For the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, at the behest of DMV’s board, Conbrio was part of a team of consultants that assessed all levels and activities of the department to understand its effectiveness and recommend changes. Conbrio was charged with assessing the TDMV’s culture and found it defensive and, in some parts of the organization, toxic. In one-on-one interviews and in groups, leaders and rank-and-file employees told stories of being shut out or shut down. As part of its work, Conbrio led a workshop to explain its findings to department leaders and to show how the culture might be moved in a positive direction. Conbrio’s findings were included in the consultants’ final report. The report precipitated personnel changes at the executive level. The board and executives first turned their attention to problems that could quickly and easily be solved. At first, it was unclear whether the board would insist on culture change, a project takes three years or more to accomplish. But ultimately, it did, deciding the culture had to change if other fixes to the department would be effective and lasting.
