Written By: Dr. Russ K. Decker
What is organizational development?
The key premise of OD is that organizations are social systems, interacting through relationships, norms, and values. The goal is to increase long-term performance while enriching the lives and experiences of its members. OD changes the way people think, feel, and act in an organization. As member’s emotions change for the positive, performance and attitudes change as well. For an organization to sustain change, an alignment from the members is paramount for vision, trust, and clarity.
Organizational development is about positive energy from top directors and managers. A strength-based positive approach, such as Appreciative Inquiry, is imperative when meeting the needs of employees and especially, the customers. For an organization to move from inception to maturity, it is important to have empirical data to evaluate progress, standards, value, and support for healthy growth. Additionally, my personal belief is, “If there is a 5% problem, build on the 95% successes.” Lastly, it is important to change the way people think, feel, and act in an organization to increase organizational performance.
What is human capital?
Human capital regards to employee contribution. As the employee increases their contribution to the organization, the more production and long-term satisfaction is obtained. The job of a successful manager is to increase employee contribution. This is a list of important factors to consider when building human capital:
• Organizational culture- A sets of beliefs, identity, norms, and values that an employee can accept and appreciate. Importantly, is the organization a pleasant place to work?
• Leadership effectiveness – The ability to influence and support others, especially when upper management has different ideas, expectations, and style. It is important to know who is in charge and how available they are to their employees. Additionally, managers must be able to identify the nature and culture of the organization, so they can inspire employees to their fullest potential.
• Employee engagement (emotional) – Praise and recognition are terms used to encourage employees. Research states that less sick days and less personal time off is an attribute to positive reciprocation between employees and organization. A give and take process promotes successful interactions with positive outcomes.
• Talent retention – It is important to hire and retain top talent and develop opportunities for staff to learn and grow. Likewise, employees need full support from management. It is important to understand that employees are looking out for themselves. With that said, they will be at work longer and be more productive when they feel valued and cared for.
What is human performance technology?
It is important to maximize human performance through competitive salaries, positive communicative relationships, feeling valued, and feeling important to the organization. Employees will stay at a job longer when they are getting their needs met. There are some organizations who truly value their employees by offering pleasing benefits such as daycare, laundry, gas cards, exercise gym, nutritious selections of foods, etc.. As the employees’ needs are met, their performance increases as well. A saying, “A happy employee is a working employee.”
How does learning and performance consulting add value to an organization?
For an organization to shift from inception to maturity and continue to grow, it is imperative to have relevant research to support organization development. As the organization shifts and moves with the trends, it is also important to understand the culture. Some organizations grow too quickly and put themselves at risk without understanding employees and the way they people grow. People want to grow and be part of an organization that thrives. There is a point when growth becomes added stress. There must be corrective measures in place to account for the change. An OD consultant is a good choice at this time. They are objective and enough removed from the process to see the organizational stressors. Through interviewing, group meetings, assessments, and more, a consultant is able to assess and design a plan. Once the design is implemented, the plan becomes the “stepping stone” to program vision, mission, and goals.
What do organizations need in order to remain viable in tough economic times?
Due to the economic recession, organizations have been forced to reorganize, reinvent, and re-strategize their efforts. Organizations are pressured to stay focused and be innovative to remain competitive. As organizations move forward, it is paramount to maintain clarity of vision, mission, and core values. Being proactive in strategizing and understanding the trends is essential. Additionally, organizations need to diversify, “get out of the box,” and explore all possibilities. More than ever, it is important to have a mindset of success. “If you think you will fail, you will.” Being a good manager looks to the future and envisions the finish line or goal. If it seems to be working, stay open and diverse enough to follow the trend.
5 Critical Factors for success as an OD Practitioner?
1. Accountable – “What I say, is what I do, and what I mean. Being accountable is a state of mind, which represents honesty, clarity, and integrity.
2. Clarity – It is important to have defined job descriptions and clear expectation. It is difficult to hold someone accountable without clear and precise direction.
3. Open communication – Organizations must be clear with their expectations as they communicate with others. Without clear direction, an organization will become chaotic and unproductive. As an example: An organization has multiple off-site divisions. One division produces nuts, expecting the other to produce bolts. Once the company realized the problem, they were forced to change their organizational strategy and design. Without open communication, businesses will fail.
4. Legitimacy – It is important for organizations, employees, clients, and public perception to believe in the product being sold. Organizations must take into account multiple venues prior to decision making, especially if they are looking to save money. If the product is cheapened compromised, customers will stop buying the product.
5. Knowledge – Knowledge is about understanding the language of the company, the language of the product, and the familiarity of competitors. To be cutting-edge, organizations must research and analyze their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and lessons learned to be successful.