This document summarizes Lorraine Salloum's presentation on the cultural transformation efforts at the NSW Workers Compensation Commission. The Commission implemented a bottom-up cultural transformation strategy involving staff surveys, defining a cultural agenda, and establishing change champion groups. Key initiatives included a positive culture program, leadership development, and integrating cultural goals into performance management. Initial results showed improvements in staff understanding of values and opportunities. Lessons learned included the time required for bottom-up change and balancing top-down and bottom-up approaches.

1. AITD National Conference
April 13, 2011
Lorraine Salloum
Manager, Organisational Performance
NSW Workers Compensation Commission

2. “Significant change only occurs
when it is driven from the topic”

3. Agenda
 Setting the context - NSW Workers Compensation Commission
 The Cultural Agenda
 Developing the Cultural Transformation Strategy
 Key initiatives




Positive Culture Program
Leadership Strategy
Review, Recognition & Development
Systems
 Results so far & lessons learned

4. NSW Workers Compensation
Commission
 Statutory Tribunal established in 2002
 Major organisation restructures 2004
 Dec 2007 Announcement of comprehensive review (Bendelta Review)
Purpose Access opportunities for improvement to better position the
Commission to meet user expectations
Key Message ‘Move from being good to better’
Scope
 Dispute Resolution Model
 Case Management Practices
 Corporate Services, Support and Governance
 Resourcing

5. Performance Improvement
Initiatives
 Revised internal Structure – implemented Oct 2009
 People strategies (Teamwork, Performance Management, Reward
and Recognition)
 Review of Arbitrator Engagement – implemented June 2010
 Introduction of Professional Development Framework for
Arbitrators and Approved Medical Specialists
 Key Performance Indicators Framework – output and outcome
focused, internal / external

6. Personal Accountability
Taking responsibility for own actions and focusing on what
actions can be taken at an individual level to improve
performance of the organisation
WCC had signs that personal accountability was an
organisational issue:
 Blame
 Victim thinking
 Procrastination
 Creativity Problems
Conflicts with existing values and objectives

7. Personal Accountability
Initiatives focused on increasing personal accountability for
the Commission’s culture and performance
If an individual embraces personal accountability they will
be focused on what they can control and what they can do
to change culture for the better
 What can I do to best adapt to change?
 How can I help the organisation change for the better?
 What can I do to better communicate with those around
me?

8. Translating personal accountability to
the cultural agenda
Cultural agenda = desired culture
Personal accountability is about taking action to improve the situation
 Identifying ways to take action
 Avoiding blame
 Eliminating victim thinking
 Stopping procrastination
Without personal accountability individuals waste time, lower levels of
morale and performance
Doesn’t matter what the desired culture is – personal accountability is
important.

9. Setting the foundations..
CLARIFY
• Undertake Staff Survey & Cultural Audit (include
Climate Survey)
• Develop and document Cultural Agenda
SUPPORT
• Form Organisational Performance Steering Group
• Develop People, Performance and Culture Statement
2009 -2011
• Set People Performance Indicators
MEASURE
• Develop Cultural Transformation Evaluation
Framework

10. Cultural Audit - Staff
 Cultural Climate Survey
 Small group sessions
 How would you describe the Commission’s culture?
 What would you like the Commission’s culture to be?
 Individual Interviews

11. Cultural Agenda
“A high performance culture that collaborates within and
across teams”
Themes* Leadership, Teams, Empowerment,
Communication, Performance Management
Blame = individual accountability – organisation/mgrs
* Common between managers and staff

12. Measurement
 Simple, minimal cost
 Survey using Commitment – Apathy Scale (managers)
 Cultural Climate Survey (Staff)
 Cultural Transformation Evaluation Framework

13. The Baseline Surveys
Staff cultural climate survey - 8 question survey focusing on
motivation, engagement, teamwork and values
Managers Apathy-Commitment scale – asked to plot on a
apathy – commitment scale where they believed the level
of commitment of staff to behaviors demonstrating
1. Performance Culture
2. Collaboration within and across teams

14. Manager Apathy-Commitment
Scale
Apathy
Non
compliance
Malicious
compliance
Grudging
compliance
Formal
compliance
Geniune
compliance
Enrolment
Commitment
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

15. Communicating the Cultural
Agenda
 Importance of communication from Senior
Management
 Visible commitment to personal and organisational
change
 Recognition staff had set the cultural agenda
 All WCC people strategies link back to the cultural
agenda

16. Cultural Transformation Strategy
 Aim to increase employee commitment to a number
of desired behaviours ‘Cultural Agenda’
 Plan of initiatives and activities to move the
organisation from actual culture to desired culture.

17. INDIVIDUALS
LEADERSHIP
CULTURAL
TRANSFORMATION
TEAMS
SYSTEMS

18. INDIVIDUALS
TEAMS
LEADERSHIP
SYSTEMS
How individuals impact
on Culture
How teams impact on
Culture
How leadership impacts
on Culture
How systems impact on
Culture
Clarify
Clarify
Clarify
Clarify
•Awareness
•DISC Profiles
•Positive Culture Guide
•Expectations
•People Performance Indicators
•Individual Performance Interviews
•Business Planning
•Internal Communication Matrix
•Collection of Positive Stories
•Leadership Charter
•Leadership Development
Framework
•Positions and Organisational
Structure
•Performance Management
•Rewards and Recognition
•Professional Development Policy
•Learning and Development Budget
Support
•Dealing with Change workshops
•Form Change Champions Group
•Individual Development Plan's
•Development Opportunities
•Introduce Talent Pool Program
•Measure
• Staff Survey
•Cultural Climate Audit
•Support
•Collaborative Problem Solving
(Action learning activities )
•Team Building Support tools
•Cross-Unit Project Teams
•Facilitate cross team
communications
•Social Club and across
organisation activities
•Measure
•PIs
•Staff Survey
•Cultural Climate Audit
•Support
•Leading Change workshop
•Leadership Development Program
including mentoring and coaching
•Leadership Team Action Learning
activities
•Leadership / Facilitation Support
tools
•Measure
•PI’s
•Staff survey results
•Cultural Climate Audit
•Support
•Organisational Performance
Reference Group
•Systems implementation strategy
•Measure
•Systems review and evaluation
•Staff survey results
•Cultural Climate Audit

19. REVIEW, REWARD & RECOGNITION
POSITIVE CULTURE PROGRAM
Aim: ↑ individual & team motivation by:
clarifying team & individual goals &
connection to corporate & strategic plan;
ensure development is targeted to meet
individual & organisational goals; and team
and individual goals are appropriately
rewarded and recognised.’
Aim: ↑ individual awareness &
motivation to empower staff to take
ownership of culture & performance
PERFORMANCE
IMPROVEMENT
FOCUS
High Performance Culture
LEADERSHIP STRATEGY
SYSTEMS
Aim: ↑ WCC leadership capability to
empower & motivate the leadership
group to: drive performance
improvement; develop their teams;
and encourage teamwork within &
across WCC
Aim: Clear common goals across the
WCC which incorporate and promote a
performance improvement focus

20. People, Performance & Culture 2009 - 2011
PEOPLE &
PERFORMANCE
FOCUS
Fostering commitment &
strengthening people capacity
KEY STRATEGIES
Implement the capability framework into people planning activities
Encourage continuous learning for all staff
Develop and implement a performance management approach which fosters skilled
and committed people
CULTURE
A positive and cohesive
workplace culture that
supports the achievement of
WCC vision, mission and goals
Nurture initiative
Develop and implement a cultural transformation strategy that meets staff and
managements cultural agenda
Build and strengthen teams using business-focused activities
Improve internal communications

21. Performance Improvement
“Performance is Personal before it is Organisational”
Key focus – 2009-2010 Awareness and Accountability
Need to link personal transformation to organisational
transformation
Improved workplace performance requires productive
relationships with peers, managers, staff, customers, clients,
vendors, suppliers and the community

22. Bottom-up initiatives
 Involves those affected in the change process
 Avoids pitfalls of imposed change by allowing individuals to come to
terms with the change
 Takes time to diffuse throughout the organisation, particularly to
higher up
 Collective decision making approach
 Importance of building productive relationships
 Effective communication + mutual accountability + responsibility

23. Positive Culture Program
 Establishment of change champions group
 Development of Positive Culture Guide
 Branding ‘Positive Input = Positive Culture’
 Positive Culture Launch

24. Change Champions Group
 23 staff – representatives of every level and unit / branch
 Gauge of Commission culture & reality testers
 Fortnightly meetings - facilitated discussion ‘ToP method’ –
weekly topics around areas identified in the cultural agenda
 Group developed ‘Positive Culture Guide’
 Build momentum – shift mindset from ‘blame’ to personal
accountability

25. WCC POSITIVE CULTURE GUIDE
Guidelines about behaviours that
promote and foster the achievement of
the cultural agenda, and behaviours
that hinder it.
Key focus areas:
1. Respect and Values
2. Empowered Staff
3. Accountability and Responsibility
4. Communication
5. Teamwork
6. High Performance Culture

26. Organisational Review Launch Video

27. ‘Positive Input = Positive Culture’

28. ‘Positive Input = Positive Culture”
 Visibility of messages promoting personal accountability
(Screen savers, posters, staff newsletter header, intranet)
 Monthly themed communications – reminders of
behaviours contributing to achieving cultural agenda
 Part of induction

29. Leadership Strategy
Aim*: Strengthen leadership capability to drive performance
improvement, meet cultural agenda & encourage personal
accountability
 Leadership Program Supervisors – Middle Management
 Business Coaching
Individual middle management
 Executive Coaching – individual Individual senior management
 Executive Coaching – team Team senior management
*Change champions identified leadership as the biggest barrier to
achieving the cultural agenda

30. Leadership Program
University of New England Partnerships Pty Ltd - Sustaining out Business 2011:
Driving Performance Improvement Program
Workplace program –Diploma of Government
12 month program, workshops, coaching & on the job tasks &
Focus on: individual accountability, providing leadership; facilitating change;
managing individual and team performance
Integration into business
 Collaborative problem solving
 Development of Leadership Charter
 Cross organisation business improvement projects – individual and group
Use of group workshops to apply theory to practice using current Commission
challenges managers face in the workplace.

31. Leadership Charter
‘a concise and positive
statement about the
qualities and behaviours that
we value in leaders in the
Commission. It is a reference
point for managers and
leaders to reflect on their
role and to remind us of the
principal things to keep in
mind as we get on with our
jobs’.

32. Organisational Performance Reference
Group
 Renewal of change champions group
 Representative from each unit / branch, as well as a
cross-section of Grades.
 Provide input into initiatives aimed at improving
organisaitonal performance.
 Initiatives include: Performance Management system;
Reward and recognition; and Learning and Development
Development

33. Review, Recognition & Development
 Development of fully integrated online performance
management system – implementation 1 July 2011
 Development of policy
 Consultation document – key questions, issues to consider,
preferred position
 Clear identification of risks and reasons for resistance
 Explore personal accountability for implementation

34. Business Planning Review
Unit business planning review
Identification of ‘business as usual’ or ‘performance improvement’
Promote consideration of all strategic focus areas and encourage
suggestions for organisational projects and improvements, as well as
possible individual contributions.
Coaching of managers
Guide on how to facilitate business planning activities to provide
individual accountability within the team

35. Results so far.. Staff Survey

36. More promising results...
Since 2008, more staff believe:
 They understand the Commission values
 They have opportunities to develop skills and knowledge for career progression
 The processes they follow to do their work is efficient
 Management has a clear view of where the organisation is going and how to get there
 Staff in the Commission are consulted adequately about proposed changes
 Staff in the Commission have the opportunity to have input into planning processes

37. Cultural Climate Survey

38. Apathy – Commitment Scale
Cultural Agenda
– priority area
March 2009
March 2010 –
the range
March 2010 –
the critical mass
Performance
culture
(engagement and
motivation)
Grudging
compliance to
formal
compliance
(3-4)
Grudging
compliance to
commitment
(4-8)
Formal to
Genuine
Compliance
(5-6)
Collaboration –
within and across
teams
Non compliance
to grudging
compliance
(2-4)
Non compliance
to commitment
(2-8)
Formal to
Genuine
Compliance
(5-6)
• March 2009 - Desired range established as 6-7 for critical mass
• 93% of managers in 2010 believed the organisation was more positive and
moving towards the cultural agenda

39. Lessons learned
 Time issues with bottom up strategies
 Participative approaches to change can be derailed by resistant
managers, unions and workers further lengthening the process of
change.
 Collective decision-making is by nature a lengthy process as
compared to those decision made by only a select few.
 Mismatch where the bottom-up change process meets the top
levels of the organisation - where a different process has been at
work.
 Lower levels may lack strategic perspective.

40. Lessons learned
 Substantial energy to get bottom-up initiatives started and keep it focused
 Difficulty of incorporating all perspectives.
 Raises questions about the motivation and skill of employees to develop an
ambitious solution that will force them to change.
 Don’t always need expensive metrics and measurements. Save budget for
initiatives if you have a limited budget.
 Adopt a business approach.
 Initiatives to enable personal insight and shifts in mindset.

41. Lessons learned
 Top-down efforts alone are not sufficient to achieve transformational
change.
 When to use top-down or bottom-up strategies
 Bottom-up – where innovation and collective decision making is required (e.g.
positive culture
 Top down – direction to create focus and conditions for performance
improvement
 Blend with broad-base, bottom-up performance improvement to get people at
all levels to take a fresh approach to solving problems and improving
performance(e.g. Review, Recognition and Development)

42. Looking forward
 Implementation of the Review, Recognition and Development
system
 Next phase – focus on collaborative problem solving, action
learning and teams
 Maintain broad involvement and use of teams to tackle issue
and promote buy-in
 Challenge – to keep up the momentum!