Leading System Change for Economic Justice

Transforming Workforce Systems

Summary

MOED has ambitious plans to create a more equitable, coordinated workforce system in Baltimore City, aligned with its economic justice mission. To change the system, they first needed to change within. 

“CSR Communications has been our long-term partner for agency-wide and external, workforce system change journeys. Their work with us has transformed our leadership team, staff and citywide Workforce Development Board in more ways than I can describe. They’ve given us the tools and techniques to make giant leaps toward our economic justice vision.”

— MacKenzie Garvin

Director, Baltimore City Mayor's Office of Employment Development

Empowering Leaders

Situation

Following the completion of a highly successful federally-funded pilot program, One Baltimore for Jobs, MOED approached CSR Communications to design a communication strategy for their equitable, coordinated workforce system vision based on the pilot program’s core elements. Through that strategy development process, MOED realized that to lead and influence the change in the workforce system, they first needed to change their internal culture and build change capacity among their leaders. 

MOED identified the following goals for our work together:  

• Create a coordinated workforce system operating in high alignment with their economic justice vision and mission. 
• Model the behavior desired from other workforce system stakeholders. 
• Create an internal culture of collaboration and change resilience. 
• Improve the sense of efficacy and agency among staff to lead change, both internally and throughout the workforce system. 

Enhancing Intra-Agency Coordination

Solution 

To achieve those goals we implemented a multi-pronged solution: 

• Job training/job placement partner communication, including message development, testing and training, implementation planning 
• Internal communication strategy based on staff survey and focus groups 
• Senior Leadership Team Change Capacity via leadership team retreats, executive coaching and participation in our six-month change leadership program, Intrapreneurs Influence Lab
• Manager/People Leader Change Capacity through a four-part training program and targeted coaching 
• Creating common language and tools among senior leaders and mid-level people leaders via joint participation in SHIFT: The 30-Day Change Leadership Survival Kit 
• Intra-agency collaboration increased through a series of collaboration work sessions for all client service teams

We deployed our proprietary Artifacts Excavation™ Process multiple times to identify, unearth, prioritize and replace artifacts aligned with old ways of thinking and working. “Artifacts” are all those little things we leave behind when we move forward with change that signal who and what we value, what matters and how things really get done in an organization. 

Building Change from Within

Success 

MOED is one of the go-to agencies for Mayor Scott, tapped to lead significant COVID-19-related initiatives, such as Baltimore Health Corps and seven American Rescue Plan Act-funded initiatives. 

The agency smoothly navigated a top leadership change with the new executive director and internal promotion. 

Through our change leadership capacity building, executive coaching and training programs, MOED achieved the following results: 

• 75% of the senior leadership team came through internal promotions.
• Senior leaders documented benefits such as five hours per week saved from no longer duplicating their team’s work and 20% increased productivity. 
• 45% of program participants at the people leader/manager levels advanced within the agency (i.e., promotion or job re-classification).
• In a survey conducted 18 months following completion of the training program, 75% of participants said the program has been extremely or very beneficial for their work, with 100% of respondents saying they still use or reference lessons, citing specific examples.

Through our collaboration work sessions, MOED achieved the following results: 

• 95% of employees indicated they have positive feelings about intra-agency collaboration following the project (compared to 86% before the project).
• Post-survey responses indicate that most employees in all divisions are more familiar with the work of other agency divisions and are more or much more likely to collaborate with and refer clients between other divisions.