Oregon Employment Division - Tough Times

The Oregon Employment Division, which includes both the State Unemployment and Employment Services, became a war zone of office politics, bullying and mistrust in recent months, actually it was dragging on for many years.  Hardly a positive place to go to work every day.

Things climaxed with an audit of work conditions conducted by managers from other state agencies that documented a completely dysfunctional organization, and led to resignation or firing of all the top executives of the agency.  It's hard for me to imagine how the people working there managed to get through the day in such a poisonous atmosphere.

IT projects without accurate requirements led to $30 million spent on software projects that never worked.  Unqualified leadership appointed through nepotism, secretive management turf-wars with endless finger-pointing, people appointed to projects with no regard to their skills matching the nature of their work, lack of training, and the list goes on endlessly.  It was painful for me to even read the audit report, I've been through the same painful dysfunctional environments and I know what a draining experience that is.

The Employment Department's tech division drew much of the attention. The assessment team pored through contracts, reports, meeting minutes and work orders.
Managers told interviewers they felt as though they had a target on their back. Rank-and-file workers were plugged into roles that didn't match their skills, and there was little training to bring them up to speed.
The low morale contributed to heavy turnover, the report said. Both are especially risky within a technology section because it could hinder the agency's ability to serve the public should the system collapse. The agency's computers handle millions of dollars worth of unemployment checks each year.
Fuller said agency heads would meet next week to discuss the report. The governor has tapped veteran bureaucrat Greg Malkasian to lead the effort.

Government doesn't have a monopoly on waste, the same thing happens in large organizations all over the landscape in Corporate America too.  They need to put in cool-headed collaborative crisis managers to get the people working there feeling good about going to work again.  Good luck Greg.