Mary Dingee Fillmore - Changing Work

Sample Organizational Effectiveness Projects

Self-Managed Work Team Implementation
Still Pictures Reference Division, National Archives
Changing Work has advised the National Archives on its experiment in self managed work teams in the Still Pictures Reference Division. As a first step, focus groups were facilitated with employees in the areas under consideration, involving people at all levels and particularly those who are resistant to the concept. Diversity has been a particular concern from the beginning, and was addressed in the training Changing Work provided to all employees in the affected area.

Special Review Process Redesign
Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency
Working with the Assistant Administrator and the senior managers of the Office of Pesticide Programs, Changing Work facilitated a process to involve everyone in identifying the pitfalls in the torturous and lengthy Special Review process, and in strategizing solutions. Beginning with several pre-retreats where managers could identify the issues and agree on the process in advance, the process included individual interviews with all parties to lay a solid foundation for change. The ultimate recommendation implemented by the group included systemic, behavioral and attitudinal change.

Leadership Training for Self-Managed Work Team
Human Resources Division, EPA, Las Vegas
One year after implementing self-managed work teams, this organization was ready for further training to evaluate how far they had come, and to shore up the group's skills in leadership, delegation, teambuilding, and functioning as internal consultants. The two-day training was tailored through pre-interviews, and, at the participants' request, involved an oral report to the team leader at the end of the session.

Mentoring Programs
More than 20 programs in the U.S. and England, including U.S. Department of Labor, South and West Health Authority (England), U.S. Department of Agriculture (Agricultural Research Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, Food and Nutrition Service), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region VII and Office of Radiation Programs), and others.
While these programs vary in their particulars, organizational effectiveness is the overall goal, by unleashing the potential of employees who simply need some direction and encouragement to be successful. By making it possible for a diverse population to assess themselves and the organization's needs realistically, mentoring programs are an excellent strategy for organizations which need to shift employees from one area to another, or which are trying to provide assistance in downsizing situations. Mentors also benefit from the process, as they discover how much they know, and have the short-term satisfaction of helping someone else -- at a time when they may have plateaued or be in less than satisfactory jobs.

Teambuilding Retreat
Characterization and Assessment Division, Office of Solid Waste, EPA
A retreat for this total Division (60 people) focused on the importance of building a team among all the different professions in the organization, and bridging communications gaps in a highly pressured situation -- compounded by the diversity of the workforce. While the underlying issues could not be addressed by the Division itself, people did learn different coping strategies which brought them together rather than fragmenting them.

Project to Improve Customer Service and Communications
Bureau of Jewish Education, Boston, Mass.
This two-year long project began in an effort to improve communications with customers (the dozens of Jewish schools in the greater Boston area), but ended up encompassing significant individual work with the director, communications training for the staff, and other approaches that were also positively evaluated by the Board.

Funder/Grantee Assessment and Dialogue: The Grantmaking Process
The Boston Foundation, Boston, Mass.
This two-year long process was designed to provide The Boston Foundation with honest feedback from its grantees in the field of community organizing, and to enable the grantees to assess their own progress and effectiveness. It was a delicate matter to negotiate appropriate barriers for confidentiality on both sides, and to help the grantees strategize about ways to work more effectively, particularly with the diverse populations they serve. We interviewed people at all levels, gave feedback, and worked with them in a collaborative way rather than imposing judgments and leaving them to their fates, as too many evaluations do.