Organizational development involves modifying internal processes to improve company performance. Explore the five key stages of successful organizational growth.
By Brad Nakase, Attorney
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It takes a lot of work to build a company. If you want to make it through it unscathed, you need to study up on the different steps. What steps are involved in each stage of organizational development? Alright, let’s get started.
An organization can improve its performance through organizational development (OD), which entails modifying its internal processes. This scientific approach looks at how businesses are doing now and makes adjustments to fix issues and make sure their goals and plans are in line with their complicated, dynamic circumstances.
Organizational development (OD) takes into account a company’s “hard” and “soft” components. Examples of the structured or hard side include things like strategy, systems, and objectives. Perceptions underpin the softer side, which encompasses things like people, how they behave, their culture, etc.
To get the most out of organizational development, you have to follow all five stages. Now, we’ll examine each stage in further detail.
The first stage in organizational development (OD) is when a company realizes there’s a problem that requires fixing. Some examples of these problems are:
Once the problem has been identified, the next step in forming a cooperative relationship is to arrange a meeting with the manager or leader. In this stage, you will outline the problem, investigate it, and arrive at a general evaluation of the situation. The goals and parameters of the project can then be defined.
At this stage, you will collect and arrange all the relevant information in order to assess the problem and decide what to do next. Before you can lay a solid foundation for designing interventions that will fix the problem, you need to know the present environment of the company and how the system is functioning. Collaborating with stakeholders is an integral part of this examination.
It is important to inform your customer or other stakeholders of your diagnosis as soon as possible. Make sure there isn’t too much information for your readers to process. To keep their attention for a shorter period of time, summarize the feedback. Make sure to incorporate the insights that will encourage them to support the necessary change.
The next stage, after conducting research and reporting your results to the client, is to formulate a strategy. Converting the diagnosis into a strategy with specific actions and intervention strategies to bring about the necessary change is your responsibility.
Interventions are premeditated shifts in strategy that aim to bring about desired change by causing a disturbance to the status quo. Based on what the company wants, a range of these strategies are at their disposal.
Transorganizational change, wellness programs, performance management, and organizational (structural) design are all examples of OD interventions.
Consider the following questions as you plan the interventions:
You can find the most appropriate intervention for each given situation by classifying them into different types.
There are three ways interventions can be categorized using the Reddy’s Cube method:
This is a summary of the several kinds of interventions that fall within Reddy’s Cube:
There will be more data available as you put your plan into action. The things that work and the things that don’t will become clear, and you can use this data to make changes for the better.
It is important to closely observe your OD process. Move on to the next round of evaluation and feedback after the plan is in motion. This is the stage where you’ll figure out if the interventions worked. Did the change that was needed happen? Check to see which actions or measures need to be changed and which ones should be kept up.
Together with your client, decide which metrics and measurement techniques will be most useful, and set up a review timetable. These sessions are for you to make sure the customer and you are on the same page regarding the data. Check for inconsistencies in the data interpretation or omissions made by the other party.
Learning and development professionals often turn to Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation when assessing organizational development (OD) initiatives. There is an efficacy metric at each of the four tiers:
Reaction: The people in the system talk about how they feel about the activity or engagement. To find out how employees feel, you can conduct an experience survey.
Learning: What did the workers learn? Does the intervention have a positive effect on their knowledge, understanding, experiences, or abilities?
Behavior: Any changes in how people think, feel, or act at this level show how well the solution was implemented. One way to measure this is by the use of self-evaluations or 360-degree feedback.
Results: These are how the interventions ultimately turned out. How have they affected the business’s bottom line, as well as its workers, stockholders, and consumers?
The OD process has come to a close with the newly implemented change being seamlessly integrated into routine operations. Wrap up the transition with a strategy for efficiency standards to make sure it lasts. Make sure the modifications you made stay that way by setting up a system for continuous monitoring.
You must ensure a smooth winding down if you value the trust, productivity, and involvement of your employees. Fostering a secure workplace is a great way to show your employees that you care about them:
Make it okay for people to talk about how they feel about the shift by listening with empathy.
Recognize that sadness and anger are normal responses to change.
Make an effort to foster safe spaces where people can speak their minds without fear of judgment.
The following is an illustration of organizational development in action using a made-up online sports products retailer:
ABC Sports has experienced a 35% growth rate over the past five years. They are having trouble filling entry-level management jobs in a number of departments at headquarters with qualified candidates, despite the fact that their leadership prefers to promote from within. Leadership is looking to HR to address the issue since there is no dedicated OD department at the company.
Step 1: Contracting and Entering
In order to get a feel for the big picture and clarify expectations for managing roles, HR representative Margaret meets with two CEOs. They collaborate to identify potential interventions.
Step 2: Making a Diagnosis
Margaret is diligently gathering data and doing assessments of the talent pipeline. She gathers workers from different divisions into focus groups and asks them questions like:
After tallying up the numbers, Margaret finds that the majority of workers do not believe that ABC Sports supports their professional development. She shows her two executive colleagues what she found to try to convince them that this way of thinking needs to change.
Step 3: Involvement and Action
In her strategy, Margaret lays out the steps the organization must take to foster employee development and prepare individuals for leadership positions.
All interested personnel can take advantage of the learning opportunities provided by the interventions:
Step 4: Assessment and Criticism
Throughout the implementation of the OD process, data and opinions have been gathered. To see if the interventions are progressing as planned, Margaret evaluates it:
Margaret meets with her corporate contacts to discuss the evaluation report she prepared. For the purpose of bettering the training process, she offers several suggestions. As an example, providing more options for employees to take paid time off from their usual duties to participate in development opportunities really helps. Margaret plans to continue the evaluation process by scheduling further check-ins.
Step 5: Wrapping Up
Now that she has a solid training schedule in place, Margaret may go on to the last stage of organizational development. She hosts multiple employee focus groups so that those who volunteered for the training can share their thoughts and opinions in a safe environment.
ABC Sports has officially committed to the plan’s training opportunities in order to support the professional growth of its personnel. So, that’s the end of Margaret’s organizational development role.
When it comes to improving productivity, nothing beats an organization’s commitment to organizational development and the practice of continual evolution. While there is no simple solution to the complex and time-consuming problem of organizational development (OD), it can be simplified by familiarizing oneself with the different stages of OD. It also helps you identify where you stand in terms of OD skills and where to concentrate your efforts on improving those areas.
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