October 15, 2014
A transition can be difficult, especially since there is uncertainty, but government managers can develop coping strategies prior to the elections. Being prepared for a transition can position staff to effectively provide helpful assistance to smooth the change between two administrations. One thing to keep in mind: certainly stressful, transitions are temporary.
Prepare for a Transition. As an election approaches, senior government managers in states should be thinking about the day after the election—the day when the transition from one administration to another begins. During a transition period, there can be significant uncertainty and anxiety among career employees. Hopefully, the transition in your state will go smoothly, but be prepared for some tense and difficult moments. Consider what critical information should be provided to the transition team, how to deal with current and incoming staff, and consider how information should be communicated. To the extent possible, ensure that communication occurs in ways that prevent different parties from being out of the loop.
Prepare your Staff for the Upcoming Transition. You may not think that employees in non-political positions worry much about a transition, but they are often very anxious about upcoming changes. Make sure they understand that transitions can be unpredictable and that they should be wary of rumors of personnel or organizational changes until they are formally announced. After the election, career staff will be better equipped to deal with the uncertainty if they are kept informed of any resulting major personnel and policy announcements. Don’t assume they will find out on their own—develop a system to keep your staff up-to-date. For example, as soon as transition team press releases are released, e-mail them to all staff. Obviously confidential information shouldn’t be released until appropriate, but communication with staff is key.
Understand the Transition Staff. As you prepare for the transition, be cognizant of the perspective of the new people coming in. They are exhausted from a long and busy campaign, but they are also giddy from victory. In some cases, they may be suspicious of the intentions of the outgoing administration and/or senior career staff who worked closely with those officials now leaving office. You may feel there is no issue with the loyalty of the current staff, but merely the fact that all current government employees have served the outgoing administration may be sufficient for some transition staffers to be wary. The way to build rapport is to be forthcoming and provide solid, neutral information on upcoming challenges facing the new administration and basic facts about the structure of your government agency and its activities. By doing so, you should be able to overcome suspicions that the incoming administration staff may have. The campaign may have focused on issues such as jobs, taxes or abortion policies —so don’t assume the incoming administration is aware of all existing matters, such as a contract dispute with a neighboring state over water rights or the impending full capacity of the prison system.
Provide Critical Information. Ensure that critical information is being provided to the incoming transition staff and officials. Are there issues that could be considered “time bombs” such as an impending court ruling? What significant challenges does the agency face? What critical issues will come up for a decision by the Governor in the first 6 months? Also, think about the best way to provide information to the transition team. Having served on several such gubernatorial teams, I’m not a fan of the ubiquitous “briefing books” developed by agencies during a transition; I know they are rarely read in full. Even so, the transition team will be expecting information, so I recommend developing “briefing books” in an easy-to-read format, with detailed indexes and short executive summaries throughout. Think carefully about how much staff time you want to devote to briefing books. What you want to do is figure out the best ways of bringing the transition team up to speed. Keep in mind the story of the diligent staff person who told me that she stayed up late many nights preparing an elaborate briefing book for an incoming education cabinet secretary. Weeks after the inaugural, the enthusiastic staffer asked the new cabinet secretary what she thought of the briefing book. “Oh,” the cabinet secretary replied, “I didn’t have time to read it.”
Re-think Careers. A transition may also be a good time to examine your own career goals or that of your staff. Mary Campbell, a senior aide to several Washington state governors, recommends that, during a transition, senior career civil servants think strategically about their careers, asking themselves, “Do I want to stay? Does the transition offer me an opportunity to make a change?” Change can mean considering moving to an agency, or another agency or even external to government.
Accept the Unexpected. Finally, remember to put aside certain assumptions. Just expect the unexpected. For example, don’t assume that if the incoming administration is from the same party as the outgoing that things will go smoothly. In my experience, party affiliation makes no difference. Some of the rockiest transitions can be in the family—i.e., between executives of the same party. And also remember, the time for transition goes very quickly.