Communication at the DDSC

Communication at the DDSC
Introduction
Organizations steeped in a culture of hierarchical tradition have a great deal of difficulty dealing with change. That difficulty seems to multiply at government organizations such as the Defense Data Services Center (DDSC). The DDSC is located at the Kelloggville Federal Center in Battle Creek, MI. I work as a supervisor in the New Item Introduction Directorate, Ground Support Branch known as DDSC-KLD. The DDSC mission statement as of (2007) states our mission is; “To provide interoperable, integrated, quality logistics data and enterprise IT solutions for joint warfighters, the Military Services, the Defense Department, other Federal agencies and International partners in order to optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of the DOD (Department of Defense) supply chain.” (The DDSC web site uses “warfighters” as a word, quoted above.) In DDSC-KLD our focus is on the proper codification of new items into the Federal Catalog System. One of my primary responsibilities as a supervisor is to effectively communicate the organization’s goals and mission to the DDSC workforce. The challenge of getting the message across clearly and effectively is daunting and has proven to be quite a challenge over the past few years. What makes it so challenging? Government regulations and downsizing requirements, known as A-76 have forced many government agencies into a competition with private industry over jobs in their organizations that are not defined as inherently governmental. It is this atmosphere that has prompted the formation of several committees as well as three reorganizations in the past six years. A major player in the turmoil is information technology software that is used by DDSC technicians to accomplish their work.
History
The DDSC is no stranger to information technologies and innovation. However, the government isn’t as known for initiating innovation as it is for adopting it after private industry has used it for years. The DDSC is still coming of age in its use of communication tools. The DDSC utilizes the old traditional methods of business communication; such as paper memos, business letters, as well as the telephone, video tele-conferencing, live meetings, email, internet web site, and an intranet site. Yet communicating and implementing change at DDSC is extremely difficult. One reason might be the strong resistance to change emulated by a very mature workforce. The average age of the DDSC workforce is nearly 50 years of age. As of 2009 approximately 52 percent of the DDSC is eligible to retire. In an effort to stay relevant in changing technological times the DDSC has implemented three major reorganizations in the past seven years. DDSC management has used every method of business communication available to them to keep the workforce informed regarding the changes affecting the organization. Management’s efforts have met with mixed results. Their first step was to get the pulse of the organization by implementing a climate, culture survey. In the summer of 2003 a private firm was called in to develop a survey that DDSC employees and managers would complete anonymously. Once completed the private firm would compile the data and evaluate it. After the evaluation the private firm completed a series of charts and a report to present to DDSC management. The report was presented to DDSC management in the fall of 2003. It is at this point that an interpretation of the report was provided by Upper Management to the lower levels of management and the workforce in general. Upper Management indicated that the survey indicated that there was a general distrust of management and that First-line Supervisors in particular did a poor job of communicating with the workforce. However, the workforce indicated that it was Upper Management that they had the problem with and that the workforce believed they were only allowing First-line Supervisors to share small segments of information and keeping the rest of the data secret. Obviously there is a communication issue at DDSC. In an effort to clarify the findings of the climate, culture survey DDSC Upper Management used Microsoft Outlook technology to organize a series of meetings with Middle Management and First-line Supervisors. Once the series of meetings concluded, First Line Supervisors were instructed to inform their employees of the survey’s findings during their weekly staff meetings. What happened next reminded me of an old children’s game. The one where several children sit in a circle and one child starts off by whispering something in the ear of the child next to him or her. Then that “something” is whispered around the room until it reaches the child that originated the message. Of course, the message changes as it goes from child to child and the originator is left wondering how their message could get so messed up. Even though all of the First-line Supervisors were presented the same message not every employee heard the same message. Rumors abounded. One rumor had private industry taking over DDSC workload; another rumor had the DDSC moving to another state. First-line Supervisors that didn’t necessarily agree with Upper Management’s plan simply preempted their meeting message with phrases like “this isn’t my idea” or “I don’t agree with this, but”. Employees voiced their frustration by using the DDSC Intranet ‘Ask the Director’ link and posting pointed questions about the upcoming organizational changes. After many more meetings, telephone calls, emails, and ‘Ask the Director’ postings the turmoil calmed down. Upper Management used email to inform the DDSC workforce that a special “All Hands” meeting would be scheduled to provide information regarding the organization’s future. When the day came the DDSC Director provided a power point briefing outlining the climate, culture survey results and the changes the organization would be undertaking in the next few months. Upper Management followed the “All Hands” meeting with special divisional and sectional meetings as well as a link in the DDSC intranet sent via email. The link was designed to provide a question and answer forum for employees and management. Everyone received the exact same message, but the fallout of the announcement would be received with mixed results. Many employees, tired of change and distrusting of Upper Management, simply retired. Other employees, transferred to different jobs within the organization. Some employees sought work in neighboring organizations; while most employees swallowed hard and went along with the changes. Divisions were rearranged to better compete for the proposed downsizing initiative started by the President of the United States. Some of the changes implemented directly affected the way individuals in the organization interacted with external DDSC customers. Managers were transferred to different areas within the organization. It was only the beginning of what has been a chaotic six years. In 2006 a second climate, culture survey was taken. The same organization that prepared and analyzed the 2003 effort was called in to undertake the second survey. Having learned from the results of the first survey Upper Management provided pre-survey guidance utilizing directorate and staff meetings as well as email to communicate the meaning and purpose behind the survey. The employees responded by providing answers to the survey based on their own interpretation of the questions provided. The private firm collected the results and evaluated the data as before. Again, the results were presented to Upper Management for review. The results showed improvement in many areas, including communication tools. However, some of the employees still viewed Upper Management with suspicion. Some even felt that Upper Management had something to hide, while other employees simply refused to believe what they were being told altogether by Upper Management. These suspicious employees appeared to represent a minority of the work force, but their prolific use of the corporate rumor mill proved to be a thorn in the side of management as a whole. It is in this atmosphere that I became a supervisor in February of 2009. Up to this point I only knew what my first line supervisor shared with me. Little did I realize that many employees don’t have a full view of the big picture facing DDSC management. The biggest issue facing DDSC management is how to posture the organization to survive regular threats to its existence such as A-76 and Base Reutilization and Closing (BRAC) efforts. To this point in its history DDSC has not had any difficulty overcoming either threat. Most recently DDSC initiated a managed reduction in force which met the criteria set by headquarters to successfully defeat an A-76 challenge. Another issue facing DDSC management is that by 2010 62% of the DDSC workforce will be eligible for retirement. Currently DDSC’s Cataloging Directorate has 152 employees. In 1997 DDSC’s Cataloging Directorate had over 900 employees. Technology has played a major role in allowing the organization to maintain its level of work load production over the years while reducing its force by almost 750 employees. However, management has acknowledged that the organization cannot maintain that level of production if the 62% eligible to retire actually follow through and retire. DDSC management have held numerous “all hands” meetings, division meetings, branch meetings, sent hundreds of emails to the workforce, and posted ask the director questions and answers on the DDSC website in an effort to inform and communicate with the workforce. In talking with many of my former co-workers, many near retirement are suspicious of management’s plans. Production has dropped, partially due to systems problems and partially due to morale problems. Finding solutions to the communication challenges facing DDSC seems overwhelming at times.
Challenges and Conclusions
The challenges facing DDSC are not unique to DDSC. Other government organizations throughout the nation face similar situations. The questions are many. How does an organization steeped in a rigid culture change that culture so it can adapt to ever changing customer needs? Despite managements efforts and wide use of communication tools some employees continue to resist any effort to change DDSC’s culture. How can DDSC diminish resistance to change? With so many employees eligible to retire in the next few years, how can DDSC ensure knowledge sharing between employees so customer support is not negatively impacted as employees retire?
DDSC management must continue to use all the business communication tools that are available in its tool belt. Consistency in the message as it is delivered via meetings of all sizes, emails, employee bulletins and conversations will by key to clarifying the organization’s vision for the future of the organization. One tool DDSC management seems to have overlooked until recently; employee involvement. Until recently very few employees were given the opportunity to contribute to the decision making process. DDSC has recently implemented Lean Six Sigma process improvement teams and Pilot Projects directed at answering some of the questions in the paragraph above. Time will tell if we are successful.
What suggestions might you have that could help DDSC overcome its communication challenges?