ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Prof Neeraj Rajneesh Paul

 What is Organizational Development (OD)?

Organization development (OD) is an effort that focuses on improving an organization's

capability through the alignment of strategy, structure, people, rewards, metrics, and
management processes.

Organizational development is an evidence-based scientific approach to help organizations

become effective and adaptive to change by developing, improving, and reinforcing
strategies, structures, and processes.

Since OD aims at organizational effectiveness, the variable outcomes can include financial
performance, employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and overall change
management.
However, a noteworthy aspect here would be that though both OD and HRM (human
resource management) are people-centric processes and often used synonymously, they
are actually different.
Difference Between Organizational Development & Human Resource Mgmt

Organizational development is more holistic and strategic, whereas HR is operational and can be considered a
subset of OD.

If HR initiatives focus on people practices, OD interventions consider multiple inputs and tools that cut across
the breadth and depth of the organization.

For example, the implementation of a performance management system can be categorized as an HR activity.

But, to consider it as organizational development, it needs to be aligned with other functions in an ordered
and comprehensive way.

Here, the HR department can play a vital role in reducing an organization’s resistance to change by explaining
the need for a performance management system, its benefits to employees/company, and asking for
feedback and input on implementing such a system.

Therefore HR has a vital role in organizational development, but unlike HR, OD often brings about a behaviour change
in the organization.
 What are Goals of Organizational Development?

1. Improve Productivity & Efficiency Across the Organization:

85% of employees are disengaged at their workplace, (according to Gallup’s State of the
Local Workplace).

However, the organizational development process focuses on making the workforce more
efficient and productive by equipping them with the required skills to succeed in constantly
changing markets.

OD also improves communication within the team to align employees with the company’s
vision. Once employees feel empowered, they are motivated to give their best and are
willing to take more ownership of their work.
 What are Goals of Organizational Development?

2. Create a Culture that Embraces Change & Innovation:

Organizational development leverages competitive analysis, market research, and

consumer behaviour to create innovative products and services.

It positively impacts the organizational culture by creating a continuous improvement cycle

through special committees and new business processes. Strategies are implemented and
assessed for results and quality, thereby helping employees embrace change without any
barriers.

For instance, Google fosters a culture of ongoing learning through organizational

development. New employees are aware that they need to learn continuously to keep pace
with changing business dynamics and grow professionally.
 What are Goals of Organizational Development?

3. Higher Profit Margins:

New development initiatives streamline organizational processes, as well as increase

employee productivity and product innovation.

The operational costs further decrease due to a lower employee turnover rate, resulting in
substantial profit margins.
 The 5 Phases of the Organizational Development Process
Organizational development is a complex and systematic process. OD practitioners implement the
development initiatives in five phases:
 1. Entry 2. Diagnosis 3. Feedback 4. Solution
This stage represents the
The entry stage This phase deals with The client receives the development and implementation of
represents the first the problem analysed information solutions to rectify the problems
interaction between the investigation via a via the consultant at identified in the first stage.
consultant and a client collaborative data this stage.
to assess the situation gathering process The solution can include a risk
& identify the problem. between an The feedback phase management plan, communication
organization’s also includes a review plan, change management plan, & a
A data-driven approach stakeholders and the of preliminary training plan.
results in a more consultant to discuss agreements on the
profound the root cause of the project scope and 5. Evaluation
understanding of the problem, barriers, and resources resulting in Post the implementation phase, the
areas of improvement the previously an action plan that change outcome is assessed to
for an organization. This implemented solutions. outlines the change determine whether the initiative
phase finally results in solutions to be meets the goals.
an engagement via a developed and defined
contract or a project success indicators In case of a change failure, the
plan to lay the ground based on the organization looks for the cause and
expectations about the information and data make adjustments to eliminate the
project scope for the analysis. obstacle. The OD practitioner can also
organizational include small pilot test in this phase
development process before the organization-wide rollout
of the development initiative.
 Organizational Development Interventions

Organizational development interventions are the programs and processes designed to solve a specific
problem.

The purpose of these interventions is to improve an organization's efficiency and help leaders manage more
effectively.

These OD interventions are required to address the issues that an organization might be facing ranging
from process, performance, knowledge, skill, will, technology, appraisal, career development, attrition, top
talent retention and the list can actually be pretty exhaustive.
 Organizational Development Interventions

There are 3 types of interventions that an organization should be able to identify and plan to
implement.

1. Individual : Interventions pertaining to an individual.

2. Group : Interventions pertaining to a group.

3. Organization : Interventions related to the organization’s strategy and policy.

 Organizational Development Interventions

1. Individual Interventions: A particular employee is provided coaching or mentoring on interpersonal

behaviours that are counterproductive. Individual interventions are required in case of new
employees, internal role transitions, and performance improvement.

2. Group Interventions: Group interventions aim at the group’s content, structure, or process. They
may be necessary because one part of a company is changing, restructuring a department, and
communicating new job responsibilities to the relevant employees. These interventions may take
the form of professional development coaching, employee training, or change management
exercises.

3. Organizational Interventions: Organizational interventions are essential in the case of organization-

wide changes like new strategy implementation, new software rollout, structural changes, and a
stronger shared vision. You can accomplish these interventions in the form of employee wellness
programs or by roping in third-party experts.
An organization should be able to identify the kind of OD intervention required. Once the
intervention is identified the organization should then plan to address or eradicate the issue at
hand in an effective manner.

Below mentioned are the OD intervention process that an organization should have to address
any intervention.

1. Entering and Contracting : Here we establish the fact that yes we do require OD intervention to address an issue.

2. Diagnosis : In this process we identify the intervention and establish the root cause of the issue.

3. Designing Intervention : In this process we design the approach to address the issue or intervene to sort the issue
out and bring value to business.

4. Leading and Managing Change : Here we establish a focus group with management buy in and implement the
designed intervention. OD intervention is a structured programme driven from top to bottom.

5. Evaluating and Institutionalizing Interventions: Here we evaluate the course of actions implemented and see if
we are on track or if we need to re-design the approach so that the objective if met.
There are 4 buckets in which the OD intervention process can be bundled together.

1. Human Process : Human process related activities are tagged under this group viz.
a. Job Analysis.
b. Team Building Activities.

2. Strategic : Activities related to organizational strategies and policies are grouped under this bucket.

3. Human Resource Management : Human resource related activities are grouped under this bucket
a. Reward and Recognition.
b. Appraisal.
c. Career Development.

4. Technostructural : Activities related to technology or where technology is related are tagged under
this bucket.
Conclusion :

These are some of the aspects of Organizational Development Interventions and

the effective mechanism to identify and address the issues at hand.

These interventions are unavoidable in totality, however a vigilant and matured

organization should be able to apprehend the issue much before it erupts off on
bigger scale and should be able to address at the very initial stage when it can be
done with minimum efforts.

The cost of negligence can have adverse impact in terms of cost, wide spread
agitation resulting in to image, reputation, and delivery and branding loss.