Organizational Development Strategies for Change

Organizational development is the restructuring of an organization’s business or marketing plan that is typically performed in order to achieve an important objective. A strategic change might include change in a company’s policies, target market, aim or organizational structure. Organizational development strategies for change are essential for companies that want to evolve and remain competitive, but this change can also be incredibly disruptive without a strategy to guide the transformation initiatives.

Organizations are rapidly changing like never. Various driving forces are causing these changes, including increasing markets and associated competition, increasing expectations of transparency, and an increasingly diverse workforce. As a result, leaders need to learn about supporting significant change within their own organizations.

Organizational Development Strategies for Change

There are several phrases regarding organizational development strategies for change that look and sound a lot alike but have different meanings. Many people argue that organizations are changing rapidly. Some of those changes are planned to be accomplished over a long period. However, organizational change is often provoked by some major driving force, for example, a public relations crisis, sudden opportunity in markets, dramatic reduction in profits or new CEO with a very different leadership style.

Organizational development is essential for companies that want to evolve and remain competitive, but it can also be incredibly disruptive without a strategy to guide the transformation initiatives. The most effective change management strategies are those that focus on the human behavior element, because employees are often the ones most affected by an organizational change, and because their decision to become adopters of change can have a tremendous impact on the success of a business.

Strategies for Change

Learning Organizational Development Strategies for change is a key component of leadership. If you’re facing changes within your business and want to learn more about the change management process, here are some of the key OD strategies for change you can employ

• Propose Incentives – Assuming employees will follow their own self-interests, the first change management strategy is to offer incentives that will encourage people to accept and ultimately engage with the new directions of the company. Employee recognition programs and rewards provide the encouragement most workers need to buy into change. This OD strategy for change shows that the leaders appreciates their employees during a difficult time of transition.
• Redefine Cultural Values – This strategy is based on the underlying assumption that people, as social beings, want to match and follow the cultural norms and values. Establishing a culture of continuous improvement is one way to change the hearts and minds of employees and the way they work.
• Exercise Authority – Depending on how serious the need for change is, an organization may choose to exercise its authority to decrease employee opposition and get workers to adhere to new standards, processes, and cultural norms as quickly as possible. The OD strategy for change can be the fastest way to implement change though it can also lead to resentment and opposition among some employees that may become problematic in the future.
• Shift the Burden of Change – Although people are often quick to oppose the undesirable change, they are often even quicker to adapt to new environments. Organizations can take advantage of this adaptability by creating a new structure and slowly transfer employees from the old one. This strategy is best suited for situations involving radical, transformative organizational change. Instead of burdening upper management with alluring employees to accept specific change initiatives, the burden of change is shifted to the workers who gradually find themselves within the limitations of a new organization. Once there, employees are faced with the prospect of adapting to new circumstances or being left behind to sink with the old organization.
• Recruit Champions of Change – Radical change is often met with resistance, but the odds of success can be improved if the voices initiating change belong to workers and not solely the upper management. Recruiting frontline employees to share the need for change with their peers can speed up worker buy-in, lower the degree of resistance, and serve as a mechanism for collecting feedback and disseminating information regarding the planned change initiatives.
• Be as Transparent as Possible – When the change will be a major one, it’s helpful to be as transparent as possible with your employees , even if you can’t give them all of the details, being clear about the details you can share and clearly explaining their impact, will go a long way towards helping your staff feel more comfortable.
• Tell the Truth – Being honest with your staff to the extent that you’re able to is usually the best way. Sugarcoating, presenting things in an overly optimistic way, and promising unrealistic outcomes will just make your staff suspicious and distrustful of your motives.
• Create a Roadmap – Make your employees understand the present condition of the organization and where it is going. and how is it going to progress in future. Laying this out clearly will help staff see how it fits into, or is evolving from, the business model they’ve become accustomed to.
• Provide Training – When the change involves shifts in technologies or processes, provide adequate training for your employees to help them master the new way of doing things making sure that this training will be available when the change is revealed so that employees don’t feel that they’ll be left behind due to lack of skill or experience.
• Invite Participation – Although it is not always possible to give employees the opportunity to participate in, or give feedback on, decisions can be a really positive strategy. Employees will be grateful for the chance to make their voices heard, and it can also be a great way to get different perspectives and understand impacts you might not have thought of otherwise.
• Change Cannot Be Implemented Overnight – Longer OD strategies for change is almost always the best option, rather than a hasty shift in direction. This gives a chance to the employees to adjust to the change. It will be possible to answer questions and address any issues well in advance of the change going into place. Usually people do not easily adopt new habits, so this will give the employees chance to adapt the new way of doing things and slowly leave behind old practices in a more natural way.
• Demonstrate Strong Leadership – Leaders should go back to basics and focus on maintaining and exhibiting good qualities. Leaders should inspire their team , be open-minded and flexible and show their team that they can depend on them to have their best interests at heart. A strong leader can help their team weather the storms of change with confidence and clear-sightedness, no matter how challenging they might be. OD strategies for change is a process in which an organization optimizes performance as it works toward its ideal state. Strategies can be developed to introduce planned change, such as team-building efforts to improve organizational working.

In today’s fast-paced business environments, perhaps the only constant one can rely on is change. While change can often be a good thing, it’s something that many individuals are uncomfortable with. For many employees, the coming changes lead to negative views: the loss of a job; a new manager; a restructured team; reduced pay or benefits. It is a leader’s responsibility to set the tone for his team and prepare for managing organizational change as effectively as possible.

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