As Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink prepares to hand over the reins of the state’s labor agency on Monday to his successor, Ava Dejoie, he highlighted the accomplishments he and his team have achieved during his more than six years with LWC at his final all-staff meeting on Thursday.
As Business Report details in a profile of Eysink, since 2008 all unemployment insurance performance indicators have risen from near the bottom of the nation to near the top, Eysink notes. At the same time, LWC helped to fill more than 1.1 million jobs. The most transformed department, he says, was the Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration.
“We are the only state in the nation to figure out how to increase the quality and speed of health care delivery to injured workers while reducing the costs of services and the costs borne by employers,” Eysink says.
LWC underwent an internal transformation over the past eight years, drastically improving performance measures, making considerable strides in workforce development and collaborating with various entities on a shared goal: filling jobs in Louisiana.
When appointed head of the LWC in July 2009, Eysink became the spark that ignited change throughout the department, with the help of his staff and the team-building culture they created. Moreover, Eysink’s workforce accomplishments reached beyond state lines. Not only was he active in the National Association of State Workforce Agencies—he was its newly elected president.
“A few years ago, it didn’t seem as though the organization was effective enough for us,” Eysink says. “My team and I thought that if we’re going to have a voice on the Hill and with federal agencies where we get our funding, we have to work with other states because one small state on its own doesn’t have a lot of clout.”
Throughout his tenure at the LWC, Eysink became involved on the federal level through NASWA, which represents state workforce systems and had a say in how federal funds are spent. Eysink sought to bring states together to establish a voice in D.C. for workforce development. In 2015, he ran unopposed for NASWA president.
“It’s very gratifying to work with this group because you have red and blue states, with a broad cross section of opinion on every issue,” Eysink says. “When you’re all working together, there are some things we align well on: People need work to support themselves. That’s generally true. It’s not a political thing.”
Colleagues and partners in workforce development agree Eysink’s success is a result of his ability to balance interests of various stakeholders and his responsiveness to their concerns.
“Curt has this great ability to listen to all these departments that touch the workforce,” says Charles Moniotte, chairman of the Workforce Investment Council. “He listens to their issues and understands the priority they hold. He’s able to blend his desires for workforce development into their goals for their departments. It’s truly remarkable.”
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