The #WorldBank Staff Associations take on this unprecedented week launching accountability and transparency about Dr Kims reorganization ------------------ This has been an extraordinary week in the history of the World Bank Group. Staff have staged brief work stoppages and gathered in impromptu assemblies. At the urging of the SA, President Kim held an emergency town hall Tuesday which drew an audience of more than 8,000 staff, 3,000 gathered in person in Washington and more than 5,000 connected online around the world. The message from the past week is simple: something is wrong and must be fixed. We are passionate, we have “fire in the belly” and what we want more than anything is to fight poverty and boost shared prosperity. Let’s be clear, the issue of the bonuses was just the tipping point. Staff frustration has been building for two years over this mismanaged Change. There is a long list of problems that need to be resolved. In the beginning of this Change process we were promised (i) more resources for frontline work; (ii) less silos; (iii) more empowerment for frontline staff; and (iv) most importantly, a greater focus on the client. Exactly the opposite is now happening: (i) we have less resources to do our work; (ii) the GPs and CCSAs are rapidly turning into new silos; (iii) decisions are more and more centralized; and (iv) the focus is almost entirely internal, and we simply have less time to focus on the client. So what can be done to fix all of this? The SA has a few ideas to start: The GP structure is not working—talk to TTLs and those doing the work on the front lines and fix it. Budgets aren’t flowing where they should and this is compromising our front line staff’s ability to deliver for our clients. Quarter 1 has come and gone and we have little to show for it. Six silos have become 19 silos with no clear connection. Early in the process we heard some talk about incentives for working across teams. Now is the time to boost those incentives and put them to use. Have more inclusive conversations with staff. Don’t just talk at us, ask for our feedback, bring us together in a room to advise and help you decide. Nobody knows better how to deliver for our client than the people who are actually delivering for our client. We are riding a bicycle as we build it and staying upright is getting harder and harder. In the meantime, the Expenditure Review is forging ahead and the Strategic Staffing numbers - that might mean the loss of jobs for thousands of our staff - are yet to be revealed. President Kim and senior management have yet to understand that for this institution to truly change for the better, and for this restructuring to succeed, we, the staff, must be included every step of the way. Executive Committee World Bank Group Staff Association
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 20:26:21 +0000