Internal ARCHES report indicates dysfunctional workplace setting

By Lethbridge Herald on July 8, 2020.

An internal report on ARCHES, which operates the Supervised Consumption Site, paints a picture of a dysfunctional workplace setting. Herald file photo by Ian Martens @IMartensHerald

Tim Kalinowski
Lethbridge Herald
tkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com
A copy of an internal report on ARCHES from local consultant Collaborative Strategies Business Consulting and Empowerment Solutions, and obtained on Wednesday by The Herald in the wake of a provincial government audit of the organization announced earlier this year, paints a picture of a dysfunctional workplace setting, with some employees feeling the atmosphere is “toxic” and “unhealthy,” and some managers feeling like they are “constantly drowning” due to a general lack of direction in the organization.
The report also states several employees at ARCHES were being paid to work in positions they were simply not qualified for.
The report, written by Collaborative Strategies owner and consultant Mandy DeCecco-Kolebaba, states many of the problems at ARCHES stem the organization’s informal hiring practices
“There is a level of incompetence in many areas,” states DeCecco-Kolebaba, “most likely because the hiring practices have been so informal. Not one person has been hired appropriately. There is a grooming culture here that is alarming and means that not many of the current staff are in roles that fit their skills.”
ARCHES board chair Aaron Fitchett and consultant DeCecco-Kolebaba stress the report was intended to be a confidential email to a government official and captures only a moment in time early in the assessment process. They point to large organizational changes which have been enacted in recent months to address the concerns DeCecco-Kolebaba gleaned from speaking to at length to 28 individual ARCHES employees in her initial assessments.
“Things are really going well here in the last five weeks,” said DeCecco-Kolebaba. “A lot of those concerns mentioned have been addressed. We are making changes on a daily basis. Although that report seems really negative, that’s just a snapshot and was meant for government officials to see how far we have come.”
See the full story in Wednesday’s Lethbridge Herald.
Follow @TimKalHerald on Twitter