Everyone at the state's workers' compensation agency is gun-shy, says its new interim director.

The board of directors. The workers. Executive management.

Bruce Furness, former Fargo mayor and now interim director of the embattled Workforce Safety and Insurance, said his first task is to begin removing the tarnish that's associated with the agency from nearly two years of scandal and disruption that included felony charges, whistleblower requests, firings and the dislodging of both the executive director and board chairman.

The interim director's first day on the job was Thursday, a majority of which he spent in an all-staff meeting.

He discussed culture, trust, respect, he said, which have blown to the wayside at the the agency.

Furness was hired as interim director to replace John Halvorson, who was serving as interim in place of Sandy Blunt, who was released from his position as executive director in early December. A recent human resources and management report completed by Henry Neal Conolly suggested finding a credible interim director was crucial in restoring internal and external trust in the agency.

The report also found several problems with the management structure, noting favoritism and low morale.

The management team has made some mistakes, Furness said, and they have to clean them up.

Most recently, three whistleblowers were fired from the agency and two other employees were let go due to restructuring. That minor restructuring was beginning to take place, based on recommendations from the Conolly report, before Furness even began his job.

But that's in the past, he said, and they can now only look forward: "It's done. I can't change it."

He's based several of his goals for the next three to nine months on recommendations from the report.

He said the agency must change its culture to be more customer sensitive and customer driven; they need to begin a restructuring and pick out trackable, meaningful measurements and make enough change to eliminate the problems.

"The functional level is not broken, it's the management level," he said.

He also plans to work on the legislative agenda and the agency budget. Several interest groups and political candidates have their own suggestions, including placing the board-run agency under the governor, having the agency regulated by the insurance commissioner and using the agency's extra surplus to add benefits for the injured worker.

Furness said the surplus must be addressed and noted that if the agency acts like an insurance company, it should be regulated like an insurance company. He also said there should be a hybrid model of governor control and board control.

"When the governor and the legislators are involved in … claimant situations, I don't think that's good," he said.

But first, Furness said, he must do a lot of listening, meeting with the board, workers' groups and labor unions, medical representatives and staff. And he wants to make WSI a place where people are proud to say they work.

"I would say the feeling is that we all lost," he said. "It's got to be a fun place to come to."

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@bismarcktribune.com)

Everyone at the state's workers' compensation agency is gun-shy, says its new interim director.

The board of directors. The workers. Executive management.

Bruce Furness, former Fargo mayor and now interim director of the embattled Workforce Safety and Insurance, said his first task is to begin removing the tarnish that's associated with the agency from nearly two years of scandal and disruption that included felony charges, whistleblower requests, firings and the dislodging of both the executive director and board chairman.

The interim director's first day on the job was Thursday, a majority of which he spent in an all-staff meeting.

He discussed culture, trust, respect, he said, which have blown to the wayside at the the agency.

Furness was hired as interim director to replace John Halvorson, who was serving as interim in place of Sandy Blunt, who was released from his position as executive director in early December. A recent human resources and management report completed by Henry Neal Conolly suggested finding a credible interim director was crucial in restoring internal and external trust in the agency.

The report also found several problems with the management structure, noting favoritism and low morale.

The management team has made some mistakes, Furness said, and they have to clean them up.

Most recently, three whistleblowers were fired from the agency and two other employees were let go due to restructuring. That minor restructuring was beginning to take place, based on recommendations from the Conolly report, before Furness even began his job.

But that's in the past, he said, and they can now only look forward: "It's done. I can't change it."

He's based several of his goals for the next three to nine months on recommendations from the report.

He said the agency must change its culture to be more customer sensitive and customer driven; they need to begin a restructuring and pick out trackable, meaningful measurements and make enough change to eliminate the problems.

"The functional level is not broken, it's the management level," he said.

He also plans to work on the legislative agenda and the agency budget. Several interest groups and political candidates have their own suggestions, including placing the board-run agency under the governor, having the agency regulated by the insurance commissioner and using the agency's extra surplus to add benefits for the injured worker.

Furness said the surplus must be addressed and noted that if the agency acts like an insurance company, it should be regulated like an insurance company. He also said there should be a hybrid model of governor control and board control.

"When the governor and the legislators are involved in … claimant situations, I don't think that's good," he said.

But first, Furness said, he must do a lot of listening, meeting with the board, workers' groups and labor unions, medical representatives and staff. And he wants to make WSI a place where people are proud to say they work.

"I would say the feeling is that we all lost," he said. "It's got to be a fun place to come to."

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@bismarcktribune.com)

Everyone at the state's workers' compensation agency is gun-shy, says its new interim director.

The board of directors. The workers. Executive management.

Bruce Furness, former Fargo mayor and now interim director of the embattled Workforce Safety and Insurance, said his first task is to begin removing the tarnish that's associated with the agency from nearly two years of scandal and disruption that included felony charges, whistleblower requests, firings and the dislodging of both the executive director and board chairman.

The interim director's first day on the job was Thursday, a majority of which he spent in an all-staff meeting.

He discussed culture, trust, respect, he said, which have blown to the wayside at the the agency.

Furness was hired as interim director to replace John Halvorson, who was serving as interim in place of Sandy Blunt, who was released from his position as executive director in early December. A recent human resources and management report completed by Henry Neal Conolly suggested finding a credible interim director was crucial in restoring internal and external trust in the agency.

The report also found several problems with the management structure, noting favoritism and low morale.

The management team has made some mistakes, Furness said, and they have to clean them up.

Most recently, three whistleblowers were fired from the agency and two other employees were let go due to restructuring. That minor restructuring was beginning to take place, based on recommendations from the Conolly report, before Furness even began his job.

But that's in the past, he said, and they can now only look forward: "It's done. I can't change it."

He's based several of his goals for the next three to nine months on recommendations from the report.

He said the agency must change its culture to be more customer sensitive and customer driven; they need to begin a restructuring and pick out trackable, meaningful measurements and make enough change to eliminate the problems.

"The functional level is not broken, it's the management level," he said.

He also plans to work on the legislative agenda and the agency budget. Several interest groups and political candidates have their own suggestions, including placing the board-run agency under the governor, having the agency regulated by the insurance commissioner and using the agency's extra surplus to add benefits for the injured worker.

Furness said the surplus must be addressed and noted that if the agency acts like an insurance company, it should be regulated like an insurance company. He also said there should be a hybrid model of governor control and board control.

"When the governor and the legislators are involved in … claimant situations, I don't think that's good," he said.

But first, Furness said, he must do a lot of listening, meeting with the board, workers' groups and labor unions, medical representatives and staff. And he wants to make WSI a place where people are proud to say they work.

"I would say the feeling is that we all lost," he said. "It's got to be a fun place to come to."

(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@bismarcktribune.com)

Everyone at the state's workers' compensation agency is gun-shy, says its new interim director.

The board of directors. The workers. Executive management.

Bruce Furness, former Fargo mayor and now interim director of the embattled Workforce Safety and Insurance, said his first task is to begin removing the tarnish that's associated with the agency from nearly two years of scandal and disruption that included felony charges, whistleblower requests, firings and the dislodging of both the executive director and board chairman.

The interim director's first day on the job was Thursday, a majority of which he spent in an all-staff meeting.

He discussed culture, trust, respect, he said, which have blown to the wayside at the the agency.

Furness was hired as interim director to replace John Halvorson, who was serving as interim in place of Sandy Blunt, who was released from his position as executive director in early December. A recent human resources and management report completed by Henry Neal Conolly suggested finding a credible interim director was crucial in restoring internal and external trust in the agency.

The report also found several problems with the management structure, noting favoritism and low morale.

The management team has made some mistakes, Furness said, and they have to clean them up.

Most recently, three whistleblowers were fired from the agency and two other employees were let go due to restructuring. That minor restructuring was beginning to take place, based on recommendations from the Conolly report, before Furness even began his job.

But that's in the past, he said, and they can now only look forward: "It's done. I can't change it."

He's based several of his goals for the next three to nine months on recommendations from the report.

He said the agency must change its culture to be more customer sensitive and customer driven; they need to begin a restructuring and pick out trackable, meaningful measurements and make enough change to eliminate the problems.

"The functional level is not broken, it's the management level," he said.

He also plans to work on the legislative agenda and the agency budget. Several interest groups and political candidates have their own suggestions, including placing the board-run agency under the governor, having the agency regulated by the insurance commissioner and using the agency's extra surplus to add benefits for the injured worker.

Furness said the surplus must be addressed and noted that if the agency acts like an insurance company, it should be regulated like an insurance company. He also said there should be a hybrid model of governor control and board control.

"When the governor and the legislators are involved in … claimant situations, I don't think that's good," he said.

But first, Furness said, he must do a lot of listening, meeting with the board, workers' groups and labor unions, medical representatives and staff. And he wants to make WSI a place where people are proud to say they work.

"I would say the feeling is that we all lost," he said. "It's got to be a fun place to come to."(Reach reporter Crystal R. Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@bismarcktribune.com)