WSI Board Needs To Move Forward And Fix Problems
Press Release
WSI Board Needs To Move Forward And Fix Problems
Conolly & Associates, a New York-based independent management consultant, this week released its report on the North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance Agency (WSI). While the consultant cites a financially sound agency and a dedicated and professional workforce, the report clearly identifies management problems that need to be addressed in order to get the agency back on track.
Conolly reports: "Review confirms that the WSI senior management has been wracked by dissention and division, mistrust, disloyalty, and destructive behavior that has, in turn, fanned the flames of controversy." Further, "WSI's HR department has been singularly unsuccessful in establishing a climate of fairness and trust, or respect engendering the confidence of the organization."
Conolly went on to make recommendations to address the senior management and human resources problems at the agency. Some of the recommendations from the report include:
* WSI's Board should immediately recruit an interim CEO to restore trust and faith in the capability of executive management and charge the CEO to make immediate and necessary executive and senior management decisions.
* WSI's senior management structure should be modified to enable it to relate more directly to the company's day-to-day operations and workforce.
* HR leadership must be strengthened and confidence restored in the function.
* Executive management should closely monitor claims issues in relation to evidence based medicine and degenerative disease and aggravation issues.
* Hardship cases should be referred to the CEO.
* WSI should restructure its review, hearing and appeal process.
"As we have clearly said, the WSI Board must move quickly to appoint an outside interim director to put the agency back on track," Hoeven said. "We have recommended that former Fargo Mayor Bruce Furness fill that position."
"Ultimately, the real solution is to put WSI back under the authority of the Governor's Office, which is why I support the initiated measure being circulated to do just that," Hoeven said.
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