confidence in leadership and eventually impact the ability to successfully make changes. Similar discussions occurred in four of the six focus groups. In each, there was general consensus that lack of transparency and mistrust are felt by employees and supervisors. Examples from Focus Groups • “feel like communications are kept obscure on purpose” • “if you say you're going to do something, do it!” • “Leadership often says one thing and then does something else. Staff need to know that their leaders will say what they need to say and do what they need to do” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 20

Change Survey Analysis: Awareness Q: In prior experiences with changes at L&I, I felt like I knew what was going on before the change was made. More seasoned staff feel less confident that they are informed about changes taking place. Observations and Insights: This question probes the topic of “awareness” – To what degree does L&I develop awareness before changes are made? The grey dashed line shows the responses for the managers and executives. The gold dotted line shows the responses for employees and supervisors. Note the left tail in the management curve compared to the somewhat flatter more normal looking curve for staff (Circled in blue). It appears that management feels more confident that L&I builds awareness of coming changes than do staff. Mean score on a scale of 1 -7: Looking at length of time at L&I, we see that the results for staff with 6 or more years of experience tilt toward “disagreement. ” This would indicate that staff who have been at the agency longer have a growing feeling that they do not know what is going on before a change is made. The next page contains open ended responses discussing communications to explore this topic further. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 21

Change Survey Analysis: Communications Q: In prior experiences with changes at L&I, I felt like I knew what was going on before the change was made. Staff want to know “why” a change is being made. Response Examples – Quotes from Survey addressing Communication #1) Message: Content and Why (39) • Be Truthful, No Lies, be upfront and Blunt. • Explaining in simple, honest, non-jargon terms why the change is being made. • First explain why the change and how it will affect us as employees. Don't give the "because management has directed this" answer. • Explain the reasoning behind the decision. • The meetings need to be pertinent to us. not show 25 min of slides that has nothing to do with us. #2) Timing: Pace and Engagement (19) • Start communicating earlier in the decision making process • Sometimes it feels like it's here before I heard very much about it. • Give staff more than a couple of days to review the information before going into "production". New initiatives always seem rushed. • Better and more frequent communication. When Employees know what's happening via multi-facets of communicating the less frustrating as a whole. Observations and Insights: 1) Messages: Content – The most frequent comments occurred around theme of message content. Staff are seeking to get better message content – primarily around explaining early in the process “why” a change is being made and how it affects employees. They are looking for honesty in the content in easy to understand materials. 2) Timing – the next most frequent them is around the pace of communications and seeing that staff receive communications in a timely manner so they can complete action items and appropriately prepare. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 22

Change Survey Analysis: Communications Q: In prior experiences with changes at L&I, I felt like I knew what was going on before the change was made. Staff want to know what to expect and what the impact will be to them. Response Examples – Quotes from Survey addressing Communication #3) Transparency (15) • Full disclosure - Information prior to change is very limited. When you are told more than once that there is 'full transparency' in an issue it is a sure sign that there is not transparency. • Forthright, honest, complete explanations and discussions would be helpful #4) Messages: Impact to Staff (12) • We could do more to explain to staff how changes will directly affect them; sometimes changes are made without even fully figuring this out. • Make sure we have the real story about what is happening and how/which staff will be affected. Many times we don't get the whole story from our chain of command we end up being affected by the change. #5) Messages: Awareness (9) • Comments addressed asking to learn early what is happening, and be looped into communications Observations and Insights: 3) Transparency was the next most frequent theme. As earlier addressed, transparency will help to build trust. 4) Impact to Staff – Staff want to hear and understand how change will impact them specifically 5) Messages: Awareness – Another frequent theme in open ended comments is awareness-- building staff understanding early of what is happening and being looped in. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 23

Change Survey Analysis: Informed About Coming Changes Q: Looking to the future, I feel confident that I will be well informed about changes coming with the L&I Business Transformation Initiative. Staff rate their confidence in being well informed at a higher level than what their comments indicate. Observations and Insights: On average, respondents agree slightly that they will be well informed. However, these responses to do not align with open ended responses that we included on the prior page. This is not unusual. When selecting on a scaletype response, staff often overstate alignment (good or bad) with what they think is expected. Human Resources does show an interesting bump. The range of responses includes very few in the “disagree” range, indicating that the HR division is keeping their staff informed of change and decisions in ways that appear to be successful. In general, staff across the divisions indicated confidence that they will be well informed regarding L&I Business Transformation. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 24

Change Survey Analysis: Informed About Coming Changes by Years with L&I Q: Looking to the future, I feel confident that I will be well informed about changes coming with the L&I Business Transformation initiative. Efforts conducted to date to provide communications regarding Business Transformation appear to have a positive impact on staff expectations Observations and Insights: This chart provides another view of the same question, by years of service. Again we see agreement and little differences across this demographic grouping. The efforts conducted to date to provide communications regarding the initiative appear to have a positive impact on staff expectations of being well informed going forward. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 25

Change Survey Analysis: Training by Years with L&I Many staff feel that they receive adequate and well-timed training Observations and Insights: Overall, staff feel that they receive adequate training and time to complete their training. Staff between 3 -15 years had strong feelings – showing that they are not ambivalent with a low “neither” selection. Many in this range agree that they are trained to the right level to do their job. Though a sizable group, particularly within the 11 -15 years experience range disagreed. Training was discussed in focus groups. We did not hear strong opinions from staff nor supervisors that training needs improvement compared to the other aspects of change management. This indicates that L&I should continue its current approach to training, however could also solicit more thorough and regular feedback on training effectiveness to identify those groups of staff for whom training does not meet their needs and develop additional mechanisms to support them. In the survey, of those who rated “… trained to level necessary to do my job, ” only 17 across all responses provided comments regarding improvements that could be made for training. This does not mean that improvements are not needed, just that training is not seen as one of the main points. Q: When L&I makes changes that affect my work, I feel that I am trained to the level necessary to do my job. Q: I am given adequate time to complete training when I'm learning how to do something new at work. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 26

Change Survey Analysis: Training by Division By Division Several divisions stand out with staff showing high agreement that they are trained and provided time to train for changes that affect their work. Observations and Insights: We see differences in staff’s training experience when we examine this question by division. Several divisions have higher agreement responses including Insurance Services, the Director’s Office and Human Resources. Fraud also has very high “somewhat agree. ” Q: When L&I makes changes that affect my work, I feel that I am trained to the level necessary to do my job. Overall, the results are consistent: staff feel that they are trained and provided time to train for changes that affect their work. Q: I am given adequate time to complete training when I'm learning how to do something new at work. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 27

Organizational Readiness Report L&I Enterprise View Readiness Assessment

Readiness Assessment Objective of the Readiness Assessment Teach Informed Pessimism Understanding The primary objective of Organizational Change Management is to build stakeholder understanding about the coming changes and commitment to those changes The approach used in this deliverable follows a standard methodology of measuring stakeholder readiness across two dimensions. § Commitment (likelihood the change will stick) § Understanding (degree to which the staff know what they need) Change Management activities are intended to increase understanding and improve commitment throughout the change process. The questions and responses from the Change Survey, were used as inputs to identify the baseline for the organization and divisions as L&I initiates Business Transformation. Informed Optimism Do Talk Uninformed Pessimism Uninformed Optimism Know Commitment Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 29

Readiness Assessment Baseline Example Readiness Assessment Teach Informed Pessimism Understanding We expect to see very low levels of understanding at change inception. We also expect to see commitment levels influenced by prior change efforts in an organization. The resulting baseline assessment would be expected to look like the graph to the right. The four quadrants are labelled with Informed/Uninformed and Optimism/Pessimism. The goal is to reach the upper right hand corner, “informed optimism” by the time the change is implemented. The four layers of “Know”, “Talk”, “Do” and “Teach” mark the development of understanding throughout the change process: § Know what is going on § Talk about it with others § Do the work § Teach or mentor others to do the work Informed Optimism Do Talk Uninformed Pessimism Uninformed Optimism Know Commitment Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 30

Readiness Assessment Baseline Assessment Methodology A survey was used to develop the baseline measurement. Commitment. To score commitment, this assessment used the following survey questions: – In general, I believe L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work – In general, I believe L&I is making decisions and changes that will provide improvements for our customers. – In prior experiences with changes at L&I, I felt like I knew what was going on before the change was made. – Historically, how responsive has your direct supervisor been when you've had general questions or concerns about the agency or about your job? Responses across the questions were then averaged to produce a single score, where 1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree. Teach Do Talk Know Understanding To score understanding, staff answered the question, “I could explain the L&I Initiative to others. ” Their response was then plotted within the “Know” range of Understanding. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 31

Readiness Assessment Baseline Assessment Observations The purpose of the baseline is to establish a starting point for L&I’s Business Transformation readiness. As an enterprise, L&I is starting in the “Uninformed Optimism” quadrant. When we look at individual divisions at the staff level, we will see that these average scores have significant variance from their mean. While all fall within the lowest quadrant of understanding, there is a broad spread of commitment scores across the pessimism to optimism range. Some staff fall in the pessimism range, with most falling in the optimism range. Change efforts should be geared toward raising impacted staff’s level of understanding. The Change Enablement Plan provides details of how and at what point this needs to be done. To address commitment the primary focus should be to reduce the number of staff currently in the pessimism range. The Change Enablement Plan includes strategies for engaging staff, building trust, and reducing uncertainty and frustrations where possible. The goal of readiness efforts is to see that staff are ready for change by the time the change happens and ensure that the staff have the commitment to accept those changes. This assessment or a similar tool can be used throughout the change process to take “check points” of readiness progress. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 32

Organizational Readiness Report Divisional Readiness Assessments

Divisional Readiness Reports Overview The Readiness Assessment measures readiness across two dimensions, “Understanding” and “Commitment”. Understanding scores tell us if staff know what they need to know to do their job. In early stages of change efforts, staff are building awareness of the change. At the highest level of understanding, staff would be fully informed and able to teach others about the change. Commitment scores tell us whether staff are willing to do the things needed to see that the change will happen, and to “make it stick. ” Together, Understanding and Commitment form a point on the graph that indicates where a respondent lies at a given point of time in his/her change journey. The Assessment uses bubbles to show the number of staff at different points on the graph. The baseline assessment for each of L&I’s division follows. Additional Analysis Change Feelings How Staff Heard Method Effectiveness For each division, an assessment of feelings that staff report when facing change is provided. Using a pie chart, this analysis tells us how staff heard about Business Transformation, comparing electronic and in person methods. To identify effectiveness of in-person and electronic communication methods, this chart reveals staff confidence that they could explain Business Transformation to others. Communication Preferences Comments Staff were given an Staff replied to the question, opportunity to answer the “In what ways do you prefer question, “In what ways does L&I do a good job / to receive information at work? ” Their answers were could improve in preparing staff for changes? ” Select graphed and color-coded responses are included. A between electronic and infull listing is in Appendix D. person methods. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 34

Divisional Readiness Reports Common Findings Across the Divisions Sample Divisional Breakdowns* What Readiness Reports Reveal • Across divisions, staff are largely in a very common place of baseline readiness – uninformed optimism. There a handful of areas where distinctions are seen: • Operations vs. Support: Staff in business operational areas had a wider spread of Commitment into the pessimistic end of the scale than did support areas, as illustrated by the division views for Field Services and Administrative Services. • Training: Staff in support divisions reported more positive responses to feeling they get enough time to complete training than other divisions. Even so, staff in business operational areas reported stronger agreement that they receive “adequate” training. • “Uncertainty” and “Frustration” were feelings that staff consistently cited, providing insight into potential resistance for Business Transformation initiatives stemming from staff prior experiences. • Staff in all divisions selected “email” as their top communication preference. Most selected intranet second. Staff prefer these electronic methods, however the following analyses evaluate the effectiveness of electronic and in-person methods and reveals the importance of in-person methods for developing understanding of message topics. This finding was consistent across all divisions. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 35

Divisional Readiness Reports Common Findings Across the Divisions Sample Divisional Breakdowns* Understanding and Commitment Goal Over the course of Business Transformation the goal for each division, and L&I as an enterprise, is to raise staff levels of understanding and commitment into the green area by the time change occurs: the level of commitment and understanding where staff can absorb the changes and do their work productively, and where initiatives can succeed. Opportunities for Business Transformation • Divisions with concentrations of staff in the pessimistic range will want to start early to engage staff for in-person opportunities with Business Transformation, or seek other ways to assist staff to ask questions, provide feedback and get involved. • As L&I embeds change management practices and support structure into operational initiatives with Business Transformation, engagement of staff at all levels and participation in roles through the “Change Network” will help employees develop a new set of expectations and experiences. Additionally, change management efforts will include communications, readiness, and training to build understanding of what is changing and preparing staff for how to do their work after an initiative has been implemented. Successful change management will support divisions to move staff into the “green” zone for Readiness. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 36

Administrative Services Readiness Assessment Observations The Readiness Assessment for Administrative Services shows that these staff are on average “somewhat” positive in their commitment, with pockets of individuals within the pessimistic range. This is an expected distribution of results for a baseline assessment, as staff expectations are based on prior experiences and beliefs. Understanding at the beginning of a change is expected to be fairly low. So while highly aware of Business Transformation (93% of staff had heard about it), most Administrative Services staff don’t know enough yet to be able to discuss details. Again this is to be expected as the messages about why Business Transformation is happening and specifics of what it will entail have not been shared. Though Administrative Services staff shared a range of positive comments, we found that the most common theme for areas where staff would like to see improvement is in the area of engagement. That is, staff want to see staff at all levels being included in the change: “Allow affected parties to have a say in the process and provide input. ” Selected comments from Administrative Services staff are included in this report. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 37

Administrative Services Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Uncertain 43% #2 = Frustrated 27%, Excited 27% From comments about prior experiences, we know that staff feel that they are not engaged and informed about coming changes. These feelings would lead to high levels of uncertainty when faced with change – they don’t know what it’s about, why it is happening, what it means for them. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 38

Administrative Services Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” rd a ) e H ard 3. 04 e ly (3. 9) ( H n ly lly / O son o On nica ls Per A o r ct e l E 1 2 Strongly Disagree 3 In 4 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 5 6 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? Administrative Services staff have strong preferences for receiving communications via email and using Inside L&I. Even so, we see from staff answers to the question “I could explain L&I’s Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague, ” that staff who heard about it in person were more confident than those who heard through electronic messaging. Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal Staff next selected in-person methods of “Team Meetings” and “Supervisor. ” These in-person communication methods will be critical for sharing Business Transformation initiative messages, allowing staff opportunities to discuss, ask questions and provide feedback. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 39

Administrative Services Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments For all staff surveyed across divisions in L&I, the most frequent improvement area requested was communications, including message content, timing, and transparency. This was not the case for Administrative Services as the most frequently shared comments were about engagement. Staff in this division seek opportunities for interactions and ability to provide input and feedback before a change is finalized. To build support for Business Transformation initiatives, engaging Administrative Services staff early in the process will be critical as will involvement of supervisors and managers to lead discussions with their teams. Changing the way that L&I manages change by involving staff at all levels will help to reduce uncertainty and frustration that these staff report for previous change efforts. Administrative Services staff comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: I feel that staff is given opportunities to be involved in the changes and made suggestions. Being allowed to be part of the change process is helpful for many people to make and understand change. This also gives us time to put the changes into place over a period of time, rather than needing to change immediately. Allow affected parties to have a say in the process and provide input. People are more likely to support a program when they have been a part of creating the program. Even if it is a small part. Involve staff in determining how to implement change in their work area. Seriously taking feedback from employees into consideration Administrative Services Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “Info goes out in many methods. Whether people feel they are involved I think is the issue with changes. ” • “In all staff meetings you allow opportunity for questions” • “We are usually given plenty of time to adjust to change. ” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 40

Director’s Office & Government Affairs Readiness Assessment Observations Director’s Office & Government Affairs staff are beginning Business Transformation with low level of understanding about what it means, though somewhat positive in their openness to coming changes (positive range within Commitment. ) We see their scores mostly clustered in the bottom right corner of this graph within the area labeled “Uninformed Optimism. ” Some staff provided responses indicating lower level of commitment landing in the “Uninformed Pessimism” area. This is to be expected early in a change process. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 41

Director’s Office & Government Affairs Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Pleased 39% #2 = Uncertain 36% #3 = Excited 29% Two of the top three feelings are within the “optimistic” grouping. This is very different from L&I as a whole and most other divisions where the top two feelings are consistently uncertainty and frustration. This division will want to build on the positivity that has been developed in prior change efforts. Change management activities including communications and engagement can help to achieve this. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 42

Director’s Office & Government Affairs Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” In d r ea ) rd. 67) H a e (3 ly 4. 45 H n O n( ly ally / n o rso O nic s l A Pe tro c Ele 1 2 Strongly Disagree 3 4 5 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 6 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal A high percentage of staff in this division had heard about Business Transformation in person (74%. ) Those staff indicate higher level of confidence (4. 45) that they could explain L&I Business Transformation to a colleague. Though we also know that staff in this division have strong preferences for electronic and passive methods of communication (email, intranet, broadcasts), we can infer that this division frequently conducts sessions that involve staff outside of team meetings. While not as strongly as the passive methods, many staff here do prefer in-person opportunities and divisional meetings. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 43

Director’s Office & Government Affairs Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments Communications and Engagement were the most frequent themes for comments from staff. Message content is very important to these staff as they seek understanding of what is happening, why and what impact it will have on them. It appears that this division already does much to engage their staff. Continuing to provide opportunities for interactive discussions around Business Transformation will help these staff build their understanding and commitment. Director’s Office staff comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: Make sure each individual is informed about the coming change. Involve every individual, perhaps by getting them to think how they will be personally affected or encouraging them to provide ideas or get involved. More 1: 1 time with supervisors and managers Discussing changes during divisional or team meetings would provide opportunities for questions and feedback. Try discussing with staff BEFORE you make changes. Director’s Office Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “Clearly communicating agency goals through executive emails, directors' broadcasts, articles on Inside L&I, and goal-team websites” • “One-on-one conversations and discussions” • Anytime leaders involve employees in two-way dialogues” • “Changes regarding L&I as a whole are well-communicated via a emails from Joel. ” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 44

DOSH Readiness Assessment Observations Staff in DOSH have a wide range of commitment for the coming changes, though no staff are at the very highest level “strongly agree” that L&I is making changes that will lead to improvements for staff and customers. Most staff were between noncommittal, neither agree nor disagree, and somewhat agree. The resulting scores are distributed across the commitment range with the mid-range concentration highlighted in yellow. In general, staff are just learning about L&I Business Transformation. So while a very large number of staff had heard about Business Transformation, there is a low level of understanding of the detail (see DOSH Communications, page 46. ) Most don’t know enough yet to be able to discuss details, putting the “Understanding” level in the lowest quadrant as is expected at this phase of the initiative. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 45

DOSH Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Uncertain 53% #2 = Frustrated 49% #3 = Pleased 28% The percentages of staff citing Uncertain and Frustrated is significantly higher than staff across other divisions in L&I. Close to half or more staff described feeling uncertain and frustrated when change happens. This could be challenging as Business Transformation begins – DOSH staff have strong apprehensive and negative feelings when facing change. Communications and finding ways to engage DOSH staff will be essential for overcoming resistance. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 46

DOSH Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” In d r ea ) rd. 85) H a e (2 ly 4. 19 H n O n( ly ally / n o rso O nic s l A Pe tro c Ele 1 2 Strongly Disagree 3 4 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 5 6 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? DOSH staff have especially strong preferences for email and intranet, and comparatively low preferences for inperson methods. This is likely directly connected to the capacity issues sited for DOSH in interviews and focus groups. Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal Even so, we know that in-person methods yield better results for building understanding as well as earning commitment from staff. Those who had only heard about Business Transformation electronically scored significantly lower (2. 85) in their understanding than those also/only hearing in person (4. 19. ) Team meetings are best received by DOSH staff among in-person methods. This should be leveraged for communicating future changes by equipping team leaders with the information staff need, allowing for interactive discussion and opportunities to ask questions and provide feedback. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 47

DOSH Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments Communication, Engagement and Training were frequent topics for DOSH staff. Staff want to know and want to be included. They also ask to be trained prior to the change happening. Interestingly, while we heard about the issue of capacity for DOSH in conversation, relatively few of the open comments from staff sited this as an area in need of improvement in preparing staff for change. Business Transformation success for DOSH staff will require early and consistent messaging at all levels of the division, including details of what it is and why it is happening. Success will also require opportunities to answer staff questions and gather feedback to build trust, decreasing uncertainty and frustration. Heavy workloads will need to be balanced, so that room can be made for conversation. DOSH management will play a crucial role for supporting the time for this to happen and the inclusion of their staff at all levels. DOSH staff comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: Executive Management should inform all staff not just management. Most of the time nothing is told to the line staff that performs the work Make sure we have the real story about what is happening and how/which staff will be affected. Many times we don't get the whole story from our chain of command we end up being affected by the change. Include those staff who are affected at all levels The advance notice … is sometimes lacking in details. Provide more details early on. Inform staff sooner Provide details sooner. Ask what staff thinks before the change is made DOSH staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “If you read the L&I intranet, there is frequently information available prior to a large scale or agency change. ” • “I enjoy the electronic message boards. ” • “Usually send out e-mails informing of change” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 48

Field Services & Public Safety Readiness Assessment Observations The majority of staff in Field Services & Public Safety are clustered in the mid-range for Commitment, highlighted in yellow. Very few staff indicated strong commitment. This is to be expected at the beginning of change in most organizations and is highly related to staff’s prior experiences. Similar distributions are found within the business operating divisions in L&I (DOSH, Insurance Services, and also with Fraud. ) Understanding at the beginning of a change is expected to be fairly low, and staff in Field Services indicate that they know very little about Business Transformation. Scores in this division for understanding are in the bottom quartile of the Understanding range, and are lower than the average of L&I as a whole. Though this is to be expected, improving this division into the goal area highlighted in green will be challenging and needs dedicated attention. Additional analysis on the following pages reveals the challenges and opportunities for building commitment and understanding for Field Services & Public Safety. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 49

Field Services & Public Safety Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Frustrated 44% #2 = Uncertain 42% #3 = Disappointed 22% Staff feelings from prior experience is very helpful in anticipating potential resistance as L&I begins Business Transformation. While most staff across L&I cited “Uncertain” as the most frequent feeling when facing change, Field Services rated “Frustrated” even higher. Conversely, the mention of “optimistic” feelings are low compared to other divisions. This is not surprising given that this division faces unique challenges primarily due to the highly dispersed locations of their staff causing physical disconnects from the information and involvement needed during change. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 50

Field Services & Public Safety Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” In d r a rd. 76) He 8) a e (2 nly 3. 4 H ly ally / O on ( n O nic lso ers A P tro c Ele 1 2 3 Strongly Disagree 4 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 5 6 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal A large number of staff in this division had not heard about Business Transformation compared to the rest of L&I, and look to depend on email and intranet for much of their information. We see that even those who heard about Business Transformation in person “somewhat disagree” that they could explain it to a colleague. (3. 48) This score again is lower than other divisions. Supervisors and Team Meetings are among the ways that these staff prefer to receive communications. The challenge and opportunity for Field Services communication will be to find ways to inform and involve supervisors and representatives from field offices who can directly interact with staff. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 51

Field Services & Public Safety Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments Communications and Engagement were the most frequent themes for Field Services staff: Message content to inform staff early and in detail, as well as opportunities to be included, ask questions and provide feedback are highly important to these staff. We also see from the comments that it is challenging to engage Field Services staff. L&I Business Transformation Initiatives will need to do a much better job helping Field Services staff feel they are part of the changes, including them and preparing them ahead of time. Many of the comments included suggestions for getting information out including using Smartboards. Using “Roadshows” was suggested in focus groups. Issues with Smartboards need to be resolved quickly as it provides an essential tool for collaboration with staff in this division. Field Services comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: Interactive efforts to inform the field would be most effective. Town Hall meeting formats, conducting listening posts would both be good tools. There seems to be no communication between CO and the filed offices. CO does not seem to take in consideration the regional offices do processes differently than CO. Include staff that actually do the work in change initiatives. We need to be able to consistently use the Smartboard technology as a way to communicate however it is very problematic and inconsistent. Request input on potential outcomes of change BEFORE the change is implemented. Field Services Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “We get an abundance of emails about the topic and stories are generally posted on the Intranet. ” • “L&I is currently more transparent than historically. However, more transparency is needed. ” • “When management has the people that do the work involved in the changes. this is happening more often, but not always. ” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 52

Financial Management Readiness Assessment Observations Financial Management staff are primarily in the “uninformed optimism” range of the baseline assessment, highlighted yellow, similar to the Director’s Office & Government Affairs. Staff show positive commitment in general, with some staff indicating that they slightly disagree with decisions that L&I is making. Staff feelings of trust for changes they know little about are highly dependent on previous experiences. For this division, commitment is fairly clustered around “slightly agree. ” Understanding at the beginning of a change is expected to be fairly low, which we do see for Financial Management staff. Their scores fall in the bottom quarter on the Understanding scale. Most staff have heard about L&I Business Transformation though most don’t know enough yet to be able to discuss details. (See Financial Management Communications page 54. ) Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 53

Financial Management Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work and indicate where potential resistance may be found. The top words for this division were: #1 = Uncertain 36% #2 = Frustrated 32% #3 = Excited 27% Financial Management feelings about change are mostly consistent with L&I as a whole (comparing the two charts above. ) How Business Transformation manages communication and engagement of staff can help to ease uncertainty and frustration. Following through with the changes and including knowledgeable staff at all levels can help to change staff feelings of uncertainty, frustration and disappointment. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 54

Financial Management Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” In d r ea ) H ly 5. 60 n O n( / o so Als Per ) ard 3. 07 e ( H ly ally n O nic o ctr e l E 1 2 Strongly Disagree 3 4 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 5 6 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal Unlike other divisions, no staff in Financial Management heard about Business Transformation only through inperson methods. Those who heard through both electronic and in-person methods were significantly more confident that they could explain Business Transformation to a colleague (5. 60 compared to 3. 07. ) Interestingly, this score is higher than any other division. We can surmise that the combination of methods that includes in-person communications can result in staff ability to process and articulate the information they are learning. Providing division supervisors and managers with the information they need to have meaningful discussions with their staff will be essential for development of understanding and overcoming current resistance for change. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 55

Financial Management Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments The top themes from comments by Financial Management staff were engagement and communications. Staff want to be included and to see those who can provide “meaningful input, ” regardless of level, be involved. They seek details and transparency of what is changing, why it is changing and what it means for them. This division appears to have highly involved and interested staff who are eager to be informed. Engaging these staff and providing them with the information they need early and in depth will help to build their confidence in leadership and the changes being made. Financial Management comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: Following the "trustworthy" and "easy" experience guidelines. . . we should receive accurate, timely and actionable information Letting us know when we might have an opportunity to share our opinions BEFORE a change is made What I don't see are front-line staff providing meaningful input about what and how to change. We have a current culture of change being initiated from top leadership and everyone else's ideas for change being ignored. Communicate details, not just high-level concepts Have staff be part of the change process. Make sure that it is explained well, including the "why. " Administrative Services Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “Quick to update in e-mail and on the website. ” • “My supervisor is excellent at keeping me updated. ” • “There usually is information appearing on Inside L&I, the directors broadcast, and in my team my supervisor keeps us well informed. ” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 56

Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards Readiness Assessment Observations While we see a spread across Commitment scores, the majority of staff baseline Commitment scores are in the positive range (x axis, left to right), shown as clusters of bubbles at a score of 4 and above. Though some staff indicate low levels of commitment, as a whole Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards staff are in the “Uninformed Optimism” quadrant, highlighted yellow. In most organizations at the beginning of a change, we would expect to see even higher numbers of staff in the lower range for Commitment. Fraud results are similar to other business operating divisions in L&I (DOSH, Insurance Services and Field Services. ) Levels of understanding are mostly in the lowest quartile for Understanding measurement (y axis, low to high. ) Staff in Fraud are highly aware of Business Transformation, but details are not known and important messages of “why” and impact to staff have not yet been shared. A further look at this division on the following pages will help to identify potential areas for resistance and opportunities to support staff to achieve this goal. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 57

Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Uncertain 45% #2 = Frustrated 42% #3 = Excited 25% Ratings for Fraud are similar to the rest of L&I, though “Frustrated” is even higher for these staff. These feelings are based on past experiences and provide insight into potential resistance to Business Transformation initiatives. Managing change using communications and engagement to overcome this resistance are discussed on the following pages. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 58

Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” In d r ea ) rd. 26) H a e (3 ly 4. 56 H n O n( ly ally / n o rso O nic s l A Pe tro c Ele 1 2 3 Strongly Disagree 4 5 6 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? As with all other divisions at L&I, receiving communications in person leads to higher levels of understanding (4. 56 score above for ability to explain Business Transformation. ) Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal Staff communications preferences in Fraud is different from other divisions in that Team Meetings are both highly rated and appear to also be very effective in building knowledge and engaging staff. Even so, a large number of staff comparatively had not yet heard about Business Transformation. (26%). Transformation leads will need to use multiple methods for reaching Fraud staff and should look to leverage team leaders for sharing information and engaging their staff. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 59

Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments The common themes for Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards staff comments were Communication followed by Engagement. Though message content and timing of information were frequent communication themes for staff across other L&I divisions, transparency provided through communications is most important for Fraud staff – “full disclosure” and sharing information, as well as inclusion of impacted staff at all levels. Based on prior experience, Fraud staff are skeptical that they’ll be informed and included. It will be critical for Business Transformation success that communication and engagement be handled differently than in the past and that staff at all levels are highly engaged and informed throughout the process. Fraud staff comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: Full disclosure - Information prior to change is very limited. When you are told more than once that there is 'full transparency' in an issue it is a sure sign that there is not transparency. Often, information about change is only given to those that will be directly involved into creating the new change on processes, policy. . . etc. . If it is communicated it is general and does not provide real information. It is surface level. insure that affected staff are included in the process I would like more information coming down from direct Supervisors or Managers in regards to what changes are happening concerning our specific division. keep us informed of the changes being made, how, why, and when. Fraud Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “I appreciate the emails from the Director's Office regarding upcoming changes. ” • “Supervisors and Managers communication in meetings and during celebrations and discussions • They seem to try to communicate change when they can via email and broadcasts Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 60

Human Resources Readiness Assessment Observations For Human Resources staff, we see virtually all of the data points well into the “optimism” range along the Commitment scale (X-axis). This division looks different than all others with the exception of a single data point in the pessimism range. Additional analysis included for Human Resources on the following pages provides insights into what appears to be a healthy level of engagement and communications with these staff currently that is positively impacting their initial views of Business Transformation. Virtually all staff in OHR have heard about L&I Business Transformation. Even so, details have not yet been developed and shared, leaving the level of understanding in the lowest quartile, similar to other divisions. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 61

Human Resources Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Excited 44% #2 = Uncertain 41% #3 = Frustrated 37% Though staff share common feelings with the rest of L&I, Human Resources uniquely ranted “excited” as their #1 feeling when change happens. This is a strong indicator of Human Resources leadership involving staff and providing them the information they need to get excited – anticipating and preparing for a change can help to build excitement. Uncertainty and Frustration are common feelings for all in L&I as with HR staff. Change Management support will need to build on what OHR already does well and find ways to alieve uncertainty and frustration. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 62

Human Resources Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” ) ard 2. 40 e ( H ly ally n O nic o ctr e l E 1 2 Strongly Disagree 3 In d r ea ) H ly 4. 62 n O n( / o so Als Per 4 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 5 6 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? Communications Preferences for Human Resources looks very different than other divisions. Interview, focus groups and comments indicate that the AD and management highly engage with their staff and had conducted conversations about Business Transformation. As a result, very few had not yet heard about Business Transformation (4%), and very few had only heard through electronic means (8%). Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal The outcome is a high level of baseline understanding for this division. Regarding Communication Preferences, staff here include email (consistently in the top for all L&I divisions, ) though almost 60% of staff said “supervisor, ” with team meetings next – almost double that of any other division. There is a direct relationship between the positivity and knowledge for this division and the engagement and inclusion already conducted here. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 63

Human Resources Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments Additional insights can be found in the comments from Human Resources staff. Top themes were Engagement, Communications and Readiness. Staff here seek opportunities for involvement of staff at all levels, starting with supervisors and managers. The comments from staff were almost all constructive with very little negative commenting. Human Resources provides a good model for L&I Business Transformation change management practices. Human Resources staff comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: We could reinforce with managers and supervisors that information needs to be shared. It's problematic with some in not filtering the information downstream. Asking for feedback prior to the change Telling the "why" of the change Communicating a timeline Following up after the change Earlier and more frequent communication. Allow enough time, resources, training, etc. . to take place before the change takes place. Provide supervisor/manager/staff with support they need to make and implement the change. Hold managers/supervisors accountable. Human Resources Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “I think we do a much better job now than we have in the past. The Director's Broadcasts, the emails, Ask Joel, Joel's updates. All that is good. ” • “The open communication is great. ” • “our staff are asked to participate in work teams to help inform the change. ” • “My supervisor does a good job of communicating changes, soliciting feedback and listening to concerns. ” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 64

Information Services Readiness Assessment Observations The level of Commitment for Information Services is tightly clustered at the midpoint and above, though no scores indicated strong agreement that L&I is “making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work/improvements for customers. ” Though we would expect to see more spread at this point in the process (more with high levels of both agreement ad disagreement, ) we know that initial commitment levels are formed from prior experience. Results indicate this division does not appear to be highly invested in business outcomes as seen from lack of strong levels at either end of Commitment. To build staff Commitment, change management efforts will need to make the messages more meaningful for these staff in other ways, and/or Information Services staff will need to be informed better about how business outcomes are relevant for them. Compared to other divisions, fewer staff in Information Services were aware of Business Transformation at the time of the baseline assessment. As a whole, Understanding level is mostly very low. Business Transformation change management efforts will need to find ways to engage and inform Information Services staff. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 65

Information Services Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Uncertain 37% #2 = Excited 31% #2 = Frustrated 25% From focus groups and interviews we learned that Information Services is not always included in technology decisions made within divisions. We can infer that uncertainty and frustration are likely caused by lack of clarity of change details as it related to technology changes – what is expected and needed from these staff to support the change, as well as lack of engaging these subject matter experts in decision making. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 66

Information Services Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” In d r a rd. 32) He 4) a e (3 ly 4. 0 H n ly ally / O n ( n O nic lso rso A Pe tro c Ele 1 2 Strongly Disagree 3 4 5 6 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal About 1/3 of the staff in IS had been informed about Business Transformation in person and 15% had never heard about it. We do know that in-person is more effective (4. 04 score compared to 3. 32 above. ) Based on preferences, we can anticipate their initial willingness for engagement to be low. It will be important to find ways to engage these staff and ensure that messages are fully understood. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 67

Information Services Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments Communications and Engagement are the top themes for Information Services staff. They look for details early in the process and desire to be included before decisions are finalized. As with all divisions impacted, subject matter experts are found at all levels. Where impacted, including Information Services staff who know the background, history and inner workings of current technologies is essential for making informed decisions regarding Business Transformation initiatives involving technology. Information Services staff comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: Start communicating earlier in the decision making process Determining the increased workload and giving realistic deadlines for completing the work. The direct supervisor is interested in helping prepare but doesn't get the info. Less word of mouth, which is wrought with rumor and more direct communications from management. talk with staff personally who are most impacted by the change Further advance notices and details about how WE will be involved, or impacted. Information Services Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “Introducing Lean concepts - I think it does help reduce the resistance to change” • “Between email and intranet, information is spread well. ” • “Leadership team (and management) does a great job announcing, explaining then being available for questions about the transformation project. ” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 68

Insurance Services Readiness Assessment Observations In general, Insurance Services staff provided positive responses to the statement, “L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work / improvements for customers. ” Though data points are spread across the full range for commitment, the majority are clustered within the “Uniformed Optimism” quadrant, and highlighted yellow. This pattern is similar to other business operations divisions (DOSH, Field Services and Fraud). As with all divisions in L&I and expected at the beginning of change, understanding is low. Many staff have heard about Business Transformation, but few have confidence that they could explain it to others. As information is developed and shared, we expect levels of understanding and commitment to increase into the upper right quadrant, “Informed Optimism” highlighted green. Note: Additional breakdown by Program is included in Appendix E Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 69

Insurance Services Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Uncertain 44% #2 = Frustrated 36% #3 = Excited 35% These same feelings of uncertainty and frustration are common for most in L&I, and is often caused by lack of information shared with impacted stakeholders as well as mistrust that the change is necessary or will actually be made. A need for improved communications accompanying change is a theme among staff in this division and is explored on the following two pages. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 70

Insurance Services Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” In d r ea ) rd. 05) H a e (3 ly 3. 86 H n O n( ly ally / n o rso O nic s l A Pe tro c Ele 1 2 Strongly Disagree 3 4 5 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 6 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? Most staff heard about Business Transformation via email or other electronic methods. Those who heard in person report greater confidence that they could explain Business Transformation (3. 86. ) Even so, on average staff slightly disagree (below 4. 0, ) indicating a low level of knowledge. Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal Staff in this division prefer communications via email, intranet and Team Meetings. We know that in-person methods are more effective for building knowledge. During Business Transformation, this division should consider leveraging team leaders to provide opportunities to discuss, ask questions and provide feedback with staff. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 71

Insurance Services Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments Insurance Services staff comments primarily covered Communications – message content and timing, and Engagement – inclusion and involvement of staff at all levels. Comments indicate that these areas that are not currently done well. Several examples are provided below. Change management efforts for Business Transformation should address these areas and can help to improve staff trust in leadership and changes being made. Insurance Services staff comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: Having better communication between all staff that will be affected by such changes. I believe all changes that will be implemented should be discussed by the supervisor to the employee not hearsay from other employees. Keeping staff informed of the change and how they will be impacted (from start to finish). Staff become fearful of the unknown, so it is important to let them know step by step how things are going as you get closer to launching the changes. …Staff often are upset with changes because they haven't been communicated or stakeholdered until after the fact. Having better communication between all staff that will be affected by such changes. I believe all changes that will be implemented should be discussed by the supervisor to the employee not hearsay from other employees. . Do not ask for staff input about a decision that has already been made Insurance Services Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “The staff meetings try very hard to keep us aware. . ” • “Visual presentation, the reader boards. Announcing the forums and holding the forums. ” • “The long build up informing us of small adjustments allows for staff to prepare for change. This gradual approach prevents a system shock to some employees when the end change is implemented. ” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 72

Web & Communication Services Readiness Assessment Observations Measurement of Commitment for Staff in Web & Communications shows that staff are mostly positive in their belief that “L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work / improvement for our customers. ” We see results cluster in the mid to slightly positive range for Commitment, highlighted yellow, with only some in the negative range. Staff knowledge is higher on average than most divisions in L&I, though still fairly low at these initial stages of Business Transformation. The following pages provide additional insights for Web & Communication Services from the Readiness Assessment. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 73

Web & Communication Services Readiness Assessment Q: Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work? (Select all that apply) Change Feelings Observations These graphs list the words selected by staff to describe how they feel when change happens at work. The top words for this division were: #1 = Uncertain, Excited 42% #3 = Appreciated 33% How staff feel about change from prior experiences will shape their feelings for Business Transformation and we see very different results for this division comparatively. For these staff, we see dominant optimistic feelings with the exception of “Uncertain, ” a common top selection across divisions, and a healthy balance of emotions. We would expect staff in this division to build commitment for coming changes more rapidly than others, as their prior experiences do not appear to have led to disabling negative feelings. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 74

Web & Communication Services Readiness Assessment Q: “I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. ” In d r ea ) H ly 4. 83 n O n( / o so Als Per rd. 75) a He y (2 y l ll On nica o ctr e l E 1 2 3 4 5 6 Neither Agree Nor Disagree Strongly Disagree 7 Strongly Agree Where are we starting for Communications? Four of the top communication preferences for this division include in-person methods. Different from most other divisions, staff here appear to be highly engaged and communications appear to be personalized. We can infer from their preferences that leaders and supervisors provide much of the message content which enables dialogue, questions to be answered and feedback given. Electronic Communications Non-electronic / Personal A large percentage of staff heard about Business Transformation in person, resulting in a high comparative level of understanding shown in the graph above (4. 83). These healthy habits for communications set up Web Services well as Business Transformation work begins. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 75

Web & Communication Services Readiness Assessment Insights from Staff Comments Staff reinforced their thoughts about communications and engagement in their open-ended comments. We saw that team meetings / supervisors were two of the top three preferred communication methods. From the comments provided, it seems that staff desire more transparency within these conversations. Providing in-person communications is important and already a habit in Web & Communication Services. Leaders here have an opportunity to make those communications more meaningful and reduce staff uncertainty by working to share openly and honestly the information known where that is not already being done. Web & Communications Services staff comments for ways L&I can improve in preparing staff for changes: Leadership should be more honest and transparent about current state and future state. Hard to feel like there will be effective change if concerns are not openly acknowledged or addressed by upper levels of management. Sometimes those affected by change are not included in the change process or the communication. Many of the business transformation discussions and informational materials assume a much greater level of knowledge than most staff have. Communication about this topic should be more basic and use less jargon. Too much insider jargon makes it hard to follow and makes staff nervous. Managers and supervisors choose what information they want to pass along. Sometimes staff never get the info they are supposed to get. Web & Communications Services Staff thoughts about ways L&I does a good job in preparing staff for changes: • “By communicating often and through many ways. ” • ” Pre announce” • “Depends on the change. Sometimes there is broad communication. ” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 76

Organizational Readiness Report Summary of Findings & Observations

Organizational Readiness Report Summary of Findings & Observations “Change happens to me, not with me. ” Change Behaviors, Feelings & Beliefs What is the current culture that could impact ability to enable or inhibit change? Findings Lack of Engagement Employees feel that those most impacted are not involved until change happens, and feel they are left in the dark during the process. “Change happens to me, not with me. ” Managers and leadership are thought to wait until they have a perfect answer before sharing any information, leading to no information being shared. Uncertainty & Frustration Across L&I, staff listed “uncertainty” and “frustration” most frequently when asked how they feel when change happens at work. Staff also noted “ambiguity” and “lack of clear vision” from leadership in open ended questions. Staff lack understanding of why a change is happening and what impact it has for them, positive or negative. A comment from the survey stated, “Normal (change is) they just tell us what to do”. Mistrust From their previous experiences, staff often do not trust that a change will take place. Changes and decisions are often halted or redirected. Some of this is the nature of the regulatory environment and leadership appointments affecting plans. Staff also do not trust that they are being given all the facts that are known, and feel that leadership is withholding information. Observations* Leadership needs to be willing and able to let go of control and delegate to staff after the vision has been set, and decisions necessary to be made at the executive level have been made. Engaging and being inclusive of those impacted during a change will help to build trust and confidence in leadership. Develop a culture of engagement within L&I, across all levels and inclusive of those work will be impacted. Develop this practice to the point of a habit, where staff believes that “this is the way we make change happen in L&I. ” L&I could be more open and transparent by communicating the reasons for decisions, the “why, ” as well as information about progress to those impacted. Take opportunities to reinforce the vision of L&I, helping staff to keep an outward focus and energize their passion for the work they do. Leadership should not wait for all questions to be answered before sharing information. Share what is known and be honest about what is not known. *Specific recommendations for managing change based on these observations are included in the accompanying “Change Enablement Plan” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 78

Organizational Readiness Report Summary of Findings & Observations “Changes often ignore the impact to other divisions” Change Resources, Tools & Capabilities* What could L&I do to enable appropriate support for change in their organization? Findings Divisional Approach Change programs are not managed collectively by the agency. Divisions primarily are autonomous in making decisions and managing change. Most do not consider downstream impacts of their efforts on other divisions. This can result in duplicated efforts, reinvented solutions, and failure to engage critical stakeholders within support areas in particular. Staff have a strong sense of belonging within a division. And most staff at all levels believe that there are “haves” and “have nots” divisions, reinforcing the existing “silos. ” Capabilities Many of the divisions are developing change capabilities, building understanding and working to incorporate change methodologies within their division. Many of these capabilities and methodologies have not yet been put into practice during change. Resources Staffing for projects is typically done as an additional assignment while still performing core work. The few full-time project managers are assigned to a handful of high priority initiatives. Staff in operational areas feel that they have no capacity. Observations* Manage change at the enterprise level. Develop the organization, change plans, dedicated resources, and positions within an organizational structure to successfully drive and manage change. Establish agency priorities and use them to determine allocation of resources for change efforts. Budget for projects appropriately, accommodating for required resources and backfilling positions as needed. Stand up change teams responsible at the agency level to lead change, ideally using dedicated resources. Identify relationship of accountability of change team to the project team responsible for the initiative as well as to the change network that will have direct interaction with staff across divisions and at each level. *Specific recommendations for managing change based on these observations are included in the accompanying “Change Enablement Plan” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 79

Organizational Readiness Report Summary of Findings & Observations “I think we do a pretty good job at the initial stages, but the follow through needs improvement. ” Change Practices, Processes & Planning* What could L&I do to better enable change in their organization? Findings Change Methodology Observations* Currently, there is no standard or common methodology for change practices across divisions. Follow an agency defined set of practices, processes and planning for change initiatives. While LEAN methodology is being used throughout organization, the ability to scale process changes beyond the pilot group has been minimal. The change works well for the group that develops the revised processes, but sometimes fails to stick with the larger group adopting the changes. Establish a “Change Network” for initiatives with change agents / champions who are representative of the impacted stakeholder groups. The Change Network would be responsible for cascading messages and engaging divisions, teams and people for that effort. Limit involvement in multiple initiatives. Provide clear understanding of expectations and time commitment. Some efforts in Information Services follow Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) with a change management component. Reaching Audiences Current change practices fail to reach all audiences with the information they need to understand what is changing, why it’s changing, what the impact is to them, and what the desired outcomes are. Shortcuts Many staff reported that overall, training is provided at the appropriate level. While training is an important element of Change Management, it is not enough on its own. Development of understanding of the change, preparation for the change and reinforcement and support following the change are also needed. Communicate messages from the Change Team through Change agents. See that all divisions are treated equally. Cascade through the organization at each level, engaging with managers and supervisors before those who report to them. For large scale changes, include activities that support the full change process from inception through development of the change, implementation of the change, and finally support and adjustments after the change. *Specific recommendations for managing change based on these observations are included in the accompanying “Change Enablement Plan” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 80

Organizational Readiness Report Summary of Findings & Observations “Really listen to staff ideas to include with the changes” Readiness Where is L&I today in terms of readiness for L&I Transformation Changes? Findings Commitment Observations* “Commitment” is one of two measurements used in this analysis to take a pulse of how ready L&I is for the coming changes resulting from the Business Transformation Initiative. Commitment measures the likelihood that the change will “stick. ” This means staff will assume the new skills and responsibilities, follow new and revised processes, and / or use new or changed technologies. Use message content to inform staff of the essential elements for which they are asking, including why change is happening, how decisions were made, and how change will impact them. Begin messaging early in the process and keep staff informed of where the change is along a timeline. Include information about their involvement such as when they’ll be participating in specific activities (brown bag, forums, training, etc. . ) Be transparent and timely in the messaging. In this baseline assessment, across the agency and at all levels, the majority of staff indicate confidence that L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work, and provide improvements for its customers. Take the opportunity to develop Employee Engagement within change programs. Engagement are activities that provide interactions and opportunities for questions and feedback. The Change Enablement Plan will address building engagement into the way that change happens at L&I following a plan that provides for two-way involvement throughout the process and at each level. Baseline staff prepare and build their understanding and confidence in their work. The target level for commitment scores are in the positive range. However, we would expect commitment levels to drop during the change process, which is normal as staff begins to learn about the impact on the work they do. High performing change organizations help commitment by the time the change takes place is the majority of staff indicating positive commitment scores (agreement), and few staff trailing into the negative scores. Bring supervisors into the process before their staff. Employees need confidence that their voice is heard and that their questions will be answered. Monitor Change Readiness using Readiness Assessments or a similar tool at points along the journey to determine where modifications to activities are needed. *Specific recommendations for managing change based on these observations are included in the accompanying “Change Enablement Plan” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 81

Organizational Readiness Report Summary of Findings & Observations 85% of survey respondents had heard about Business Transformation before the survey Readiness, continued Where is L&I today in terms of readiness for L&I Transformation Changes? Findings Throughout a change effort, we look for progressive knowledge build to see that staff get to the level where they can productively do their work. There are many ways to build knowledge including through communications, practice, online and instructor led training and workshops. Understanding Staff is beginning to learn about Business Transformation. 85% of those responding indicated that they had heard about it prior to receiving the change survey. Messaging has begun and staff appear open-minded about the coming changes. Though most have heard about it, and some could talk about it, many staff shared frustrations that they did not yet know why L&I is undertaking the Business Transformation Initiatives or what it means for them. Observations* Develop a plan for building knowledge, including but not isolated to training. Throughout the stages of the change, communications, engagement activities and training can be used to build knowledge and understanding of the work staff will be doing. Examples of ways to support and build understanding include: • e-Learning (online) training • Instructor led (classroom, labs) training • Shadowing and on-the-job training • Availability and access to information at more detailed levels • FAQs, Process and Policy documentation • Desk aids and other quick reference / help • Training opportunities for new hires and job changes Use a measurement tool (such as the Readiness Assessment used for the baseline) to determine if staff are at the desired level of understanding to support the change. Make adjustments that are needed. *Specific recommendations for managing change based on these observations are included in the accompanying “Change Enablement Plan” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 82

Change Readiness Assessment APPENDIX

Appendix § § § [A] Gap Closing Actions. . . . [B] Stakeholder Groups. . . . . [C] Survey Questions. . . . . [D] Survey Comments. . . . . [E] Insurance Services: Additional Breakdown by Program. . . . Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 84 85 87 90 137 84

Appendix A Gap Closing Actions List Gap Closing Actions are the activities needed to close the gap between where L&I is today and its desired future state. The complete list of Gap Closing Actions can be found in on L&I’s Business Transformation Share. Point site here (Document title - Deliverable_12 Division Assessment Detail). Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 85

Appendix B Stakeholder Groups Internal Stakeholders Each of the following divisions were included in assessing the Internal Stakeholders Divisions 1. Administrative Services 2. Directors Office, includes Internal Audit 3. DOSH 4. Field Services & Public Safety 5. Financial Management, includes Customer Experience & LEAN 6. Fraud Prevention & Labor Standards 7. Human Resources 8. Information Services 9. Insurance Services 10. Web & Communication Services Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 86

Appendix B Stakeholder Groups External Stakeholders ADs provided a listing of external stakeholders that they felt should be included for assessment. Though we had targeted ten, 29 were identified for assessment. The results of this assessment is included in Deliverable 12: Change Enablement. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 87

Appendix C Survey Questions Demographic Questions 1. Which division do you currently work in? [Divisions listed] 2. Which program within Insurance Services do you currently work in? • [programs within Insurance and Information Services listed] 3. Where are you located? [Central Office] [Plum Street] [Region 1] … [Region 6] [TC 3] 4. How many years have you been with L&I? [0 -2] [3 -5] [6 -10] [11 -15] [16+] 5. Which of these best describes your level in L&I? [Staff] [Supervisor] [Manager] [Executive] 6. Are you now, or have you been part of the L&I Business Transformation Initiative work? (Labs, Steering, Key Stakeholders, etc. . ) [Yes] [No] Survey Detail This scale was used to answer the following questions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. In general, I believe L&I is making decisions and changes that will make L&I a better place to work. In general, I believe L&I is making decisions and changes that will provide improvements for our customers. In prior experiences with changes at L&I, I felt like I knew what was going on before the change was made. When L&I makes changes that affect my work, I feel that I am trained to the level necessary to do my job. I am given adequate time to complete training when I'm learning how to do something new at work. Historically, how responsive has your direct supervisor been when you've had general questions or concerns about the agency or about your job? Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 88

Appendix C Survey Questions Survey Detail, continued This scale was used to answer the following questions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree 13. Looking to the future, I feel confident that I will be well informed about changes coming with the L&I Business Transformation initiative. 14. I could explain L&I's Business Transformation Initiative to a colleague. Selection Questions For the following questions, respondents were asked to select from a list of words to answer the question. 15. Which of the following words would you use to describe how you feel when change happens at work: (Select all that apply) • Appreciated • Content • Disappointed • Excited • Fearful • Frustrated • Indifferent • Neglected • Pleased • Relieved • Uncertain • Other 16. Prior to receiving this survey, I had heard about the L&I Business Transformation initiative from the following sources: (Select all that apply) • All Staff Broadcast • Electronic message boards • Email • Fearful • Friends • Management • Meeting • Supervisor • Had not heard • Other Washington State Department of Labor & Industries • Inside L&I 89

Appendix C Survey Questions Survey Detail, continued 17. In what ways do you prefer to receive information at work? (Select all that apply) • Brown bags + Other in • Broadcast person • Supervisor • Divisional meetings • Electronic message boards • Email • Newsletters • Team Meetings • Other • Inside L&I Open Ended Two final questions allowed for open ended responses 18. In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? 19. In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 90

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment some communication is good news on the Intranet Email They don't. Sends message in a variety of channels. I am not sure it always does. The information is very inconsistent The use of meeting and clear e-mails Yes None HSA All-Staff meetings, Unit Meetings, Director All-Staff assemblies Trying to reach the broadest audience possible. Making sure groups are not left out. We are told in advance of changes Historically we usually get the word as the change is or soon going to start. Communication is not at issue. The issue is answered above re more work but no more time to do it. There is usually an initial email that talks a bit about what the change is and why. Asking employees for input on the changes lets us know that you value our input and that you will do changes based on that input. Multiple channels of communication. mentions them in all staff L&I has done a great job preparing staff for changes through management, email and all other ways listed above. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 91

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment by e-mail L&I is very consistent Communication Usually send out e-mails informing of change There's usually a good effort at making staff aware of upcoming change. It doesn't I can't think of anything positive to say here. Most changes are received as a surprise, and not in a good way. THEY USUALLY LET US KNOW WHAT THEY ARE WORKING ON AND REQUESTING FEEDBACK BEFORE THEY ANNOUNCE THE FINAL CHANGE. Visual presentation, the reader boards. Announcing the forums and holding the forums. they don't Emails to all staff and Intranet (L&I) Mandatory classes are scheduled in LMS. Any significant changes are broadcast on Inside L&I (Intranet). We sometimes get a heads-up in the upper level meetings (director/division), even if all the details are not available. It at least gives us a clue what's coming. Between email and intranet, information is spread well. They provide a lot of ways to keep up on the changes. It doesn't The staff meetings try very hard to keep us aware. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 92

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Not Sure, some training The emails and All-Staff meetings do a good job of letting us know what is in the works and why and what is coming. Staff input is usually gathered for the changes and the changes typically make sense. Communication is done, but sometimes requires effort to retrieve. Lately, enough lead time is given, communication is clear. IT would DEPEND on what the change is! POLICIES- POOR EXPECTATIONS- ALRIGHT CHANGES TO OUR UNIT- ALRIGHT PROACTIVE MEASURES-POOR User testing Introducing Lean concepts - I think it does help reduce the resistance to change when using Lean principles involving affected staff I think we do a much better job now than we have in the past. The Director's Broadcasts, the emails, Ask Joel, Joel's updates. All that is good. It also behooves us, the employee, to seek out information rather than assume it will magically appear. Sometimes I am frustrated that we don't have a PA system like we did in school with morning announcements. By obtuse committees and management Information is disseminated in a variety of ways. Standard communications by e-mail. Top level down, try to take the fear factor out first. ask staff for input before making the change. Changing if does not work out. Emails Keeping us informed. I appreciate the emails from the Director's Office regarding upcoming changes. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 93

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment LOTS of information is generally sent out. DONT KNOW Supervisors and Managers communication in meetings and during celebrations and discussions Overall, big picture communication that "so and so change is occurring". The change needs to be more understood for all staff -- a difficult objective to achieve, no doubt! The enthusiasm that executive staff share is great and appreciated. Supervisors and managers seems to be overwhelmed by the constant change and often don't seem to know what it affects well enough to communicate this to their staff. plenty of notice By letting them know when something is launching, or a release was successful. I am not sure it does a good job. Most of us want to make things better. There has been much discussion about coming changes. I'm plenty prepared, now I'd like to see some action. The open communication is great. What I don't see are front-line staff providing meaningful input about what and how to change. We have a current culture of change being initiated from top leadership and everyone else's ideas for change being ignored. The direct supervisor is interested in helping prepare but doesn't get the info. Communicating that change is going to happen. I HAVE ONLY BEEN HERE 4 DAYS. I AM IMPRESSED SO FAR. The long build up informing us of small adjustments allows for staff to prepare for change. This gradual approach prevents a system shock to some employees when the end change is implemented. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 94

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment General shifts in direction are communicated well, at a high level. Emails Intranet info Often, information about change is only given to those that will be directly involved into creating the new change on processes, policy. . . etc. . If it is communicated it is general and does not provide real information. It is surface level. I believe L&I does a good job preparing staff at the Executive and Managerial levels through many channels of communication and inclusion - mentioned above Information prior to change is very limited. When you are told more than once that there is 'full transparency' in an issue it is a sure sign that there is not transparency. Over the years the preparation has deceased significantly. It use to be discussed prior to implementation now its just done and were told to do it. Any changes that I have experienced have not been communicated effectively. They are just rolled out and we are expected to adapt Communications We are usually given plenty of time to adjust to change. use of email and other messaging is good, but it usually lacks the details I'm looking for. Quick to update in e-mail and on the website. Actually have the people that will be doing the job be part of the panel that determines what changes will be made. Communicating that change is coming and involving staff at all levels. Depends on the change. Sometimes there is broad communication. It appears that we like to talk about the change for about 1 year prior to change. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 95

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Usually there are repetitive emails or posts on the intranet. Informational emails Very open and upfront- inviting review and suggestions from the staff that are affected. there is some communication by some identified means of change to come. In my short time with L&I I have been emailed about any upcoming changes before they are made. Talking endlessly about all of this wonderful change that is just around the corner. . . Usually everyone is emailed the changes. I work in the ***** department, and I know that any time we change a procedure/policy it is expressed to us in Emails, team meetings and morning standups with our teams. I can't speak for areas outside of mine, but here things are very well and very thoroughly communicated. The only issue we ever have is implementing the changes too soon. As a trainer it is hard to teach trainees new things when we as trainers haven't had time to experience the new materials ourselves. The only suggestion I would have would be to not implement things too soon, as it causes confusion that is harder and more time consuming to clear up. But I also understand that sometimes we are on a deadline or our customer has specific needs, so maybe this is out of our hands. Multiple formats to learn about things, reader boards, all staff meetings, etc. . Letting us know ahead of time that there will be changes. Changes are announced at the beginning of a change to let employees know particular programs/processes are being looked at or reviewed. Asking for feedback prior to the change Telling the "why" of the change Communicating a timeline Following up after the change I often see discussion of the upcoming change occurring in a variety of different formats. My supervisor is excellent at keeping me updated. Some divisions are better than others. Agency-wide communications rarely get into the division-level details, so it's hard to see what's happening across the agency. Communicating change in Director's broadcast Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 96

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Having frontline staff involved throughout the process as SME and allowing them to report back to their peers and managers L&I does a great job of communicating the vision. We need to build in time on how that translates into the various lines of business within the various programs that will be affected. None. There seems to be no communication between CO and the filed offices. CO does not seem to take in consideration the regional offices do processes differently than CO. E-mails are sent, but sometimes they are confusing. Putting stories on the intranet, emails conferences Emails about future changes in the works (at least a month or two in advance of the change). I enjoy the electronic message boards. I also appreciate the efforts that have been going on to have our voice as employees heard. It makes us feel valued and appreciated. Sometimes, DOSH trains employees on changes made via state wide training visits. That seems to get everyone on a similar page. I think we do a pretty good job at the initial stages, but the follow through needs improvement. Discussion with my supervisor about the upcoming changes and how it is expected to impact me and my work. Consistent messages from my supervisor, manager and division leaders. Regular updates. Staff involvement where there is room for flexibility. In some areas the communication and discussion about why the change, and the expected result is clear. But this is not always the case, sometimes the directive comes without the context. We appear not to fire staff before, during, and after change. Discussions at LT on important topics are discussed during our divisional meetings. Information is discussed at broadcasts and is also available on the web and via emails. Also our staff are asked to participate in work teams to help inform the change. Communication Intranet information helpful. E-mail information helpful. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 97

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment no comment Communicating in email, intranet etc. I think that each division is so different that it is difficult to answer this on an agency level. Within my division, RTW Partnerships, we do a fair job attempting the change management but there is a lot of room to grow. We are not the best at communicating changes that effect internal and external stakeholders but I know that we are working on that. Announcing a change will be made. Well, we certainly take our time about it - we were told the rest of FP&LS would be joining us in TC-3 by 2016. Here we are in March 2016, and we have yet to see an actual plan materialize. So, I suppose you could say that L&I takes its time in getting change done. They do a good job at announcing it and implementing it but there is no follow-up to see if it is really working effectively or slowing people down. LNI lets the staff know about changes in the various ways that the news is disbursed. I am informed one way or the other of changes that will be made None. L&I runs around like a chicken with its head cut off. At the agency level we usually know in advance and how it will affect us. They let everyone know of the change with enough advance notice to adjust to the ideas and concept of the change No comment. Attempt at training good meetings, all staff meetings, director meetings etc. Claims Administration did a great job on change to ICD 10. Lots of pre-training and notifications. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 98

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment In most cases plenty of notice is given well in advance via all-staff meetings. In my recent experience in the section I am in, I can only speak for myself - we are not in-the-loop with any information. Preparation for staff changes in a "closed-door" decision leaving most all the employees in this section guessing. Usually we are ambushed and not in a good way. They seem to try to communicate change when they can via email and broadcasts Usually there is plenty of advance notice. None E-learnings have been helpful. E-mails that explain change are also helpful. L&I is pretty good about announcements of changes but not at the right detail level and not always with the best timing. Told what's going to happen, but don't really give very good guidance on the process. It doesn't. Being champions for change Notification via email/meetings. Poorly Sending out emails and Director's broadcast. Promote openness. during division meetings Training Not sure- haven't been at LNI during any large changes. proving emails along the way and giving lots of advanced notice so staff don't feel as if the change was out of no where. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 99

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment If you read the L&I intranet, there is frequently information available prior to a large scale or agency change. The All Staffs are effective in getting information to people, but as an Office Assistant they either have nothing to do with me or I am specifically excluded from the meeting as happened a few months ago. It is hard to say most changes don't seem to really happen. Trainings are provided I have been here less than a year and don't feel qualified to assess this. Focus on the five goals It seems that L&I does a good job of communicating the big picture or the framework of change. L&I usually starts planning in advance and getting the word out and even training early before roll out. The management tries to discuss it but it get's lost in the delivery to the employees I believe the current communication is great! All avenues are being used. At the highest level, I've been impressed with how current exec mgmt. has changed our goals/direction with very little pain or fanfare. We've just quietly changed direction. Not sure how that was done, but it's been impressive and much appreciated - and rare. On the other hand, further down the supervisory chain, there seems to be a need to withhold information for as long as possible, creating a big black hole. Depending on the topic there is usually some update about changes forthcoming. At least I have heard of the topic and briefly what changes, typically don't feel blindsided. Training L&I spends a lot of time reassuring staff about change My direct Supervisor letting us know that a change is coming. management should be including and indeed embracing staff level input to come with change ideas, instead of spending time on how to notify staff of the change. is that not what Lien would dictate? Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 100

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment One-on-one conversations and discussions Good communication from all levels of the agency. - Clearly communicating agency goals through executive emails, directors' broadcasts, articles on Inside L&I, and goal-team websites - Announcing new initiatives - Announcing progress on initiatives they don't L&I doesn't I feel that staff is given opportunities to be involved in the changes and made suggestions. Being allowed to be part of the change process is helpful for many people to make and understand change. This also gives us time to put the changes into place over a period of time, rather than needing to change immediately. I'm fairly new, but the information seems to be available on the website and through emails. Electronically and unit meetings. Very direct Provides information at the high-level to division heads and high-ranking managers. The agency is willing to listen to feedback regarding changes before they are implemented. It doesn't We communication often and use a variety of methods. Email updates Emails It doesn't Staff is usually told as change is being implemented. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 101

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Supervisors inform staff and information on the intranet Sporadic information In my experience, change is dropped on us with little to no prior knowledge. We are not given enough time to comprehend the changes, let alone voice our concern over these changes. by the fact that L&I cares to ask this question; and to tries to help employees deal with change I don't think they do a good job preparing staff. As technology changes, we need to be trained and that doesn't happen. by having some people trained to assist others L&I is continuing to enhance its change management strategies, but we use change agents, allow for broad feedback, focusing on both those excited about the change and those not. We have invested in change management training. asking for input where applicable and making that easy through forums, surveys, etc. . We are informed, but if Management feel it won't impact you, you are not included in the planning. Meetings and notices about up coming changes. Invite staff to participate in discussions regarding upcoming changes. I've worked for State government for over 15 years, but only at L&I for the past 2 years. In that time I haven't seen any significant change occur here. So, I guess I've felt pretty well prepared, considering nothing really seems to change (for better or worse). Provides templates, printed documentation for the changes. There seems to be good information flow about things that are being worked on or that will change. Communication is somewhat better still need more improvement needed. By acknowledging the skills that frontline staff possess and by giving them the necessary authority to recommend change/improvement. When line staff are involved in changes to line staff jobs, staff are engaged. When a decision has already been made and it is communicated as a decision that has already been made rather than a topic for discussion. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 102

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment The pre-announcements are good. Although sometimes the change is unwanted and it does not feel good to not have input into the change. All staff meeting, email or website. Including employees in the decision making and development of change. Easier to accept changes. Improves communication when there are complaints about poor communication. Involving staff in the change process. Letting them to contribute to and shape the changes being made. From what I've seen so far, communication is relatively good. I think the best tool is the intranet site. don't know. Very communicative, we are not usually left out of the loop. test Open communication They don't; Cheri Ward and Vicki Kennedy have always informed in a "after the fact way" and they seem to be OK with this mentality My supervisor does a good job of communicating changes, soliciting feedback and listening to concerns. Clear communication across multiple channels, in a timely manner, ahead of time. Reacting quickly and directly to inquiries regarding change. Preparing tools and resources to deal with and adapt to change. I like the group trainings. Have not experience any preparation prior to change that I can remember. it does not we have way more all staff meetings that are needed to prepare that something new is coming. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 103

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment More times than not, sups receive an indication of a change from their sups which are vague or told don't share with staff yet, then it follow-up is not very timely. There are times that a change is happening and the reason is vague and no information as to how this change came about. Generally L&I includes staff in developing ideas that become changes to work processes. Plenty of advanced notice. Engaging employees with the process Changes regarding L&I as a whole are well-communicated via a emails from Joel. They do not. The Department is living in the dark ages and needs to get up to speed equal to the private sector Discussed in forums and emails Informing staff well in advance and multiple times prior to implementation. We get an abundance of emails about the topic and stories are generally posted on the Intranet. Communication L&I is currently more transparent than historically. However, more transparency is needed. None In my opinion, they do not do a good job. They fall short of preparing staff for changes by not having the information available for all. It is usually a done deal by the time we know it is even happening We don't. Pre announce This too depends on the change. In some cases staff is involved from the beginning but in other cases staff does not hear about the change until it is just about to be implemented or after it has been implemented. In our area, we usually find out after the change has been implemented. Not sure we do a "good" job Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 104

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment They ask for input and explain changes to staff Training. The meetings about the 5 business goals and addressing them in the Director's Broadcasts is super - even offering the desktop view if we can't make it; multiple levels of survey (but don't lock us into only pre-selected choice, offering free-form answers for alternatives); sharing how you are prioritizing things and involving some areas already Try to see any obstacles before they happen. By communicating often and through many ways. we don't It doesn't. L&I does not prepare the staff for changes. The LT just executes the change and the staff has to manage the change. providing meetings/brown bags/all staff meetings. Many LEAN efforts have good intentions and sometimes good results. Preparations are not done well at L&I. Direct task change None no comment Communicating the changes that are taking place. Over the last several years, LNI has increased it's focus on creating customer pull and empowering subject matter experts for problem resolution. This has helped increase change buy-in and preparing staff for change. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 105

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment I love the online courses through LMS. However I don't have any time to take them. My Job duties take all of my time. Some training it be awesome to tell us about the change. Getting the word out about what transformations are forthcoming and emails to all staff about new programs/initiatives. This is an area which needs work. From my perspective, changes often feel cloaked in secrecy until the very last minute. E-mail Can't think of anything Management usually gives us a 24 hour notice of when this agency is going to screw over the Account Manager, yet again. Remind again, when was the last year that a Quarterly Report filing period occurred that did not created additional work for the Account Managers and waste the resources of the People of the State of Washington? Emails and meetings Seems like the right people are notified at the right time. In all staff meetings you allow opportunity for questions. Supervisors often talk about change in meetings. Not at all, My workload and management expectations will not allow time enough to prepare for any changes. Management is out of touch with the expectations they have loaded on the employees. These changes will not help my workload. Training They do not prepare us in Information Services. They tell us when it's done. They seem to warn us that something will be changing a little bit in advance and then try their best to communicate it to the masses. Anytime leaders involve employees in two-way dialogues, such as brown bags or the last forum on hiring and retention, there is a sense the employees views are taken seriously. When the two-way communication causes leaders to pause and reflect and adjust their thinking, then true partnership begins to occur. They try to tell the staff well in advance Communicating the change - but a lot of times it is after the decision has been made. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 106

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment We are not kept in the loop Teaches Change Management classes explaining the importance of having a change management plan that parallels any kind of new initiative. Question is too vague By letting us know what is going on L&I doesn't and is afraid to. When they get input from affected staff, by asking for key information that the staff members have. E-mails Communicating from the top down and bottom up. It is important to keep staff informed of changes to ensure they are prepared when the changes occur, along with being transparent. emails, information gathering, asking for staff opinions and participation on committees. unknown. Been here a month! Try to communicate the changes through all Staffs. Can't think of anything There is no preparation, or repercussions Website Right before roll out there is a lot of communication. the emails and pre-prod access I've been here for two years, if there have been changes I have been unaware of them. My job is extremely busy and its difficult to make time for presentations by Central Office. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 107

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Emails are sent out, explaining the process, and updates are given. Meetings are held. Plans are made. I Cant think of any In the past that has not happened, some times it was done weeks later after things where decided that the populist was advised. for myself and the other people probably do not know what this business transformation is I know that I do not know in fact I am in the dark, it's not that I am ignorant I am not but I still do not know what this about. Involve staff in the collection of business requirements, as opposed to deciding what's best for them without asking if it works for them or not. There usually is information appearing on Inside L&I, the directors broadcast, and in my team my supervisor keeps us well informed. when management has the people that do the work involved in the changes. this is happening more often, but not always. I am unsure as there are things that occur and I have not been made aware of until it impacts my work and I start asking questions. EMT meetings In some areas it does, but in general, there is no mindset preparedness and implementation time, no time for make staff familiar with new process. Training A majority of the times we, get advance notice either through a post on the website or an all staff. I am a very new employee (4 weeks). So far I have felt greatly supported in the position and appreciate all the training and learning opportunities that I have received. no comment Info goes out in many methods. Whether people feel they are involved I think is the issue with changes. I think big things that are divisional or agency wide a good job is done. Depends. We try in most cases to include staff in planning for the change which increases awareness. We try to use roll-out strategies that work best for the work group and cater to that need when time permits. I think L&I does an okay job with communicating the big picture changes. I think the details are missing, the impact, and the amount of added work (some times in research). Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 108

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Involving staff in the changes from inception to implementation; Informing staff about developments that could or will result in changes before the changes actually happen In the past (90's) they were VERY good a preparing us for the transformation to key accounts. Now I don't feel that there is enough time to transform and what has been done in the last 5 years is a NIGHTMARE!!! ECS is the worst! Bring back LINIIS so we have time to get our jobs done!! We have far to many systems. We spend to much time going from system to system. I have to say I have never been so unhappy in all my years working for L & I. Instead of making our jobs easier you are continuing to make the worse!!!! Communication & feedback There sure is a lot of talk about change. DOSH will tell us about a tool they are going to use in the field but once developed we are told it will be expected to be used in a short period of time and there is no field training. And if there is, we have to drive to Tumwater instead of trainers coming up to see us. A poor waste of resources and travel costs. An example is the Injury and Cost Profile. Only Risk Managers know how to explain the whole document and CSHOs know how to use half of it. Why are we using a document when a majority of the users can't explain the entire document? It seems odd. There was no formal training before we were told to use it. This process happens fairly regularly for field staff. Communications through the venues listed above; broadcasts, emails, forums and intranet features. I like the frontline focus and appreciate emails that have examples. Unfortunately I don't think L&I does a good job with this. At least not in the MIPS area. Often times we are just told things spur of the moment, or not at all. Providers/IW's notice these changes and we are left to pick up the pieces. Its very frustrating the lack of communication. It makes you feel like you have no value. I think the Agency is making a much better effort at explaining the "why" on changes and is trying to communicate changes in every way they can figure out to do it. I haven't been here long enough to speak for L&I as a whole. I know in my department, my supervisor does a fantastic job at preparing us for upcoming change. All Staffs are informative Not any that I can think of. I don't feel it does Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 109

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Unit and individual required training. I've only been here a month. This has not been good in the past. Communication has been lacking. It is starting to get better. Educating. none, decisions are made and then changed several times and no guidelines are provided about how to implement the changes, just a general "do it right" Through director's broadcasts and Inside L&I Website. Fair, they keep us informed but some points get dropped or changed and we do not know till it happens. Then it is what happened to that? Generally informed more recently Helping employees to be aware of need & the process of getting those goals done None, In 8 years with the department in 3 positions and 2 divisions, I have seen front line staff struggle repeatedly with illconceived, poorly thought out and inadequately communicated decisions made with little or no input or thought about how it will affect staff actually doing the work. L&I sometimes does a good job of advertising and communicating changes. L&I also sometimes engages staff in the change and impacts to their job. However, most often that is after the fact, reactive rather than proactive. Extensive testing prior to roll-out to make sure the idea actually works instead of training work-arounds. all staff meetings L&I has several resources available to communicate changes, such as the Inside L&I page and mass emails. I feel as though the communication is already occurring at a fairly satisfactory level agency-wide. managers and supervisors have many meeting and make lots of charts to show management what they have talked about Discussions about the changes. L&I does a good job communicating changes to the positions that will be impacted when: 1. Decisions are made far in advance of the change 2. Those decisions are communicated to the managers and supervisors of the impacted divisions. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 110

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways does L&I do a good job in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment The "best" or high visibility areas get a chance to be part of the change. Entry level positions (OA's, Admins, Temps) are forced to cope with the changes. On a high level, L&I does a great job of maintaining communication about approaching change. But that communication often dies out as it filters down to the employee level. We hear a lot about agency-wide changes, but I'd love to see more discussion on a program-level between employees and their supervisors/managers about what those changes mean for us. Leadership team (and management) does a great job announcing, explaining then being available for questions about the transformation project. Experience maybe centralized but last 15 years change has been disappointing and continued downward spiral from LNI's "In as much as possible ensure a safe and healthful work place for every man and woman in the state of Washington" once proud legacy Communicating new information and updates Still waiting to see training with changes that are specific to my department. talking a good talk. but everyone can hear the bullshit that is in the words. stakeholdering, project teams, report outs, In no ways. Most changes are promoted as being great & productive, but when they occur are never as good as promised and when you ask for even the slightest fix or explanation you are looked at as "Not being a team player. " Don't know. When L&I decides a change is important, and makes an actual change management communication plan, as well as a governance structure for implementing it, it goes well. When we don't do that, we under communicate and don't know as much as they could or should. They attempt to keep staff as informed as possible. Never hear about them until it has changed. The higher ups just force it on us. Making it mandatory. Release info about the changes beforehand Dept. offers classes Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 111

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment more in person training Lower-level management needs to make sure that staff is prepared for change and that they can assist staff with changes; it doesn't help employees feel comfortable with change if management is uncomfortable with change as well, especially when it comes to technology. Showing the anticipated changes together and making sure that the changes themselves are coordinated so that L&I staff aren't faced with too much concurrent change. Perhaps control the amount of change impacting workgroups or programs so that it isn't SO frequent that employees have no time to 'settle in' before the next big new change happens. being consistent and following through on promises to keep everyone informed about changes before they happen. More all staff meetings Interactive efforts to inform the field would be most effective. Town Hall meeting formats, conducting listening posts would both be good tools. Actually provide leadership and training and not just meetings Include staff that actually do the work in change initiatives. Classroom training No None keep us informed of the changes being made, how, why, and when. Focus groups with affected staff. Division-level all-staff assemblies. We need to be able to consistently use the Smartboard technology as a way to communicate however it is very problematic and inconsistent. Communicating change (even if they haven't been officially established) sooner. Staff often are upset with changes because they haven't been communicated or stakeholdered until after the fact. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 112

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment no comment Continue talking about it. Provide updates to impacted staff. For instance, while I have heard about Business Transformation, I still have no idea if it will impact me or what the problem is that you are trying to fix. It would be beneficial to ask the effected parties if the change would be a good change or not before implementing. Start communicating earlier in the decision making process more details as they happen I am happy with the way it is. I L&I could improve by caring more about the lower level employees. Imaging works really hard and is underappreciated. The higher supervisors treat the employees poorly with outlandish expectations. e-mail and training be less consistent Let staff know before the customer does. Maybe a staff meeting with immediate manager/supervisor so that questions can get answered right away following the "trustworthy" and "easy" experience guidelines. . . we should receive accurate, timely and actionable information as well has knowing how / having the opportunity to influence the results we are seeking. All aspects Request input on potential outcomes of change BEFORE the change is implemented. provide more employees. It always seems to go back to the fact that we are always understaffed. When work is increased, it makes things more stressful. Provide more notice for the timing of the changes, when possible, of course. Sometimes it feels like it's here before I heard very much about it. Advance notice prior to implementing any changes. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 113

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Be Truthful, No Lies, be upfront and Blunt. Determining the increased workload and giving realistic deadlines for completing the work. Get rid of incompetent program managers such as Kathy Vargas A resource that itemizes the projects the agency is working on and how they are anticipated to impact employees would be nice. I feel they do a good job now put out a finished and complete product, provide complete training with material and reference resources I would say that a lot of the changes we have feel very same old/same old. It also feels like new changes tend to discount all old changes. . . which is frustrating. But I also think that employees need to take responsibility for being aware of changes, that it isn't always something management can/will ask for opinions on, and to just jump onboard instead of whining about it. Less word of mouth, which is wrought with rumor and more direct communications from management. Better Trainers Sometimes the training connected with a work process change is done well before the change actually rolls out and by the time the knowledge is needed, a lot can be forgotten. Provide more support to line supervisors on how to implement changes at their level. keep all business areas informed - not just the claims floor. Keep seeking input from staff/line workers. I don't think the problem is the 'preparation'. In fact, sometimes it feels like there is far too much preparation and no execution. 1. COMMUNICATION 2. GATHERING EVERYONE'S INPUT (Because honestly, upper management doesn't ALWAYS have the best ideas!) They leave the most IMPORTANT people out; us! The actual workers! Continued education Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 114

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment More opportunities for agency wide communication on changes that impact the whole department. It seems that we do a good job at communication program or division specific changes, but not very well when it comes to agency wide changes. insure that affected staff are included in the process We could reinforce with managers and supervisors that information needs to be shared. It's problematic with some in not filtering the information downstream. Also, I think some of the communication concerns are not about the big agency issues, but rather, divisional changes on work process changes. These don't get communicated as precisely or quickly as they should. I think folks forget how big a net we have and exactly how many customers, consumers, stakeholders that need to or appreciate being involved in the conversation about change. By Involving all employees not just the same group of management to do the changes Include all parties that the change will affect. Leadership should be more honest and transparent about current state and future state. Hard to feel like there will be effective change if concerns are not openly acknowledged or addressed by upper levels of management. Effective, detailed training to where the employees feel comfortable and knowledge. Make sure the groups affected are in on decision making. . . not just management but the actual front line staff that is doing the work. Hire managers who know the work not ones from the outside who can "manage" but have NO idea what they are managing. Smaller group meetings so staff will ask questions. Better coverage for vital line staff to be at the meetings. More visibility by executive management. Letting us know a) when we might have an opportunity to share our opinions BEFORE a change is made (like public hearings before rule changes); and b) Explaining in simple, honest, non-jargon terms why the change is being made. Make sure the right people is on the project team. I would like more information coming down from direct Supervisors or Managers in regards to what changes are happening concerning our specific division. I tend not to read giant emails, especially if it doesn't immediately jump out how it relates to my job. DONT KNOW Sometimes paper flyers passed out at the front door of the building they enter is most effective, you get them coming in fresh, and entering work. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 115

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Ask! There is an untapped bevy of experience across this agency, ranging from all sectors, to include government at the local level and in other states. I often see 'favorites' being appointed to represent a program or division as they'll likely speak within the boundaries that manager would want them to speak. This is great for meetings and daily work groups, but projects need healthy discourse, dialogue, and folks from all walks of life -- introverts and extroverts alike. Personally, I am highly excited about the changes occurring in the agency, from growth/development and hiring/retention initiatives to the business transformation. However, as-is often the case with change, I'm highly concerned about the lack of communication that will occur and the folks involved in it will be informed of the changes along the way. It's hard to fully understand how the big muscle movements play a role in our daily lives and the effects that all of the faucets in the system will run faster or slower than other's due to certain programs role and ability to make bigger changes than others. We should all have a chance to participate in BT and the communication should be clear and succinct. ask for and listen to concerns Consider the regions when making decision about changes. More communication in advance explaining how it impacts staff who support our external customers. Include our feedback Better communications; More staff involvement 1. listen to the process experts when they share their concerns. 2. ensure that we pay attention to a project through the very end (i. e. , seeing the results rather the simply seeing the change go into place). 3. Make sure the technology does what it says it's going to do. Have staff be part of the change process. The meetings need to be pertinent to us. not show 25 min of slides that has nothing to do with us. Frequent updates on topics (bi-weekly? ). A direct communication for staff to ask questions, etc. . and ensure they all get answered timely. First explain why the change and how it will affect us as employees. Don't give the "because management has directed this" answer. Specific training at a greater level of detail to make staff more familiar and comfortable with the change before it is implemented. Notify individuals how they are impacted. Opening managers eyes that there is change and yes it will staff below you and Washington State Department of Labor & impact Industries yes they need to know and it matters to them. 116

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment include opinions I HAVE ONLY BEEN HERE 4 DAYS. help people understand the goals and how decisions were made However, the long process of little changes makes it feel like there was not really change, just an adjustment. This leaves some staff, including myself, feel that the concept of change is encouraged by the implementation of change is stagnant. It appears to be selective. Some changes are not communicated to areas as it's not understood well who it will affect We could do more to explain to staff how changes will directly affect them, sometimes changes are made without even fully figuring this out. More brainstorming sessions to get employee input. Be more transparent on what is really happening and why. Keep up the all staffs Start being transparent. That doesn't mean tell us all about the gritty stuff. But really educate us about the change that is happening and not just giving us small tid bits that are so vague and later turn out to have nothing to do with what ever change is happening. I believe at the Supervisory and Staff level information is not consistently communicated, or not in sufficient detail and relevance. Full disclosure Give us more information before the changes and what training will be required. Offer that training well in advance of the changes Not making frequent changes to processes and programs. We are usually well informed about big changes but not always about smaller changes. Changes happening in one section may effect other areas that are never informed of those changes in processes or personnel. Involve staff in determining how to implement change in their work area. prepare our customers even better. We might be fully trained and know what to expect but our customers rarely do, and don't have adequate resources to get the help them need. Leads to frustrated customers contacting staff in various departments for assistance in navigating or learning their new process. That added burden for us to explain a new IT update or new feature is difficult to add to our workload. In general, more could be done to prepare staff for changes - holding supervisors and managers and ADs accountable for the messaging and making sure people are getting what they need when they need it. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 117

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment More articles on the webpage maybe? More information, conversations versus here it is, do it. Sometimes those affected by change are not included in the change process or the communication. Make the changes and inform staff of what they are. No need to drag it out over several months of meetings. Explain things easily and clearly. Give the clear cut version rather than pages and pages of explanation. Give staff more than a couple of days to review the information before going into "production". New initiatives always seem rushed. n/a start earlier in the process, allowing time for absorption, offer different ways of communication of the change to come, offer Q&A if appropriate. possibly offer explanation of why change consider thoughtfully any changes and what is the reason and what will the unrealized consequences be. Training Supervisors adequately on change management and techniques for imparting information clearly and how to prepare employees emotionally. Implement changes in stages. Let staff have input in the decision making process. It's not fair to staff to blindside them with changes. I've seen on many occasions where management thinks they know what's best for the business and implements change without consulting with staff. N/A Quit wasting all of our time and energy talking about changes that never happen or are so far in the future that they are just a dream. Here's a quote I heard from someone in central office, "Thing's are going to get better, just not anytime soon" Just. . . wow. This agency does too much talking and not enough action. The first broadcast was nothing but talking without any discernible plan of action. We, as an agency, do too much talking in meetings and just need to get it done. Everyone I knew that watched the broadcast noticed the same thing. Keeping the web page updated and active. Training and making sure glitches are figured out before rolling out project/ changes. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 118

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Provide more detail to staff on what the changes will entail and explain what has been done to research the impact to the line staff that will have to implement and support the changes. Asking for feedback prior to the change Telling the "why" of the change Communicating a timeline Following up after the change L&I struggles in describing what needs to change in behavioral terms. It seems difficult to express how our lives will change especially how managers need to manage differently to achieve the change. Behavioral specificity of the vision and next steps, as well as lack of training ("okay, you're asking me to change, but I don't know how!") are both pieces that are lacking. I'm not sure how well L&I expresses the "what's in it for me" for employees. If our leaders aren't able to answer that question, should the change even be happening? Communicate details, not just high-level concepts Involve more staff in the changes itself Ensure that staff involved are allowed time at an All-Staff to report out each quarter. . . if uncomfortable have a report out for them. Many times we are informed once and then not again until we are about to implement the changes. More info is better than not enough. Continue the messaging at all levels. Share key milestones; allow for open meetings when ready; etc. . You have a lot of great thinkers in the workforce who may not be able to share. Find ways to engage them (i. e. , surveys, open forums, etc. . ). Ask the regional offices how we do things and take that into consideration instead of just implementing procedures that don't work for us. Including the field when changes are made, if you really want to make a difference, include people that do the work, and not just the managers in Olympia. Letting us know how those changes will impact us, and how to answer questions should they arise Saturate the intranet and let us know that the message is their. change newsletter I don't know, because its impossible to please everyone all the time. What works for some won't work for others. As long as you have different options available it gives more of us a choice that fits our needs and schedule. For one, I have no idea what "Business Transformation Initiative" actually means, besides the business jargon used in the email and pre-survey disclaimer. Recently, DOSH created a new directive (2. 70) that may drastically change our inspection procedure. Field staff were notified by a non-descript email to something that. State may fundamentally change 50 -75% our inspection scopes. I Washington Department of Labor & of. Industries do not think that change was communicated well, despite communication being highlighted in the survey results from earlier this 119

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment We could do better at making sure staff get the training they need prior to actually implementing a change. This is particularly needed for standards, WRDs as well as technical interpretations. Tell me more about how it will impact my job specifically. Regular updates from my supervisor about the progress of the change. Tell me when I can expect the change to be fully implemented (when can I expect the change to be done so I can get back into my routine - even if it's a new one). More cascading through out the organization, having executives, managers supervisors incorporate the change in discussions and explain how it will impact employees current role, and how everyone can be part of implementing change to improve work and the customer service. Where to even begin. Train managers to communicate openly, honestly, respectfully and timely with all staff. Communication. You have no place for actual commentary, so I'm doing it here. I actually know nothing about this except I have learned that when processes are put into place to "improve" things, they tend to layer complexity onto processes OR they streamline them to the point of ineffectiveness. In nearly all cases, the employee situation rarely improves but often devolves, conditions worsen. And ANY time they say "we're putting in a change that will benefit employees, " we all tend to brace ourselves because the minute it's couched that way, we know we're in trouble again. . . Better communication Better way to find information when want to refer to it later. Take the feedback of those who do the job. To many times big decisions come down from managers who have absolutely no idea as to how it would impact the work. When staff are a part of the change it is much easier to deal with. I personally love change but I know that many of my co-workers are resistant. It is frustrating to see the resistance when, had they been involved, they would be able to anticipate the change. By avoiding the usage of business jargon - explain the purpose and planned methods in plain talk. We may take TOO much time in making changes. Have more on hand with people that are having a hard time transitioning. Have the new updates not disrupt regular programming. Giving more lead time before something changes. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 120

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Really listen to staff ideas to include with the changes. Discuss possible future changes so that staff can provide insight as to how it could negatively or positively impact how staff do the job, especially those in the specialty units. Involve line staff more in how to implement the changes more smoothly, especially those in the specialty units. Include field staff prior to making drastic changes. Depends on the change. This question is too general. We have changes that are communicated very poorly when it comes to our local work groups. Large agency changes are communicated better. N/A No comment. More in-depth training Monthly newsletters or summary roll-up of ALL changes regarding claim management. Don't report changes at All Staff meetings and expect everyone to hear it, not everyone goes. I don't trust Ask L&I. Can't find stuff. Miss the manuals - where it was linear and I could find what I needed. In many cases notice of new programs or initiatives are given too far in advance and in too much detail. I would prefer a broad overview or mere mention months before execution and more details or training a week or less from the effective date. Involve more staff in preparations to create change champions, and communicate, communicate. We need a change a leadership in our section, in fact - we don't have leadership in out section, we have a dictatorship. It is a horrible place to work and some employees are bullied, retaliated against and harassed and the privileged employees have carte blanche on their hours, leave and so forth. We need a manager and supervisor who treats us with respect. Give more information sooner. Finding out about a change the day of is a bit late. Also, stick to decisions. LEAN is supposed to be an employee directed project; however, changes have been made at the management level without consulting employees. But if employees want changes - they have to go through a 2 year process of research and information gathering. Needs to be more of a 2 way street. The advance notice mentioned above is sometimes lacking in details. Provide more details early on. Involve subject-matter experts earlier in the process By being more transparent. It's insulting the way we are prepared for changes. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 121

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Send email of change and link to article in Ask L&I that has full details on change. L&I could improve on communication with the timing, level of detail, seeking staff input and building on earlier messages and addressing indirect impact of changes to specific staff. Lay out the facts. inform staff of the change and why it is happening. Give a chance for feedback and input, most times, admin may not know if this is the best, most lean process. Make sure we have the real story about what is happening and how/which staff will be affected. Many times we don't get the whole story from our chain of command we end up being affected by the change. Involve them in the process. You hear all the time how LEAN is supposed to be from the front line up. It doesn't happen that way. Management and executives make decisions that affect jobs they don't/have never done. actually apply lean ideology and not have change manifests come from the top down, but from the front line up. Bring STARS System administrator(s) into the re-org's, because it has a major impact on STARS services. Work with staff directly, prior to implementation to determine the impact to the work, and address any concerns fully before the change occurs. Have someone from various departments come and discuss the changes before they take place and provide proper training once the change takes place. Tell more details Communicating and training. Quit making changes all the time. It obviously has worked for many years before. More specific training Information to employee Not sure- haven't been at LNI during any large changes. quit making changes that increase our workload. Quit adding on more stuff for us to do. Get rid of unnecessary stuff like TAR reporting. Hardly anyone does overtime. If they do then have them to TAR and not the rest of us. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 122

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment More lead time and having a business continuity plan in place for smaller team/unit/division scale changes. Often changes are just made without much warning and employees are left scrambling to sort out how to cover unanticipated gaps. Team meetings where upper management tells us what is going on. I would email the Supervisors the details and have them tell the employees, this way the employees can ask questions that are specific to their work and be able to get a direct answer from the Supervisor that understands their work. Explain the why behind the change. I think that often the changes still occur from the top down rather than utilizing input from the "worker bees" while designing the changes. Then we may or may not be able to give feedback once the plan is in place. I have been here less than a year and don't feel qualified to assess this. Focus on the five goals First, I think most of the changes should come from the frontline staff. Those are the ones that know the job and can improve it. Somehow, the changes still come from the supervisors/managers. Second, after we have the big picture communicated, the details of the change get lost in translation. The communication is broken and staff learn about the change after it is implemented. N/A Make sure the employees are notified and informed. Make sure that their input is reviewed for change. Often times the front line will identify a problem that management would not think of. continue doing what you are doing. 1. After affected staff are informed, tell everyone (including why), especially if RIFs are involved or it could affect messaging to external customers. We care about our coworkers and our externals get confused. 2. Rumor mills/myths run ahead of announcements. Respond to them. . . set the record straight. 3. Make it safe for mid-level managers to share information, drafts, plans before they are final - bring line staff on the journey. In my division it would be making rules and/or timely decisions. As a line worker it is not easy to collect info and have to wait to act until a process has been developed. Typically the process is very long and drawn out due to the "work arounds" that we have figure out due the our own system limitations. I feel uncertain about being able to load actions for my job w/o having all the process actions in place. We are usually changing and updating the process based on issues with our system. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 123

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Advance Notification and Transparency Start involving or notifying staff from the beginning of the idea of change instead of dropping the bomb on them when you are already deep into the process of change. More communication about the change and supporting information. Emails, Inside L&I, see above Training tends to come either during or after changes occur. Most changes appear to be based on agency CYA, not the benefit to the customer. Communication with all staff that could be involved. From what I have heard, there may be managers who dissuade their employees from spending any time reading "Inside L&I" or reading lengthy emails from management. If this is not just hearsay, you could encourage managers to encourage their employees to take time to inform themselves. more direct involvement prior to the changes are made. TRAINING!!!!! E-mails make sure it's clear what business area(s) are affected by the change; provide adequate opportunities to learn/implement the change. more notice Make sure each individual is informed about the coming change. Involve every individual, perhaps by getting them to think how they will be personally affected or encouraging them to provide ideas or get involved. n/a Our field turnover is killing Lni By being more transparent and forthcoming Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 124

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Agency wide messages followed by more frequent meetings with supervisors so that change in the expectations of my particular job is clear. Improve our change management approach and training within the agency about change management. Using the change management approach should inform extended management team of what is going on with business transformation and how we can or should be sharing with staff. Explain the reasoning behind the decision. HQ a lot of the times forget about the regional offices Be honest more transparency. What is driving the "change? " Let staff be a part of the process. Provide consistency (something that we are lacking!) Managers' hiring process it should be review it. Trained managers and upper level supervisors need to have knowledge about topics. More info before the change happens. Involve the majority of staff in "Breakout Groups" or "Work Groups" instead of using the same people over and over again. Maybe have Operations Managers hold a monthly stand up meeting in each unit (5 -10 minutes) to inform staff of changes or new Work Groups or projects that are out there. A lot of this information is on a "Who you know" basis, meaning you hear about things based on who you know, and for someone who comes to work, and not socialize, I find it hard to be kept in the loop. Unsure; some people will never be able to feel prepared for change - it's just the nature of person - its not possible to change these people (unless, they want to be changed). A question not asked that might have been relevant, is: within the course of your work, do you want/care about being prepared for change? L&I needs to train and communicate better. by involving more people / different people on projects and allowing others to be trained in advanced and to give them time to really understand a new system communicate changes/new expectations in advance More direct targeted emails. Bi-weekly at a minimum given the scope and potential impact of the BT initiative. We could always communicate more. Brown bags concerning the changes have been positive. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 125

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment talk with staff personally who are most impacted by the change The changes need to make sense and have an impact. I feel some changes are just for changes sake and not actually a step forward. Stakeholder with the actual worker bees before implementing something. Be informed, be involved & confirmation. I think you are already trying to improve. Sometimes you just can't make everyone happy. Thank you for trying. If notable change has occurred within the past 2 years, there may be much to improve upon, because it has been pretty invisible to me. If anything, the nature of work here seems to be stagnant and a bit stuck in the past. For every attempt to innovate, there seem to be equal and opposite forces intent on maintaining the status quo. I'll be interested in seeing whether real change is coming, or just more inconsequential buzzwords. Clearly state intentions and benefits from the changes being discussed. More communication, maybe whole intranet websites about the different changes. Better communication still needed. By making sure diverse and representative frontline staff from across the agency are participating Do not ask for staff input about a decision that has already been made, but do ask staff for input about the process. Mitigate increased work load where possible. Better communication at the beginning of thought for change. A clear understanding of why change is needed helps with getting on board with the change. If I understand why things are changing I am better prepared to make the change, or better yet, help facilitate the change. More staff input. One on one with each region. May even need per department. Checking to see if changes are effective. We do a good job of developing a process and problem solving, but checking on changes has been lacking. Earlier and more frequent communication. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 126

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Do more of 16. And make sure staff have time to participate. Make sure that it is explained well, including the "why. " Work out an effective way to allow questions to be answered, concerns addressed. the more information the better. Start communicating earlier, the earlier everyone is told that a change is coming, the better off everyone will be. Ask what staff thinks before the change is made test As an agency (not HR), other areas could adapt to a younger work force perspectives. Quit being so secret squirrel. Allow enough time, resources, training, etc. . to take place before the change takes place. All of the effected business areas need to be a part of the initial discussions (the people actually doing the work) so that proper resources/challenges are addressed before the change occurs. There also needs to be period check-ins with these people to double check the status of these changes. Continue to keep everyone on the "same page" by providing consistent messaging. I feel that because we are in a different building and had different processes, sometimes Self-Insurance is left out or the training doesn't quite fit. It does feel like this is starting to change. Involve staff at all levels, Map out process change, identify area where employee are likely to be affected, include them in the change, help them adapt to the change. Develop a change communication system. Communicate the vision and plan convincingly throughout the agency. A system that is built into everything from performance management system to intranet messages. Provide supervisor/manager/staff with support they need to make and implement the change. Hold managers/supervisors accountable. Define success at the onset and the metrics to be used for assessment - Don't just measure to measure - Make sure what you are measuring is well thought out and meaningful. Truly making the people who perform the work involved in the process and feel that they are listened to. Have seen lots of lip service at this agency but very little follow through. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 127

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment many ways commonly used by private work comp insurance carriers less meeting and more interactive video training Transparency and what provoked a change, what was done to come up with a solution, and that all parties are represented to have input about a change. People are being less transparent these days. Once decisions are made, it is difficult to communicate the changes throughout the organization. We often don't prepare the culture/ micro-cultures well to adjust to the additional stress changes bring. Seriously taking feedbacks from employees into consideration Discussing changes during divisional or team meetings would provide opportunities for questions and feedback. Keep them informed, COMMUNICATE!! Ask the people doing the job their opinion. They are the ones doing it! Not just dreaming up ideas to make the supervisor look good, while the grunts have to figure out how to do their bidding. Talk about it. Be more definitive about the details of the change that is being implemented. A lot of times I hear "we are thinking of going this direction". Then not hearing which direction was chosen until it has been implemented. I would like to have more time, if necessary to prepare for the change. I often feel like we hear nothing and then something is thrust upon us with an overkill of info to digest shortly before a change, or even after the change has already taken place. My supervisor is great about getting us info, but many are not and are not held accountable for not providing adequate information or training, making it difficult for different regions to be on the same page and work collaboratively. Communication and follow up Being more transparent. Allowing staff time to prepare, answering questions and being honest. Maybe the business transformation initiative work could be introduced in the new employee orientation. Include staff in the process and actually listen to all employees, not just those in the head office. Better communication. . . more transparency. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 128

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Managers and supervisors choose what information they want to pass along. Sometimes staff never get the info they are supposed to get. Executive Management should inform all staff not just management. Most of the time nothing is told to the line staff that performs the work IT enhancement roll-outs - seems like nothing is ever piloted or tested and then it breaks when our customers try to use it. Bring us in to the conversation at the beginning so that we can participate in the changes rather than having the changes crammed down our throat. Inform staff sooner Provide details sooner Nothing I could think of at this point. Not sure if there are enough resources to do it, but actually coming to each business area and *talking* to us - as a group and individually. Then you can get more dialog with brainstorming possibilities, and hopefully prioritize understanding the pain levels and negative impacts you may not know about? do a trial run of a program instead of force feeding that system is mandated. Many of the business transformation discussions and informational materials assume a much greater level of knowledge than most staff have. Communication about this topic should be more basic and use less jargon. Too much insider jargon makes it hard to follow and makes staff nervous. More managers on board to get everyone excited because if they are not then you wont be. Remember that staff have not been involved in the hands on work, so speak to us as if they are talking with a person who knows nothing about this topic. prepare staff for the change before the change occurs Having the ability to join one of these teams. The 1 st time it was mentioned I volunteered and was told they had their team. By allowing staff to stakeholder in the change processes. The LT consistently makes changes for the sake of change and takes no time to understand why change is needed. Give them plenty of time to adjust. If LEAN is our chosen tool for change it needs to be more than "lip service". Scope is too big, too many supervisors & managers influence the proceedings. Metrics are not created or are ignored. The Department concept of continuous improvement is usually ignored Washington State of Labor & Industries 129

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Involve end users in the development process beforehand. Start making changes that make sense and communicate them effectively to all parties involved. Maybe ask the people who actually do the work if you're on the right track. Changes continue to be made from people that don't understand the work or have never actually done the work. The Business Transformation work much like the Lean Transformation Office is quickly becoming a negative area that people don't want to have anything to do with. Change is hard for many. When change doesn't make sense or you can't see any added value in it people aren't going to support it. Too many changes are being made without communicating why it's happening. More strategic with linkage to the position. . . Prepare managers to take a change initiative and break it down with a "so that" statement linking and engaging staff in the change. Everything Keeping everybody informed Earlier communication about proposed and expected changes that are in the future. It is essential to create a continuous learning environment. This entails making it okay to make mistakes and to encourage employee development. Leaders in LNI need more training (followed with expectations) in how to create this environment. Overall, staff need to understand the "why" for the change, have the training/development necessary to adapt to the change, and they need to be involved. LNI needs to be more consistent in it's change management methodology and work toward creating a continuous learning environment. information about what changes are coming. Giving adequate time to prepare if the changes will effect my job position. Hiring well versed on the topics instructors Lots of change currently going on. Need to be mindful to prepare staff at the right time, don't go into too much detail too early, but not the day before change happens either. Change should be communicated to all it applies to at the same time. Indicate HOW the change will affect each division (e. g. claims/insurance services clam managers) Be more transparent. Improve communication. L&I doesn't provide enough time for its employees to do what needs to be done Meetings Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 130

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Provide data showing current status. Provide data showing expected results. Get input from the ones doing the work. Provide clear direction and training on process. When Management hires idiots who never did the job that the line staff perform, that should be a pretty good warning to prepare the line staff that their jobs and life are going to get worse! Just a simple in-service on changes would work. My div. isn't allowed to go to meetings Get us more money. involve front line staff more. Tell us ahead of time. Listen to us when we tell you its a bad idea and not just side step our thoughts when we are the ones doing to the work, not you. Workload and management expectations does not allow extra time for preparing for changes. Hands on training. Make sure everyone gets the same info. Things brought down the chain from A. D. s downward, you either don't get all the info or Sr. management skews the info they provide to staff Involve staff in the change process planning stages. There are some brilliant people in L&I but management refuses to include staff in decisions and especially changes. We are often even told to keep things a secret when there is no reason to do so. Too long of trainings. Break it up. Get more divisions trained in Lean, so leaders know how to make changes in partnership with their managers, supervisors, and front line employees. It seems like L&I leaders who have learned Lean, have discovered good improvement ideas by using team problem solving and value stream mapping. Why are some leaders doing this while others are not? I personally have seen great work done by leaders and their teams in 5 -day value stream mapping events. Employees really support the changes, because they were involved in making them. It's a partnership with two-way dialogue. Tell them closer to when it will actually happen so it is relevant explain the change and give training and examples. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 131

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment We need to be thoughtful about impacts to others down the line. Often changes have been made in one program without thinking about the impact to internal customers down the line. This initiative has provided good information so far, so hopefully this continues. Quit targeting communications to specific groups and assuming it will spread vertically and horizontally throughout the agency. Question is too vague good to go on this one Change the current culture to one that is expecting change in a positive way. L&I (and Government) is great at adding "change". But terrible at follow through and removing change. Fix that and you will fix the culture that is resistant to change. Have a good understanding of how the changes will likely be received, and work to mitigate perceived problems. training with computer support that works before needed Keeping staff informed of the change and how they will be impacted (from start to finish). Staff become fearful of the unknown, so it is important to let them know step by step how things are going as you get closer to launching the changes. Have supervisors ask staff if they are aware of and understand the upcoming changes. If something really big is changing have multiple reminders. If changes are announced on the intranet, have them stand out more or have a running list of changes (like the lists run on for people stories, so you have one place to go to look for the info or links to the info if you missed it. ) So many ways! 1) Solicit our ideas first 2) Stop making changes before asking us how it will affect us and our customers 3) Keep us informed of projects and progress. [Sorry, worked over--have to stop now!] Implement the LEAN process allow those closest to the work establish LEAN procedures. Have decision makers implement the LEAN process. More in person meetings, provide staff training at the local level, before the changes occur. N/A Make sure changes are communicated well before roll out. Changes, usually to technology, are often followed by unintended system errors. This makes staff apprehensive about tech changes. After a consistent history of smooth tech rollouts staff will start to have confidence in the stability of these changes. continue training for all in fields Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 132

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment I would like in required meetings. Allow affected parties to have a say in the process and provide input. People are more likely to support a program when they have been a part of creating the program. Even if it is a small part. Write down the vision, Share the vision, Ask for feedback on the vision. Don't forget the real customer should be the public. When we have talked about using lean principles, I have never seen or heard anyone mention asking the customers we serve to get involved on making our service to them better. To much top down thinking. I believe that you have a long way to go Involve people who WANT to participate in the process--people who are enthusiastic about it will make a positive impact, and be able to evangelize the change--infecting those around them with excitement, and dispelling fear and uncertainty. Consider involving Capstone alumni. Capstoners typically are more heavily vested in L&I's success--and they actively want to see positive forward thinking progression. Make senior and mid-managers accountable for preparing their staff. Keep them around longer I think where there is a mess sometimes is connecting to how the change will impact people at the staff level. And describing what is in it for the people at the staff level for the benefits of any change. ask the people that do the work, have them involved in the changes. this is happening more often, but not always. all projects and changes should be the responsibility of the supervisor to relay to their workers that way we can ask questions and it can be in a smaller setting More 1: 1 time with supervisors and managers Include those staff who are affected at all levels -- stop making arbitrary decisions based upon what you THINK is appropriate based upon a limited input pool. We do the job and most individuals have the agency's best interest in mind. Have change training and communicate, but let people practice before it's "live" dates, staff will feel more confident if they know they can practice a lot before they are expected to use new change. Anticipate and prepare together. Ensure computer systems are ready to take the legislative changes before their past. Train employees better when changes are made, update resources faster when changes are made, and prepare front line staff. . . Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 133

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Pro-active communication, stream lined training, q & a sessions, etc. . Try discussing with staff BEFORE you make changes. You want to improve customer focus/service. And increase employee retention, and increase business using transformational plans over the next 10 years. . . You MUST include many more L&I staff to help move these initiatives. Or once again you will just be trickling out info, and not have the 'connection/communication/full buy-in' with the folks we value. ASK WHO wants to be involved. Not just take recommendations from divisional supervisors/managers. You are missing some valuable people. More divisional meetings or assistant director to individual sections/work groups. If (AD) isn't available then ***** (next level of management) could hold a meeting. I think it should be higher than your Program Manager. Things get lost in translation, they don't have the answer to a question etc. . We need to have more opportunities to meet with those positions. Listen to the workers, they know where the flaws may be. Provide adequate lead time so the change is well planned. See #16. Also, Work In Progress (WIP) updates on projects and programs that could result in changes. Make sure the changes are for the BETTER and give more time for training and adjustments. Seems to be a lot of lip service and non-answers. A robust intranet page similar to Results L&I. Honest communication instead of false happy comments would be appreciated. I think there should be a central place that all updates are housed. . it is increasingly difficult to manage the storage and retention of all of these updates. we used to have tasks and olrs to rely on. Communicate. It would help if we were told at the minimum that there were changes coming regarding a specific process. It would be leaps and bounds for our area if we were able to be consulted in these areas. The management gets told specific things, and they don't even know what we do so how can they speak on our behalf? And yes, the manager of ***** has said "I don't know what you do" verbatim I know from experience that no matter how many emails, meetings, or all staffs there are, there always going to be people who don't think they've received adequate notice or instructions. I appreciate the efforts being made to keep employees informed and request input from the staff. Washington of that Labor &other Industries get a rep from ALL the stakeholders to make changes, not just a State program. Department making changes affect work groups 134

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Be more transparent about the issues at hand. I think the hiring/retention meeting is a good example of what needs to happen at that level and on a smaller scale (within each department, team) If the change initiative directly effects us, make sure time lines and effects are explained in team meetings. If it doesn't effect us, don't bombard us with extraneous information. INVOLVE THEM IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS!!! 1 st explain the need, 2 nd explain how you arrive at the way the change is to be made, 3 rd phase it in a part at a time if possible Contractors department doesn't inform us of changes, we have to call them and find out when a change occurs. This not only leaves us frustrated and shocked, but also directly affects the customers! There is constant change, and no one is informing us of these changes! We need more communication from Contractors Department. Understand that staff have to read through a lot of "noise. " Marketing the transformation will need to rise above so that individuals understand that this is an important subject that will affect their future with The Department. I've only been here a month. Work on clearly communicating what is going to be changing and how it is going to affect the different levels of staff. In practicing the changes. need to be transparent with your employees. Talk about it sooner, give an opportunity to hear feedback/suggestions and take those messages forward into the implementation process. have a coherent idea about how to implement Make sure everyone is involved from the beginning. be crystal clear about why and what they expect to do and how it will effect those that it does. Allow time to read, view or attend broadcasts. We are 'allowed', but have work that requires our attention. Internal education, discussion of changes, & date of change Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 135

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment Get front line staff input PRIOR TO making decisions. Hire people who are adaptable (many 'Legacy' employees still want to go back to the way things were done in the 90 s) I have seen little beyond limited communication and I OFTEN hear the 'dreaded I did not know about that' from staff and peers. Sometimes there is truth to staff not knowing, sometimes not. Engaging staff, communication until there is no way to ignore the change, adopting LEAN principles to work with staff from the ground up to ensure they understand the change AND the impact to their role. There also needs to be meaningful accountability to ensure that STAFF PREPARE and ARE PREPARED for change with REAL consequence if they do not adapt. Being from the private sector for over half of my 35+ year career, we have a job to do and having this job is not an entitlement. There are options we could employ to engage and train but if staff doesn't positively engage then find those that will. By making the changes useful, meaningful, and pointed at the problems that matter to staff rather than cherry-picked will-o-thewisps. . . : ) Give as much notice as possible-changes are much easier to accept when given time to process the whats/whys of it all. Explaining the reasons for change in language that is understood by everyone. (Not just "Management Lingo") ask staff what changes are needed. They could make sure that the changes work before rolling them out to staff. They could make sure that it is something that we are going to stick with instead of rolling it out and training staff and then only using it for a short amount of time. When this happens, it is a waste of time for staff. L&I should listen to the employees say and make an assessment if changes are needed. Waste of time, energy and money might be eliminated. The department could do a better job ensuring that changes are made incrementally over time. Often, within L&I, changes involve a complete overhaul of existing systems (or a sudden paradigm shift in our approach to process improvement). These are then overhauled, a few years later, when the department is forced to suddenly update their system's again. Rather than reengineering every few/several years. We need to spend more time and resources into implementing flexible solutions that can be adapted and extended over time (when newer technologies and paradigms demand those adjustments). Stop telling employees that management is being "transparent" because more times than not, questions, concerns, and suggestions are not being addressed with full transparent disclosure. Utilizing the talent they have at their fingertips. In my opinion most changes are to overthought. Educate down the line! The more ADs, managers, and supervisors can know and communicate with staff, the better prepared we'll be. I know there are details that not everyone needs to know, but. State there is. Department often key information that is communicated to staff. Washington of Labor & not Industries 136

Appendix D Survey Comments Q: In what ways could L&I improve in preparing staff for changes? All responses are included and are unedited (except name deletions. ) Comment I am a big fan of info-graphics to diagram change or relationships. Ex: during the recent hiring & retention forum, this type of image could have been used to "Plain Talk explain" the inter-relations of the budget, salary & HR, etc. . I understood what Joel shared; but, I bet there are many staff who don't know what legislative session/fiscal note/budgeting is let alone rule making (because they haven't worked with it). The BT Infographic could cover the contract deliverables at a high level? Why not share the contract? That would be really transparent! (pretty sure it's a public document. . . ) There's a lot of really smart people here who could understand it. The contract is very well done, in my opinion. Thank you for the survey opportunity. Stop deceptions and denial of the changes real purpose Having better communication between all staff that will be affected by such changes. I believe all changes that will be implemented should be discussed by the supervisor to the employee not hearsay from other employees. Better and more frequent communication. When Employees know what's happening via multi-facets of communicating the less frustrating as a whole. communication be honest about and actually follow through. we don't believe anything you say. prove it. Good initial messaging at the change conception stage. How about actually spending money on systems that work and not handing us half done stuff. I'm tired of getting new products that don't work and then being expected to use lots of "workarounds". In my opinion, it's not that the staff isn't being prepared, we're being sold a bill of goods that doesn't live up to the expectations that we are built up to expect. Then, when we're not happy about what we're given, it's somehow our fault. Provide information about changes in detail via email first and then have discussions in the respective unit along with supervisor Plan for and be structured and deliberate in developing and delivering the change message and communication plan. Continue to keep the open line of communication. As us if the change is something that will help or is it just something to make them up above look better. Further advance notices and details about how WE will be involved, or impacted. Where can we help be proactive instead of reactive. Allow more time to learn new computer applications. More outreach and communication. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 137

Appendix E Insurance Services: Additional Breakdown by Program Baseline Commitment and Understanding by Program Yellow area designates overall Insurance Services baseline range. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 138

Appendix E Insurance Services: Additional Breakdown by Program Baseline Commitment and Understanding by Program Yellow area designates overall Insurance Services baseline range. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 139

Appendix E Insurance Services: Additional Breakdown by Program Baseline Commitment and Understanding by Program Yellow area designates overall Insurance Services baseline range. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 140

Appendix E Insurance Services: Additional Breakdown by Program Baseline Commitment and Understanding by Program Yellow area designates overall Insurance Services baseline range. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 141

Appendix E Insurance Services: Additional Breakdown by Program Preferred Communication Methods by Program Top three methods for each program highlighted in green Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 142

Appendix E Insurance Services: Additional Breakdown by Program Change Feelings by Program Most frequently cited three feelings for each program highlighted in green Washington State Department of Labor & Industries 143