INTRODUCTION It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. The deputy minister had just received a call from the Prime Minister telling her that the newly elected government wanted to create a ministry of public safety in the province. The desire was to merge several ministries into one, as well as certain programs. It would be the first provincial government to combine so many entities Into a single ministry. This new ministry would bring together five former ministries and a number of programs, namely community and correctional services; police services; control of commercial vehicles; sheriff services; coroner services; firearms ; the application of the law on alcohol, lotteries and tobacco; emergency measures; the fire marshal's office: the 911 service and the government inspection agency. The good news was that the Deputy Minister was asked to take on this important task of managing the reorganization. The Prime Minister assured her that she would have great flexibility to bring all this together, in the context of his government's program to "manage more intelligently" public resources and services. The deputy minister had never worked in any of these areas. It was therefore necessary for her to understand the different components of her new assignment and to analyze possible overlaps between the different files before making decisions regarding organizational restructuring. She had to think about the challenge this created and also reflect on the government's past reorganization efforts and analyze its successes and failures. She wondered why so many transitions had left scars on staff, even when they had been directly involved in many transformation processes. How could she do it differently? She believed the time had come to \"lead by example in terms of taking into account the human side of the transition. This is how it would be done differently! CONTEXT The challenges faced by the Deputy Minister were diverse and sometimes intimidating. During her career in the public service, she had demonstrated several times her ability to assume new responsibilities and fulfill them effectively. This time, the task was to create a new ministry bringing together components of five different ministries which all have different organizational cultures. The weight of this responsibility would not be easy given the expectation of quality in terms of services to citizens, but also the mission of ensuring the safety of the citizens of the province. The Deputy Minister is therefore expected to ensure the smooth transition of the new ministry with civil servants, many of whom. over the vears, had been directly involved in other reorganizations and downsizing exercises. For many of them, including some managers. the creation of this new department would create anxiety and increase the stress level of employees. Some would wonder if they would keep their jobs in the new structure. At the same time, a government-wide retirement program was announced, allowing civil servants to retire early. Within the Ministry of Public Security, 15% of staff have chosen to take advantage of this special package. The retirement of one In six employees presented a risk in terms of loss of valuable knowledge and experience, but also a loss of opportunities in terms of restructuring and smarter management. The province's fiscal environment and the need to balance budgets were also on the deputy minister's mind. The subminister was informed that she would face a 25% reduction in funding in one of the new program areas and she would have to eliminate a number of positions. In addition, one of the ministry's most important programs was the permanent closure of a number of correctional facilities. A commitment had been made to the staff of this program. They would all keep a job in the public service. A week after the announcement of this major restructuring, the sub-minister made the same commitment to all employees of the Ministry of Public Safety. No one would be left without a job. This commitment to employees had the potential to make the reorganization exercise even more difficult and limiting. The approach, however, was one that the new deputy believed was best, as it demonstrated that she was prepared to put people first, a theme she would repeat throughout her tenure. to this assignment. As the Deputy Minister became more aware of the culture of her new organization, she could see an environment that held firmly to her traditional beliefs such as hierarchy, tradition, rules and regulations, maintaining the status quo and loyalty of employees to their original department. All of this was threatened by reorganization, and for some, the organization they knew was being dismantled before their eves, without a clear vision of what was to come. As one employee said. \"I've worked my whole career for this organization and now you're asking me to blend in with all these other programs I know nothing about!\" My new boss has no law enforcement experience. how can she effectively lead investigations? ". While creativity and innovation would be necessary from evervone, some employees and managers were going through one of the most stressful periods of their careers. PROBLEMS and CHALLENGES As employees tried to find their place within the new department, they realized that their old department had severed ties with them and they felt lost. The Deputy Minister repeatedly heard, "That's not how we did things in my old department!" The fact that the offices were located in various locations across the province, with no overarching centers, increased the feeling isolation of staff. Public safety employees came from different workplaces with different activities and administrative approaches. New teams were formed without common points of reference. For example. the creation of the new department coincided with annual employee performance reviews and the department had to deal with five different evaluation systems. How could the DM put it all together? She had to provide leadership that would reassure her team and prove that she had the vision to take this new ministry where it needed to go. She knew she would only have one chance to get it right. She needed employee input and engagement, and she knew none of it would succeed if she didn't consider the "human" side of the transition. \"Were managers and staff ready to take on the challenges that awaited them?\" she wondered. How could it equip them to effectively face the challenges that awaited them? Although most employees recognize that there can be no progress without changes. changes inevitably cause stress, tension and anxiety. These symptoms can lead to serious health and wellness issues that can seriously affect productivity and job satisfaction and even impact employees' family lives. From experience, the deputy minister knew that restructuring exercises are often planned in secret and hampered by rumors. She wanted to approach things differently and ensure that the human component was fully taken into account, as this was the only way to ensure that employees could focus on delivering quality services. She often thought of the tears of an employee who asked her, during one of the transition meetings, \"why should I trust you?\" The Deputy Minister also thought a lot about the government's expectations for the success of the transition, potential issues that could be raised by the media and partners in different areas, such as community policing and fire services, cynicism of staff and its impacts on performance and the expectation of quality customer service. QUESTIONS 1. Describe the challenges facing the deputy minister, under the following aspects: - The organization: - The environment ; - Personnel and human resources. 2. Could these management challenges have impacts on the policy process and public policies themselves? Which ones and in what way