Staff morale had deteriorated when he came into office, claimed Acting Commissioner of Corrections Sevuloni Naucukidi.
He says much work has been done since then to dismantle long-standing organisational barriers and improve institutional effectiveness.
“When I came into office three months ago, staff morale had decayed,” he said.
“There was a complete breakdown in communication, uncertainty, and connectivity to the staff on the ground was poor,” Mr Naucukidi told The Fiji Times.
“What was happening was that these units were working in isolation, in silos.
“Departments were isolated, with little or no communication and collaboration between them.”
He said changes had to be made within the various departments and units, and that the establishment of a planning and development unit had helped put things back into perspective.
“Our goal has been to create a system where every officer, from top management to front-line staff, understands their role and responsibilities.
“When I came in, there was a complete breakdown, and uncertainty of communication channels between the different levels of hierarchy, of leadership.”
Mr Naucukidi said this often affected the way prisoners were looked after.
“We are working with people here, people who do not conform to the standards and norms that the rest of us follow.
“So, when you’re an OC (officer-in-charge) of an establishment, you run the whole operation of that establishment, and you have men and women under your command.
“These men and women will work according to your command, or the specific instructions you give.”
Mr Naucukidi said they had restored decision-making authority to senior officers, allowing them to give instructions and feel empowered once again.
“I wanted to change the mindset and culture of the organisation to bring back that trust, confidence and comradeship.”
