About Us

Workforce Systems Design is a private consulting firm that focuses on helping leaders and their organizations improve through effective organization and leadership development.

Values

  • Faith-Influenced
  • Responsibility
  • Research-Based
  • Client-Focused
  • Excellence
  • Results-Driven

General Consulting Approach

Workforce Systems Design consultants, trainers, and researchers approach consulting as expert advisors capable of rolling up our sleeves and meeting our clients at their level of need. We begin our process by building relationships with leaders and internal consulting staff. Based on sound data collection, Workforce Systems Design will provide the client with a diagnosis and recommended interventions. Our consultants and trainers will then implement solutions and evaluate the results to ensure that individual and organizational performance goals are attained.

Our consultants and researchers believe that the key to understanding organizational direction, strategy and performance is to understand the relationship between Structure and Behaviors in organizations. Our engagement style is to diagnose and construct interventions by understanding the role structural and behavioral variables. Structural variables include processes, policies, structure, roles and responsibilities. Behavioral variables include performance, occupational skills, and relationships. An analysis of the combination of any of these structural and behavioral variables will account for problems facing organizations and guide interventions and solutions to address these problems.

Taking action to address behavior without considering the impact of the variables of structure will result in investing resources that will produce little or no return.

J. Richard Ray serves as the principal and chief consultant for Workforce Systems Design, Inc. and Ray Development, LLC. He has 20 years experience in training, leadership development, workforce development (human capital), and organization development. He has experience with organizations such as NASA, Kaiser Permanente, Char-Broil Grills, Sodexho, Dell, Automated Data Processing (ADP), Shaw Group, Piedmont Natural Gas, US Treasury, National Center for Construction Education and Research, and the National Association of Home Builders.

Richard most recently was Senior Vice President for Phoebe Putney Health System, the largest health system and employer in Southwest Georgia serving as both Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer. He marshalled resources and staff to work on complex issues such as ACA, physician leadership, dyad leadership development, talent management, Lean Six Sigma, culture transformations, community benefit and philanthropy and strategic realignment. Prior to this work, Dr. Ray directed organizational development and change efforts at the United States Treasury Department. He also served as the first Director of Workforce Development for the National Center of Construction Education and Research (NCCER) and as Director of Partnerships and Strategic Planning for the National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) in Washington, DC.

While Dr. Ray has held a variety of positions in the not-for-profit and private sector, he began his career as an enlisted combat engineer, and later non-commissioned and commissioned Engineer Officer, in the US Army. His undergraduate training is in psychology, management, and engineering. His graduate training is in economic development from Georgia Tech and organization development from Johns Hopkins University. His doctorate is in human and organizational learning from the George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Dr. Ray is a published writer on issues such as workforce development, worker shortages, organizational learning, change management, and corporate social responsibility. He has been an adjunct professor at George Washington University, Elon University, Queens University and the Singapore Institute for Management teaching courses including Leadership in Organizations, Organization Development, Strategic Human Resources Management, Adult Learning, and Consulting Skills. Richard can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].

Key Competency:

  • Human Capital Planning and Metrics
  • Culture and Strategy Alignment
  • Executive Leadership
  • Strategic Human Resources Management
  • Leadership Coaching and Development
  • Leadership Team Development
  • Instructional Design and Delivery
  • Individual and Organizational Performance Improvement and LEAN
  • Change Management
  • Employee Engagement & Retention
  • Comprehensive Workforce
  • Development Organization Development Consulting

Vicki Hart is a distinguished organizational effectiveness professional, who works shoulder to shoulder with senior leaders and their teams to jump-start large scale change, align strategy and keep stakeholders focused. She has cross industry experience, including 15 years in healthcare and in-country assignments in Asia and Europe. Vicki is known for her laser focus on identifying critical business outcomes and driving the team to deliver targeted results. She is passionate about individual and organizational performance improvement.

Most recently, as Director of Organization Effectiveness for Old Navy, Vicki built an organization design methodology and roadmap and led the design of a new operating model for the International Merchandising organization. Previously as Director of People and Organization Capability for Microsoft, Vicki launched organizational effectiveness, executive coaching and talent management initiatives and led senior leadership team performance assessments/interventions for 3 global business sectors valued at $24B. As Senior Director of Organization Effectiveness for the 4th largest national healthcare insurer, she designed and launched an enterprise-wide change management methodology, adopted by HR and IT. As Senior Manager for Deloitte Consulting, Vicki developed and led the national Leadership Development service offering for Deloitte US firms, building the approach, methodology, and tools while leading a national team. She designed and led leadership development, talent management, strategic change and communications initiatives for global clients, including Aflac, Amerada Hess, IBM and the Army Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES.)

 

Previously at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Vicki served as Chief of Staff/Director of Health Plan and Hospital Operations and advisor to the President. In this role, she removed barriers and aligned senior leaders on a common vision resulting in the historic endorsement of Kaiser's 5-Year Strategic Labor/Management Partnership Agreement. Using data-driven problem solving, she guided leaders on projects such as the successful renegotiation of $250M national ambulance contract, engaging sponsors and stakeholders enterprise-wide. Vicki began her career in the Neuropsychology Department at Baylor College of Medicine and held progressively responsible clinical and management positions with University of California-San Francisco and Davis Medical Schools and Blue Shield of California.

 

Vicki’s international experience includes living and working in Japan, Singapore and Germany for seven years. She is a published and credentialed executive coach and holds Masters’ Degrees from Washington University and the Fielding Graduate Institute and a BA Cum Laude from the University of Houston. Vicki leads the West Coast Practice in San Fransisco, CA and can be reached at 415.699.5328 or [email protected].

 

LinkedIN: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vickihart