Rather than treating the public complaint as the full picture, we treated it as a starting point for a broader diagnostic review of what was actually happening inside the organization.

 

We supplemented our usual review team with a seasoned workplace investigator, and a small team from a national audit and assurance firm to help deliver this project.

 

Applying independent thinking, professional judgement and rigour, we looked at:

• The realities of the situation, not the speculation

• How and why the current situation came to be

• What to do about it now

 

The diagnostic process was long and robust, generally including:

• Confidential interviews of board, staff and department representatives

• Walk-in, no appointment sessions open to key stakeholders who wanted to talk to us

• Review of the legislation, governing documents, licensing and funding agreements

• Review of the governance, HR and financial policies and processes

• Examination of the allegation, communications, board minutes and other confidential records

• Sampling of financial records, and time with the bookkeeper to understand processes 

• Final report with our observations and analysis, advice to the department, and a set of practical recommendations for improving the organization’s effectiveness, applied to a three-year implementation roadmap.

 

The workplace investigation resulted in a confidential report to the department as a separate deliverable in this engagement.