A raft of high-profile departures — including the head coaches of the Sparks and Volts — sparked criticism about the leadership style of the chief executive, Mike Coggan, in an article in the Otago Daily Times in July.
One seasoned observer asked if it was time for a change at the top.
Another said one only needed to look at the number of people who had left the association to get a sense of the environment.
A former employee then contacted the ODT, saying Coggan "is focused on and held accountable by the board for finances only".
"His key relationship is always with the board ... and not key staff, making it extremely difficult to build a strong and sustainable working environment.
"By far and away the worst working environment I have been in."
Mawhinney said the OCA had taken steps to address some of the issues raised during an independent review of the association’s culture.
"The findings showed that there are things to work on, mostly around communication," Mawhinney said.
"Some staff felt they did not know what the OCA’s strategic plan was about.
"Some felt that they were not clear on their role or were being asked to do something that was not within what they thought their role was.
"Others felt there was a need to celebrate little wins more.
"The timing was shortly after OCA had got some bad publicity following an article, so for some, there was a feeling that timing had something to do with the criticism that came through in parts of the review.
"Since the review, Mike and the management team have followed up with two staff sessions where they have discussed the sort of things that fit into the ‘culture’ basket. From all accounts, those have been positive.
"But let’s be clear — [Coggan] has the support of the board.
"The findings were shared with Mike by the independent consultant and myself, and he has responded positively.
"It was all about communication and soft skills, really.
"There is no doubt that Mike has strengths in the financial area, but he gets through a lot of stuff apart from just that.
"He is a very hard worker and very committed to the organisation. He is well-respected nationally.
"The intensity he brings to his work can come across as him being quite demanding, but he expects a level of commitment and I don’t think that’s a bad thing," Mawhinney said.
The job of promoting cricket was not getting any easier.
They had to find and nurture talent and create an environment where teams could succeed, and "we are expected to do all that with limited resources".
"We are told that the money tree via New Zealand Cricket is likely to shrink even more as T20 leagues around the world suck money away from the traditional game.
"So the funding we will get from traditional sources is not going to go up unless we can find other funding sources."
New Zealand Cricket has had a rocky end to the year. Chief executive Scott Weenink has resigned and will leave his post on January 30. He held different views from several member associations on NZC priorities including the proposed NZ20 league.
Mawhinney said the OCA had a good relationship with NZC and with Weenink and would continue to work with "whoever comes along as the new CEO".
"We definitely support NZ20 being properly investigated.
"To me, it makes sense to consider the options for T20 at this juncture.
"Super Smash has been going for a while, and it’s under some financial pressure, plus we’re already seeing some players opt out and they’re popping up in the Big Bash or SA20 instead of here.
"So yes, I think we need to consider some sort of private investment. It doesn’t need to mean losing control of the game."
"The alternative ... is that we receive less money from current revenue sources, which would mean we have to make do with less."
