TasRacing’s chief executive quit months after the survey revealed employee dissatisfaction, documents show

TasRacing’s former chief executive has resigned for “personal reasons” just two months after a workplace culture review delivered a scathing assessment of the organisation’s senior executives. He now runs Australia’s national peak racing body.

Paul Erickson, who was appointed chief executive of TasRacing in 2019, resigned in June despite extending his contract with TasRacing for a further three years just four months earlier.

His resignation came two months after an external consultant conducted a 54-question employee survey which revealed that less than 20 per cent of TasRacing staff believed its executive team “led well and led by example”.

The survey and review, obtained by the ABC through Right to Information laws, gathered responses from almost three quarters of current and recently departed TasRacing staff.

It revealed that only 23.4 per cent of staff felt the executive team had created a “positive and constructive workplace culture” and that TasRacing staff were largely dissatisfied with the organisation’s support for those experiencing mental health issues .

Almost all staff surveyed disagreed that interactions with external stakeholders such as coaches and racing clubs were “positive and appropriate”.

In the summary report of the cultural review, TasRacing chairman Jean Fair said it was “obvious to the board that substantial change needs to occur to address the issues raised in the cultural review”.

TasRacing did not comment on whether the results of the review and survey played a role in Mr Erickson’s departure.

A spokesman for Racing Minister Madeline Ogilvie told the ABC that Mr Erickson’s departure was “a work matter for the TasRacing board”.

A TasRacing spokesman said the organization does not comment on individual employees and culture reviews are “a common business practice to vet employees and are certainly not unique to TasRacing”.

But the ABC understands the culture review and staff survey were launched by the board in direct response to concerns raised by a former employee about the conduct of the executive team, including Mr Erickson.

After leaving TasRacing, Mr Erickson returned to Sydney and was appointed CEO of Racing Australia in September.

When contacted by the ABC, Mr Erickson claimed his resignation was purely for personal reasons and a desire to return to Sydney to be closer to family.

The ABC asked Ms Ogilvy if she was aware of a complaint against Mr Erickson in the run-up to the review, but her office did not respond.

Government, TasRacing disingenuous about leaving, opposition says

Another more detailed report, which contained interviews and witness statements from officials, was also handed to the TasRacing board, but was withheld by a Right to Information request from the ABC due to confidentiality concerns.

More than 60 percent of the respondents agreed to an interview. It is not known, however, whether any officers who participated were identified in the report.

Opposition racing spokesman Dean Winter said the Government and TasRacing had been disingenuous about Mr Erickson’s departure.

“To come out and say that just two or three months after his reassignment that he’s decided to pick himself up and go back to the mainland is pretty incredible,” he said.

“What we’ve seen now is that there are more serious issues with the way TasRacing works.

“The Tasmanian racing industry deserves to have an open and transparent understanding of how TasRacing is going.”

It was revealed last year that Mr Erickson had been the subject of numerous complaints after an “intense” back-and-forth with stakeholders at a state greyhound reference group meeting and was referred for communications training by the TasRacing board.

A Wise Workplace investigator concluded that three of the four complaints against Mr. Erickson were unfounded and one was partially founded.

“The culture review clearly shows that there have been huge problems at TasRacing and the chief executive’s role in this must be questioned,” Mr Winter said.

On November 1, the Government announced that the search had begun for TasRacing’s next chief executive.