2 June 2003

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hosts visit from Canada Customs and Revenue Agency

The following article is a press release from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, dated 29 May 2003.

CBP Transition Management Office (TMO) hosted a visit by officials from Canada Customs and Revenue (CCRA) on May 28-29, 2003. CCRA representatives shared their experiences and "lessons learned" through their involvement in two major reorganizations at the CCRA. The first reorganization, in the early 1990s, centralized their administrative functions. The second, which occurred two years ago, transitioned the administration to an Agency level and established one face at the Canadian border. The CCRA offered valuable insight into how they handled a variety of reorganization/transitional issues during the two CCRA reorganizations. Among their "lessons learned" were:

• Create a shared vision and shared values
• Demonstrate clear accountability
• Identify early results and quick hits; celebrate wins early and often
• Acknowledge the 'grieving' process that employees go through during endings/good-byes
• Establish new traditions
• Keep in mind what is important to the individual employee (i.e., "what is going to happen to me?")
• Make adjustments and course corrections - it is an evolutionary process. Admit problems and fix them.