Organization Development, as the name points out, works towards development of the organization. The development is specific to an objective, mission and many a times a transformation measure.
The objective of OD is defined keeping in mind few traits which are common to almost all the industries;
Organizational Development is therefore not restricted to HR development or changes in the HR policies. Thought it is considered as a subject of Human Resources studies, Organization Development has wider application across the organization.
The role of HR is predominant as the functions of HR integrate with function of OD. The role of OD is not for one off basis, it affects the organization’s performance in the long run.
The HR department is responsible for collecting data and give detailed report on employee management, pay structures, hierarchy and reports on employee performance management. The HR team shall be aligned with the OD processes in order to bring changes in the performance management, people management systems and align with overall business verticals of the organization.
Any change which is affecting efficiency of the organization is directly related to Human Resources management, as employees are the biggest resources for any organization.
On the other side, the HR need to take the employees into confidence about any changes in the organizational structure, reduction in benefits, or even performance management system. HR has to be in partnership with other departments to explain why they intend to bring changes in the existing management or systems and processes, whether the changes will benefit the employees, how the company will improve efficiency and if the employees would get any rewards or recognition. The HR is also responsible for collecting feedback from all the employees about the implementation of Organizational Development strategies.
The process of OD might run through months or sometimes through years. The process is therefore carried out in phases with stipulated timelines of implementation.
Data, Analysis and Evaluation The job of organization development is often assigned to external consultants. The consultants begin the work with first understanding the existing processes, systems, loopholes. In order to do that, they collect data, as stated above mostly from HR department. The collected data is thereafter diagnosed, analyzed and evaluated.
Connecting with the organizationWhile collecting data from various sources, the OD experts try to connect with the employees through open dialogue, surveys, interviews and through focused approach groups. In the process, a trust is built with the employees which are essential for implementing changes and making the employees accept the changes.
Analysis and feedbackIn order to identify the problem areas, the diagnosis of the collected data is the next step, looking for what works and what can be leverage. A lot of organizations go for hard data, based on a scoring system for analyzing the current situation and impact analysis system to measure progress. The OD consultants therefore prepare a summarized report of the information and analysis. Collectively, a gap analysis between the current situation and the desired situation is prepared which shows the impact of implementation of organizational development strategies.
Planning interventions and actionPost analysis of feedback, an action plan for getting change in organization structure, processes and systems is drafted with focus on action planning. Action plans are further broken down into small steps with assigning accountability, attaching responsibility and agreed-on dates for completion.
The most important stage is Implementation of the action plan in the most effective manner. It is the most critical step which can result in giving successful results as desired or end up in a disaster. The implementation stage needs to include interventions from entire organization through individual or group coaching, leadership development training, team building exercises and conflict resolution.
A step by step implementation and monitoring results during and post implementation is important instead of analysis impact after complete implementation of the processes.
Final Evaluation of impact Since the very purpose of undergoing the Organizational Development process is to improve productivity, efficiency and improve bottom-line, it is important to measure the actual impact. The impact evaluation can thus include impact on the financial measures, effect on the bottom-line or return on investment, stakeholder satisfaction and changes in the employee satisfaction level.
The entire process may take months or years and the results may start showing after expiry of considerable period. The organizations therefore maintain the evaluation reports and adopt the methods of impact measurement on periodic interval basis. It is superficial to expect results in top and bottom line in the short run.
Organization development work is a continuous process. The HR department with the top management need to ensure adherence to new formed policies, systems and processes on year basis. The importance of OD is to be explained to every employee and make them realize that the changes will bring better productivity, efficiency and a better organization which will be capable of passing on rewards and bonus to the change members i.e.; employees.