Understanding Organisation Development (Part 2)
Posted by Akada. September 15th, 2007 | | No Responses YetLast week we looked at the meaning of Organization Development (OD) noting that it is a process oriented approach that focuses on increasing an organization’s efficiency, effectiveness and health. We noted that OD is important because, like human beings, organization have a life and do get ill. While it is easy for managers of organizations to take particular care of their human resources, they pay very little or no attention to the health and wellbeing of the organization. Many are not even aware that the organization’s health is a major contributor to the success of their businesses.
We also mentioned some of the distinguishing characteristics of OD from other types of interventions. We noted particularly the fact that OD is planned, it is an organization wide intervention, and it is participatory involving all segments of the organization in the diagnosis of the organization’s problems as well as the solutions.
Today we will focus attention on the typical process of OD. We already mentioned that OD is a process oriented approach to solving organization’s problems. It does not matter what the problems are, OD adopts a process approach.
The first step in the process is the contact and contract. In a normal situation, an organization that has a problem, a need, an issue or a challenge seeks help of the consultant by contacting him/her. The organization might be referred to the consultant by another organization or individual who has had experience with the services of the consultant. The contact might be by phone, by face to face meeting or through an email or snail mail to the consultant. The organization might also be contacted by the consultant through a proposal for an intervention on the basis of the consultant’s perceived understanding of the organization’s problem.
Once the organization and consultant are in contact, the organization (represented by someone who understands the issues and challenges and has the authority to contract the consultant) presents it issues, problems or challenges to the consultant. On the basis of their mutual understanding and agreement, the organization prepares terms of reference (ToR) for the assignment and a contract defining the financial arrangements for the assignment. Technically speaking, the ToR should be separate from the contract. The ToR defines the job to be done while the contract defines the consultancy fees and other financial agreements.
After signing the contract, the consultant begins the process of data collection as part of the process of organizational assessment (OA). The OA process ensures that all segments of the organization are included in the design for data collection. The assessment might involve reading the literature on the organization, interviewing key informants, organizing focused group discussions, developing and using questionnaire, observing people at work, reviewing the policies and procedures, etc. All these are done to get a sense of the situation with the organization in respect of its systems, structures, strategy and culture as it affects efficiency, effectiveness and health.
While the consultant might conduct the OA alone, the third stage of the process, the diagnosis, requires that the consultant works with members of the organization to develop a picture of emerging issues hindering the organization. Since the consultant is not part of the organization and might not know the organization as much as its members, the diagnosis of the data collected is done by the consultant with the active participation of the members of the organization. They provide the reality check for the consultant’s assumptions arising from the diagnosis.
The major difference between OD and expert or traditional consulting begins to show from this stage onwards. While the expert or traditional consultant undertakes the diagnosis alone in a surreptitious manner, the OD consultant works with the members of the organization in arriving at a diagnosis. The OD consultant facilitates the process of diagnosis leading to discovery by the members of the organization of the actual or potential solution(s) to their problems. Once they are able to identify the problem(s) they are more likely to be able to find the solution which will work for them rather than the external consultant.
While the expert or traditional consultant undertakes the diagnosis alone in a surreptitious manner, the OD consultant works with the members of the organization in arriving at a diagnosis.
From the diagnosis stage, the OD consultant proceeds to organizing a feedback session with all relevant stakeholders to present the preliminary findings on the issues affecting the efficiency, effectiveness and health of the organization. This is where the process expertise of the OD consultant shows up. At the feedback session, the OD consultant is merely holding out a mirror to the organization to behold itself. The issues are presented to them in a disaggregated manner to ensure that the information cannot be attributed to any one member of staff or stakeholder as their confidentiality has been guaranteed.
During the presentation of feedback, which might be done through role play, story telling, poetry, or any other creative method that captures the attention of the audience, the stakeholders of the organization might identify with the issues raised, might deny them or might simply say “we have always known that”. This is a demonstration that the OD consultant has reached an appropriate diagnosis of the situation. Once this stage is reached, the next obvious question is often so what or what should we do about the situation? Again, the OD expertise lies in turning the question around to the client to say what do you want to do about the situation? While the expert or traditional consultant will provide the solution for the client on the basis of his/her own diagnosis, the OD consultant will facilitate a process of the organization coming up with its own solutions to the issues or problems. Consequently, these solutions are often more likely to be implemented because members of the organization own them and can identify with them. The reason why many consultant’s reports and recommendations are not implemented is because they are not developed in a participatory manner or with the involvement of the stakeholders of the organization. Hence they are seen as “the consultants report or recommendations”. By facilitating the process of the organization identifying its own problems and solutions, the OD consultant creates an enabling environment for the implementation of the outcomes of the consultancy.
By facilitating the process of the organization identifying its own problems and solutions, the OD consultant creates an enabling environment for the implementation of the outcomes of the consultancy.
Once a consensus has been reached on the problems and the solutions, the OD consultant facilitate the development of an intervention plan to guide the process of what is to be done. This is a critical stage in the process as it makes or mares the entire process. This is why Akada Konsults have designed and developed a TransformAction Tool™ that captures all the interventions agreed with the client for the transformation of the organization.
Like in other stages of the process, the TransformAction Plan is developed with the active participation of the stakeholders of the organization with the OD consultant as facilitator. At this stage, a small group of people from across all layers of the organizational structure will be selected to form the process team to oversee the implementation of the plan and the management of the change processes arising from the plan. This team is supported by the OD consultant through capacity building in change management and accompanied mentoring support. From this stage on, the OD consultant’s role becomes that of providing support to this in-house team to enable them manage the changes and proposed interventions in the Plan. The empowering nature of OD is further demonstrated through the handing over of the baton to the team to lead the process of the implementation of change interventions.
Once the process of implementation is on, the role of the OD consultant is limited to periodic visitation as consultant to the team. However, there might be other areas emerging that might require direct intervention of the OD consultant such as working on improving the communication between departments or within a department, defining work processes for standardization, developing policies and procedures manuals, mentoring of management staff to sharpen their problem solving and strategic thinking capabilities, coaching the chief executive to be more effective and efficient or in adopting a more inclusive and participatory leadership style.
Along with the implementation phase is periodic monitoring of the processes to ensure that the change objectives and milestones are being met. If for any reason the objectives are not being met, the OD consultant will work with the process team to find out why the objectives are not being met. If they are met, then the final stage of the process is the evaluation of the entire interventions to assess their impact on the organization. Once the impact and outcomes are desirable and achieved according to the TransformAction Plan, the OD consultant will facilitate a process of closure to celebrate the end of the exercise by recognizing through various rewards and awards those who have contributed to the success of the process.
Closure means the end of one process and the possible beginning of another depending on if new issues or problems are identified during the implementation process.
In summary, the OD consultant working with the organization goes through this process facilitating rather than directing the process. In doing that, the OD consultant is guided by certain ethical principles such as always trying to be helpful, doing no harm to the organization, not intervening beyond the level the client is ready for and avoiding colluding with the client to deal with symptoms rather than the real issues. The OD consultant also recognizes that everything done in this engagement is an intervention and thereby takes every interaction as an opportunity for diagnosis. The OD consultant as a process expert recognizes the limitations placed on the assignment by the environment and attempts to work within this recognition by being sensitive and self – aware of every aspect of the process.
In a rapidly changing business environment such as Nigeria, the OD consultant is expected to be multi-skilled in various business and professional areas. This does not however mean being a jack of all trade but being aware of all areas in which a client might need support and facilitating the process of providing the skill to the client either directly or through outsourcing.
Next week we will look at how to know if your organization is ill or healthy and how to promote efficiency, effectiveness and health in your organization.