An internal audit of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted by the Office of the Washington State Auditor, found problems with communication, bullying, and internal accountability at the state agency, according to a publicly released audit report.
The culture audit, however, which is the first of its kind in Washington State, did not find that sexual harassment was a pervasive issue. The audit was initiated after accusations of sexual harassment surfaced at the state agency in prior years. A deputy director at WDFW had been convicted raping a staff member in 2018, and others came forward with allegations of sexual harassment incidents shortly after the case.
“Staff expressed concerns about a variety of unprofessional behaviors at WDFW that were unrelated to sexual harassment, but were also less likely to be addressed. The most frequently cited type of unprofessional behavior was bullying in various forms, but employees also described other problematic behaviors, including perceived discrimination, retaliation and legal or ethical violations,” the audit report authors wrote.
In response to the audit, Kelly Susewind, who took over as WDFW director in 2018 after a tumultuous period, said the report shows progress and reform are underway at the department, but that more work lies ahead. “We are heartened by the finding that sexual harassment is not a pervasive issue across the department and the many efforts we are making together are paying off. We’ve learned that most staff at WDFW are experiencing a positive work environment—they enjoy their work, their colleagues, and their supervisors. And yet, our aim is to achieve a positive work experience across the entirety of our agency—universally safe and respectful,” he wrote in a statement.
State auditors surveyed approximately 800 of about 1,800 WDFW employees and spoke with 222 of them, including 40 individual interviews, 27 group interviews, 10 job shadows and six meetings with regional management. DFW employees also had a dedicated phone line to the Office of the State Auditor to discuss issues and experiences at the department.
According to the audit findings, 21 percent of WDFW employees said they’d experienced workplace bullying at the agency, while 30 percent said they’d witnessed it. The findings also found mixed views of the department’s overall culture. Nearly half (48 percent) of respondents said they had a “positive” view of the workplace culture, while 27 percent said they had a neutral view and 25 percent had a negative view.
Said Susewind in his response: “We know that progress on this is critical to creating respectful workplaces where inclusivity is broadly demonstrated and WDFW is a place of employment that is attractive to a diverse workforce. WDFW went in into this audit process wanting to learn what issues continue to play a role in our workplace culture – and we are proud of how our staff engaged with the auditors to provide this review and help us improve.” 
Joseph McCafferty is editor & publisher at Internal Audit 360°