This is the third 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.

Problem #3:

In many ways, those who interviewed with the Los Angeles Unified School District were the unfortunate ones. They typically were those who were unable to find jobs elsewhere so had no choice but to interview with the LAUSD. The interview process was a bureaucratic nightmare. Candidates spent an entire day and sometimes two at the district’s downtown headquarters waiting in long lines and were required to bring with them a dozen or more copies of their paperwork to hand to each clerk in the convoluted new hire processing labyrinth. Anyone who has ever been interviewed by a government entity will be familiar with the type of paperwork that was required. Each copy of the paperwork required many completed forms so that the complete copy more closely resembled a booklet than a resume. When a teacher was finally hired, fully credentialed or not, their name was entered by pencil into the “Green Book” –a 1940 era ledger book -- one book for all of the more than 700 schools in the LAUSD.

There was some automation. There were seven different databases, each of which required manual entry to track employees so they could be paid amongst other things. As anyone who works with databases knows, the redundancy between each of these systems inevitably led to errors because if an employee’s information was changed in one system, it had to be changed exactly the same way in each of the seven systems and that often did not happen. Over 20,000 employees paychecks each month required manual intervention. The pathetic reality was that the “Green Books” were the most trusted source of employee data.

Problem #4:

The Los Angeles Unified School District’s recruiting team was made up primarily of former teachers and administrators with no specific training in recruiting techniques and they were supported by an administrative staff. So this organization that hired some 7,000 teachers per year had no trained recruiters.

Problem #5:

Public education was and still is in a state of crisis across the country. A charter school movement threatened and continues to threaten the very existence of public education, especially for the large urban school districts such as the Los Angeles Unified School District.

To continue reading this case study, please go to Part IV.