This is the eighth and final installment of a multi-part case study that discusses the radical, strategic, necessary, and successful changes implemented by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest public school district in the nation. The LAUSD was able to implement a large scale $95 million enterprise resource solution a full four years ahead of schedule, which clearly demonstrates how processes or technology alone can never transform an organization’s culture. To read the case study from the beginning, go to Part I.

Step 5: Get your staff the resources they need, break down barriers, and get out of their way

All great leaders, especially those in the Navy and other military branches, know that competent personnel perform best when they are allowed to perform and not micromanaged, second guessed, or denied the resources they need to get their jobs done properly. Hirsch and the other new leaders realized upon their arrival at the LAUSD that they were blessed with competent personnel but those people were not able to get their work done properly because they were denied the resources necessary to get that work done. So rather than engaging in petty politicking or power struggles, Hirsch focused on providing her personnel with the resources they needed to get their work done and then Hirsch got out of their way.

Results of Step 5

By providing the LAUSD recruiters with the resources they needed and breaking down the barriers they needed to succeed, Hirsch witnessed enthusiasm and engagement from her recruiters. When her recruiters could see that they were not going to be micromanaged by their new boss, their enthusiasm and engagement continued to grow and positively impacted their work performance.

Enthusiasm and engagement are desirable and admirable, but recruiters are not employed to be enthusiastic or engaged. Rather, they are employed to recruit well qualified employees who the organization can retain for a reasonable period of time.

Overall Results and Conclusion:

In three short years, the Los Angeles Unified School District’s human resource department transformed the quality of the District’s teaching force. The district is no longer the state of California’s “problem child” with regards to teacher quality. In fact, they are now the model district for all others to emulate. A full 98 percent of LAUSD’s teachers now either possess a teaching credential or are qualified interns who demonstrate expertise in the subject areas in which they teach. Instead of 7,000 teachers serving on emergency permits, there are now less than 500 in the entire district and only in the critical shortage fields of math, science and special education.

The human resources team has assimilated much more technology and has become the leading “change agents” and “early adopters” for technology within the District. This accomplishment was achieved four full years ahead of its implementation schedule. And most gratifyingly for all concerned, the LAUSD became district of first choice for teaching candidates rather than the district of last resort.