Area Headquarters Consolidation

1
Area Headquarters Consolidation 2007 NTPAW Skills
Awards 7a) Issues/Crisis Management June 8,
2007 Jeff Caldwell Chief of Communications,
Virginia Department of Transportation
2
ISSUE

• VDOT decides to consolidate maintenance
  facilities from 335 to 248 locations
• Interstate maintenance already being outsourced
• Reduce costs
• More efficient use of staff, facilities,
  equipment
• Agency has already downsized from 10,300 to 8,800
  employeesagency structure needs to follow suit
• Affects more than 600 employees statewide
• Similar earlier streamlining efforts were
  derailed by employees and govt officials

3
COMMUNICATIONS GOALS

• Present clear business case for consolidation
• Improve chances for public acceptance
• Address employee morale and uncertainty
• Reach multiple audiences in compressed period of
  time
• Solicit feedback, but not ask permission for
  change

4
DIVERSE AUDIENCES TOOLS

• Carried out plan w/in 48 hours to ensure
  consistency, quell rumors, reduce chance to
  derail effort
• Affected employees meetings, with letters and
  info packets
• State and local officials e-mailed letters,
  maps, lists of facilities
• All employees e-mail message from agency head
• Local, state, trade media news releases,
  telephone press conferences includes
  announcement of 13 public meetings, wrote trade
  articles
• Citizens VDOT Web site map/facilities lists,
  media outreach

5
TOOLSNews Releases
6
TOOLSComprehensive Facility Map/Lists
7
13 PUBLIC MEETINGS

• 760 attendees 205 speakers
• Elected officials initial criticism limited to
  two small areas of state
• 130 letters/e-mails/written comments
• Benefits
• Identified publics value of VDOT crews as
  emergency responders, on par w/police, fire,
  rescue
• Showed VDOT willingness to listen and consider
  changes
• Helped change initial public reaction
• Encouraged media defense of decision

8
MEDIA COVERAGE
9
OUTCOMES

• VDOT changed status of only small number of
  affected facilities
• Citizen, official and media support of final
  decision
• Media defense of VDOTs decision
• Trade media cited VDOT as evolving natl leader
• Little reaction as consolidations are carried out

10
OUTCOMES

• Employee morale
• Little employee outcry as facility plan is
  implemented in early 2007
• Almost all employees placed in new positions or
  work locations
• Agency public opinion improvements
• Public defines VDOT during public meetings as a
  vital emergency response service
• Elected officials and critics quiet down
• Virginia legislature passes long-awaited
  transportation funding bill with no directives
  directing VDOT to outsource or downsize any
  further
• Agency change-management communications templates
  and best practices created
• Subsequently used in other major change
  initiatives with success