Organizational Development

Organizational Structure for Training and Development

Training and Development or Learning and Development department is a key function of Human Resources. While traditionally training and development has played a supporting role in the organizational structure, it is increasingly becoming a strategic business partner.

As per Deloitte’s 2019 Human Capital Trends research, Learning and Development learning is the top-rated challenge. The changing economy and workplace have made reskilling and upskilling critical to success, there is also a change in required behavioral skills for success in the modern workplace. All these trends mean that training and development will play a critical role in enabling an organization to be future-ready. In spite of the importance of training and development, only 10% respondents to Deloitte’s 2019 Human Capital survey felt the function was ready to deal with this change. The survey also suggests that training and development has not yet evolved enough to support these learning needs.

This means that training and development needs to revamp the way they function in order to become more agile and responsive to business needs. One of the ways to achieve this is re-looking at the organizational structure for training and development.

Here are some key aspects which will need to be kept in mind while deciding or changing the organizational structure for training and development:

1. Be Agile – For a function to be agile, its organizational structure should support agility. An agile organizational structure needs to be highly efficient and functional. This means a flat hierarchy with fewer communication lines and each sub-function working independently though in collaboration with each other. Semi-autonomous cross-functional teams that cater to specific business learning needs can make the training and development organizational structure agile.
2. Be a Strategic Partner – Training and development needs to move out of the traditional role of being a support function to becoming a strategic partner of the business. Since the training function is responsible for making the employees future-ready in terms of their skills, they need to work closely with business to understand the skills required. Learning for the sake of an engagement activity does not work. Learning that aligns with business goals to enable the business to achieve their targets is what is needed.
3. Be an Innovator – Businesses are experiencing innovation everywhere, but the training and development function has largely stuck to the traditional learning methodologies. Though quite a few organizations are incorporating new learning technologies like eLearning and Learning Experience Platforms, there is a long way to go in terms of wearable technology and Artificial Intelligence. Training and development should be structured to have a separate wing for innovation – creating a center of excellence is another way to go.
4. Be Culture Champions – The organizational structure of the training and development function should not only be aligned to the culture of the larger organization but also help in promoting the culture. Training and development play a critical role in promoting the culture through learning initiatives but that means that the function must walk the talk. For example, if the culture and values of the organization speak of diversity and inclusion, then the structure of training and development must be diverse and inclusive
5. Become Co-Owners of Learning with Business – Learning initiatives must be co-owned by business and training and development to ensure they are agile and strategic. Co-ownership means that they need to work together to prioritize, plan, define and design learning initiatives together. The people capability agenda should be decided by the senior leadership in collaboration and then executed together as well.

Training and development as a function has always been at the heart of organizational success, but now know that future adaptability and growth is going to depend on training and development more. Therefore, the time is now for the training and development function to reorganize so that they are well positioned to support the business more effectively.

Adopt Learning Development Organization Structure To Boost Your Business Growth

The learning development organization structure helps in improving business through its planned structure. Optimizing the good organizational structure is a wonderful method for learning leaders to significantly impact the business worth they generate for their organizations. Optimal organizational structures will enhance business alignment & targeted execution on business priorities and goals and can decrease total cost of ownership of learning and development function.

Ultimately, learning development organization structure exists to offer business value to the organizations, yet many learning and development organizations have a complication in meeting their objective. Their credibility is a guess because substantial business worth is not being transported, and the tendency is that learning leaders are being restored by business leaders who extremely understand the business & learn how to be a learning leader. About 15% of companies have well-developed learning & development programs which are suitably aligned with outcomes and strategy.

Essential Components Of Optimized Organizational Structure

The learning development organization structure not only just includes the organizational chart alone, but also the connections between business goals, business strategy as well as execution all of which allow Learning and Development organization to provide constant business outcomes. This crucial linkage is usually wrecked when organizational learning strategy is erratically formed or lacking, ending in incapacity to implement, or worse – executing on the skewed priorities.

Ranging from linking strategy to implementation needs expertise & capacity, and learning leaders have to be able to tap into expertise when needed from their corporate to external sources. Additional capability is needed as the business initiatives request for added resources from Learning and development organization.

There are 4 important stages within a learning development organization structure which must be in coordination and optimized so as to create the crucial linkage between business outcomes and strategy:

• Organizational Strategy: It indicates to the alignment of Learning and Development function to the business goals and strategy. The learning and development organizational strategy solves distinct requirements of stakeholder groups whilst having a vision, value proposition, annual budget, purpose, learning business plan as well as quarterly priorities.
• Organizational Capabilities: High-performing learning and development organizations optimize their learning and development capabilities around 3 pillars of success, operational and financial excellence. Around those strong pillars are seven well-defined capabilities such as business alignment, learning technologies, organizational structure, finance & planning, process excellence, forecasting & demand management as well as finance and planning.
• Execution Methods: The Execution methods are how the work gets done within the organization. Methodologies have to be defined clearly as well as optimized over time for constant outcomes. Moreover, the execution methods incorporate how an organization offers social & informal learning, quality assurance, program management, instructional design, training delivery & logistics, change management and technical development.
• People Competencies: Learning and development team needs individuals with both specialized and general competencies including change enablement, business acumen, training facilitation, instructional design, performance improvement, training facilitation and learning technologies.

Organizational Climate for Training and Development

Organizational climate can be explained as set of characteristics which are specific to an organization. These characteristics are initiated from the way organization manages its individuals and its condition. Organizational culture represents repeated patterns of conduct, behavior and emotions that indicate life in the organization. Training is fundamental in developing the human asset base of an organization to ensure long term growth and success

For training to be successful, organizations need to make sure that learners or trainees utilize what they have learned during their training and are able to apply the same in their day-to-day life. Organizations pay out millions of money every year on training and development of their human asset and making certain that the training programs are energizing and engaging for the employees. Whether it is online, face to face or on the job training program, the key outcome is participants should be able to execute and implement what they have learnt during the program.

The climate setting in the organization is very important, lack of proper environment in the organization can be of great loss for the organization as there will be no remarkable change post the training. If there is good environment within an organization, employees will understand that their perception and thoughts are important, and their feedback will be taken into consideration for overall development.

Most organizations in the past have over stressed on trainees/ participants attributes and training plan as a method to ensure training while at the same time concentrating less on organization’s climate.

Research throughout the years shows that organizational environment plays a significant role in the transfer of training and achieving the desired goals and objectives once the training is completed.

Organizational climate depends on the perception employees have towards the organization. Different employees perceive organizational climate differently. Some of the organizational environment factors which influence training and development of the organization and employees are-

• Support and appreciation of the training and training needs
• Awareness of training possibilities
• Relationship with other colleagues and team members
• Future support from the company

Trainees and employees should be conveyed the importance of training so that don’t go unaware in the training session. If employees go into the training without understanding why the training need has emerged it will end up in no learning. Therefore, training programs should be based on the need analysis done within the organization and own identification of the needs.

First it is important for the staff to know why they need the training, then after training some reward and appreciation can be designed for the employees who are able to transfer what they learnt during the training in both short and long terms. This will create feeling of healthy competition in the organization and will drive the actual outcome which was expected from the training program.

It is obvious that there are numerous components and conditions impacting and deciding employees’ approach towards training and learning in the organizations. It isn’t just the characteristics of people and their attitude, which the organization can’t change. But also, the conditions made by the organization which can be improved, as in organizations training structure and the working climate.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

An organizational development program uses staff training to improve the functioning of the company and help workers improve their skills so they can be of bigger profit to the organization. Organizational development is vital in meeting established goals, and for growth. Companies that are not centered on financial goals, organizational development will increase the organization’s range and facilitate it do better for the public or help more people. The characteristics of organizational development are implied in its definitions. Organizational development is a structured style of diagnosing organizational problems and opportunities and then applying expertise to them. It involves the application of knowledge of behavioural science to the challenge that the organizations face. It ac­knowledges that for organizations to change, individuals must change.

Characteristics Of Organizational Development –

Below are some characteristics of organizational development:

• Problem Solving – It helps find practical solutions to the problems that hinder the constant growth of the organization. Stretching this process results in inactivity. This characteristic of organizational development is very important as it is essential to create techniques to resolve technical as well as other barriers

• Participation – This involves active participation of all the organizational members in order to make the organizational development process a success. Each member needs to cooperate and participate in the developmental process. Participation and involvement of managers and employees can make the organizational development process successful. It helps to exchange views and ideas related to organization development

• Task Accomplishment – As a company looks forward to developing internal durability, several methods are undertaken, and tasks are distributed. Every member needs to accomplish effectively, whatever task is assigned to him. Only then is it possible to complete the tasks. Several groups play important roles in the accomplishment of organization development activities

• Corporate Culture – Organizational development should focus on the workforce as well as the culture of the workplace. The success of organizational development depends on a positive corporate culture. This can be achieved by enforcing various methods

• Human Values – A very important characteristic of organizational development is that it focuses on human as well as social values. This involves treating everyone with fairness, removing favoritism and biased behavior, focusing on everyone’s needs, believing in a positive outcome and encouraging others towards the same as well

• Collaboration – As the word indicates, this involves collaboration among the staff. It includes methods to help the members collaborate with each other without conflicts. This is an essential feature that eliminates differences of opinion and helps everyone see the brighter future. Organization development encourages sincere collaboration between managers and employees

More Characteristics

Organizational development is goal oriented. It is a process that seeks to improve both individual and organizational well-being and effectiveness. It is designed to solve problems. In this article we are going to discuss some of the characteristics of organizational development.

Organizational development is a mode of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of a company. It is a successful methodology accepted by everyone to implement a positive change in the organization. It has some established goals and beliefs.

• Change Management – A total system change is a must for organizational development, without which the process will not function. The change must be positive, and this is a necessary step towards the company’s success
• Taking Action – Taking proper action at the correct time is what is important. Once the analysis is done, effective methods must be worked out to deal with the existing problems. New and innovative procedures must also be illustrated. Taking action is essential for organizational development
• Cooperation – Just like collaboration, cooperation helps members accommodate and adjust to different situations. It helps them understand what to give precedence to. It also helps create a better understanding between each other, which leads to progress
• Goals and Development – All the goals determined to develop the organization must be planned and laid out. These goals and their resulting achievement help to develop the organization. An overall goal of the organization is to make the client system able to solve its problems. It is done by teaching the skills and knowledge on continuous learning through self-analysis methods. Another practice in organization development programs is to create desirable solutions
• System Change – Organizational development focuses on the total system since every change is necessary. For the success of any development program
• Facilitation – There are three parties to the organization development process, which are facilitators, collaborators, and co-learners in the client system. Joint efforts of all these parties can help the organization to develop

The above points mainly characterize the organization’s development, though there may be other characteristics as well.

The skill of connecting effectively with others can make the difference between success or failure in our work and personal life. The behavior of one member can have an influence, either directly or indirectly, on the behavior of others.  This could identify characteristics of organizational development that might enhance company and employee productivity. The social system does not have limitations, it interchanges goods, ideas, culture, etc. with the environment around it. Employees depend on culture as it gives them stability, security, understanding, and the ability to respond to a given situation. Therefore, people fear change. They are afraid that the system will fluctuate, their security will be gone, they will not understand the new process, and they will not know how to respond to the new situations.

Organizational development is the systematic application of behavioral science knowledge at various levels to bring about planned change. Its objectives are a higher quality of work, productivity, adaptability, and effectiveness. It attains this by changing viewpoints, actions, values, approaches methods, and buildings so that the organization can adjust to competitive actions, technological progressions, and the quick speed of change within the environment.

PURPOSE OF THE GOALS OF ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

GOALS OF ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Organizational development is about making use of the resources available to the organization for improving the efficiency of the organization and expanding its productivity. It is used for the purpose of solving problems relating to the firm and gives a methodology for analyzing the processes involved.

The goals of organizational development are formulated based on the dynamics the business deals in. Organizational development may be a strategy or a trial which is planned and managed from the top, to originate planned structural changes for increasing effectiveness through planned intrusions based on equal opportunities.

Importance of Organizational Goals

The goals of organizational development help define a company’s purpose, assist its business growth and achieve its financial objectives. Setting specific structural goals can also facilitate an organization attaining progress and completing the tasks to meet those business goals. They guide worker’s efforts, justify a company’s pursuits and existence, define performance standards, provide limitations for attaining unnecessary goals and function as behavioral motivations.

The goals need to be precise, assessable, achievable and timely. By setting practical goals, organizations have an easy access to achieve success and realize its insight. Setting goals and achieving them can also help an organization achieve increased efficiency, productivity and profitability.

Organizations ought to clearly communicate organizational goals, appoint workers in their job to achieve the organization’s desired results. Employees should also be equipped with the proper tools and resources needed as they do their work to help meet the goals of organizational development.

Setting goals can also help companies evaluate employee performance — for example, creating individual employee goals that support overall organizational goals and measuring individual performance against those individual goals. While an organization can communicate its organizational goals through proper procedures, the most effective and direct way to do so is through employees’ direct managers.

This enables managers to work with their staff to develop specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals that align with the organization’s goals. Setting organizational goals also helps build workplace cooperation because it makes employees work toward achieving similar goals. While developing sound goals helps organizations with planning over time goals might turn out to be unrealistic and need to be modified accordingly.

The goals of organizational development are created to achieve a desired state of profit and success. The aim is to attain long-term viability and maintain financial stability while smoothly running their day- to-day operations. The goals can be endangered if the organization does not efficiently and effectively respond to opportunities and threats by identifying a corporate strategy.

Additionally, leaders need to pay close attention to performance by creating a vision, building stronger relationships with employees and customers, empowering employees at all levels while at the same time maintaining control. The executive team can thus form a relevant and innovative strategy that will guide the organization into a successful future.

Types of Organizational Goals

There are two main types of organizational goals:

• Official – Official goals are the ones that an organization wishes to attain. These goals are described in a company’s public statement, such as the corporate document or annual reports. They help to build the company’s name and reputation. Such goals are usually qualitative and tougher to live
• Operative – These goals need to achieve a desired outcome. Operative goals are the actual steps taken to achieve organizational purposes. A company’s operative goals often don’t go alongside its official goals. These are often short-term goals that organizations seek to achieve through their operating policies and operations and are measured numerically. Their victory depends on metrics. Companies outline certain steps they need to take to attain operative goals.

Purpose of the goals Of the Organizational Development

• Aligns Employee with The Organization’s Mission – It keeps the employees educated and updated about the goals and missions of the organization and works towards aligning the employees to achieve the goals of organizational development

• Problem Solving – One of the noticeable goals is to stimulate the employees towards figuring out the problem instead of shrinking away from it. When they solve difficult problems, they tend to sharpen their skills, which enhances the productivity and performance of the employees

• Encouraging the Employees to Participate in The Planning Process – The employees are motivated to be a part of the planning process in harmony with the skills they possess. This way the goals are carried out effectively as the implementers are the part of goal making. There is a sense of responsibility in the employees, which stimulates them to give their best performance

• Friendly Environment in The Organization – One of the necessary aims is to create a friendly and stress-free environment in the organization for its smooth functioning. With this friendly environment present in the organization the employees are inspired to work both effectively and efficiently. The level of profitability automatically increases in organizations where the level of stress is less in the minds of the employees

• Communication Between Employees and Management – Another significant goal of organizational development is to develop a good channel of communication between the management and the employees. A lack of communication usually results in a communication gap which acts as a hindrance to the success of the organization. Effective communication channel leads to the development of faith and cooperation within the organization

• Provide Guidance and Direction – Goals provide guidance and a combined direction for people in the organization. They show the employees where the organization is going and why getting there is important. Goals simply define what the organization is inclined towards
• Help in Control – Goals act as an instrument for control and assessment.  Performance can be measured and assessed in the future in terms of how favorably today’s goals are accomplished. Goals can serve these purposes and much more, if people in charge of setting goals can overcome hurdles and set it in a proper and effective manner

The goals of organizational development are strategically set targets that outline expected results and guide employees’ efforts. Organizational goals, often used mutually, are the ends toward which operation is aimed. They are the much-needed results for individuals, groups, or entire organizations and represent not only the end point of planning but also the end toward which all other managerial functions are aimed.

Organizational Development Process

Organizational development process is based on the action research model which starts with identifying a problem or need for change. This process involves assessment, planning of an intervention, implementation of the intervention, and determining if satisfactory progress has been made or there is need for further intervention. It is a continuous and cyclical process and ends when the desired developmental results are attained. This article provides light upon the coverage and the steps involved in Organizational Development Process.

Steps in Organizational Development Process: –

1. Initial Diagnosis of the Problem – In the first step, the management should try to find out an overall view of the situation to find the real problem and evaluate the degree of change needed to meet the requirements. Top management should meet management consultants and experts to determine the type of programme that is needed. In the first stage only, the consultants will meet various persons in the organisation and interact with them to collect some information. These interactions can be supplemented by methods such as Interviews, questionnaires and even observation of the work processes by the experts
2. Data Collection – In this stage, the consultant will make the surveys through various methods to determine the climate of the organisation and the behavioural problems of the employees. A critical assessment of the internal controls of the organisation is also carried out by the consultant
3. Data Feedback and Confrontation – The data which has been collected in the second step of Organizational Development Process will be given to the work groups, who will be assigned the job of reviewing the data. Any areas of disagreement or conflicts will be mediated among themselves only and priorities will be established for change
4. Planning Strategy for Change – In this stage, the consultant will recommend the strategy for change. The attempt will be to transform diagnosis of the problem into a proper action plan involving the overall goals for change, determination of basic approach for achieving these goals and the sequence of detailed steps for implementing the approach
5. Intervening in the System – Intervening in the system refers to the planned programmed activities during an Organizational Development Process. These planned activities bring certain changes in the system, which is the basic objective of Organizational Development Process. There may be various ways through which external consultant intervene in the system such as education and laboratory training, process consultation, team development etc
6. Team Building – During the entire Organizational Development Process, the consultant encourages the groups to examine how they work together. The consultant will educate them about the value of free communication and trust as essentials, for group functioning as well as problem solving methodology. The consultant can have team managers and their subordinates to work together as a team in Organizational Development sessions to further encourage team building. Following the development of small groups, there may be development among larger groups comprising several teams with diverse work profiles
7. Evaluation – Organizational Development is a very long process. So, there is a great need for careful monitoring to get precise feedback regarding what is going on after the programme starts. This will help in making suitable adjustments whenever necessary. For evaluation of Organizational Development programme, the use of critique sessions, appraisal of change efforts and comparison of pre and post training behavioural patterns are quite effective

The steps in Organizational Development are part of a whole process, so all of them need to be applied if a firm expects to get the full benefits of Organisation Development. An organisation which applies only a few steps and then leaves halfway will be disappointed with the results. A properly designed Organizational Development Process can help an organisation prosper and grow even in today’s competitive business conditions.

VALUES ASSOCIATED WITH ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Organization Development initiatives are driven by the values they inculcate and the culture they cultivate

The values that make up organizational culture are attitudes and manners that people pick up while they’re working. These values help employees along their career paths. Organisational development is a continuous process, and it incorporates changes that occur in science and technology, economics, marketing, politics, and is influenced by education, knowledge, values, attitudes, and behaviors of people.

To progress, it is essential that the organization change its values and its structure to adapt to new ideas, beliefs, and technologies. Organizations must adapt to change so they can meet the challenges ahead. An organization’s development involves a variety of planned changes rooted in humanistic democratic values, which are intended to improve its effectiveness and well-being.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT VALUES

• Respect people – People are what makes an organization work and the ones who create growth opportunities. They deserve respect and dignity. People have complex needs. We understand that people have unique needs and preferences, so we help them maximize their potential. As a result, we try hard to understand that individuals have different needs, skills, and feelings, and respect those differences
• Confidence & Support – Organizations are made up of people and they need to be believed and supported to function. When you take people into confidence and provide them with the support they need, a healthy environment prevails
• Dialogue and Collaboration – Conflicts at work can be both good and bad. Dealing with them in an open way is a good idea.      Shutting them down dampens morale. When you figure out the problem and its causes, discuss it openly, and find a feasible solution, the morale of the employees goes up, and the environment is good.      Conflict happens in teams and organizations all the time. Therefore, we believe it’s important to use a healthy, open dialogue to resolve conflict, so that we can move past the bad effect that suppressed conflict can have
• Participation, Engagement, and Empowerment – Employees who will be affected by the OD should be involved in the decision-making process. Provide opportunities for people to work as human beings instead of just supplies. This is one of the best values we hold as OD practitioners. It’s no secret that “people support what they help create.” Therefore, clients are encouraged to include all members in decision-making and change processes
• Expression – People differ in age, maturity, ideas, opinions, and outlook. That’s what the organization gets. The differences in quality, ideas, opinions, and experiences make the company stronger. People are social animals; they have feelings, emotions, anger, sentiments, etc. People should be allowed to feel and express themselves. This will build up high morale, and people will be motivated to work hard, resulting in increased productivity
• Seeking Cooperation – Managers should learn to seek cooperation from each of the employees working under him in his department. This will develop in creating the atmosphere of cooperation leading to organizational effectiveness and willingness to accept change in the event of organization development process
• Groups and Teams – Organizations have formal and informal groups and teams. Therefore, we encourage our clients to recognize the norms and beliefs that come with these structures in order to help them contribute most effectively to the organization
• Growth, Development, And Practitioners – OD practitioners are optimistic about people. As a result, they think that their work with organizations should help people learn the skills to deal with change in the future
• Authenticity, Openness and Trust – In order to create trusting environments, organizational leaders and members must consistently demonstrate honesty and transparency in their words and actions

Role of an Organizational Development Professional

The primary goal of Organizational Development is to improve organisation effectiveness; therefore, the primary role of an Organizational Development Professional is to establish helping relationships   within the organisation, with and between individuals and groups, to achieve that objective. The way that goal is acted out depends on the nature of the task at hand. It may involve the Organizational development professionals playing a diverse variety of roles: –

• Being the sounding board to the top people, guiding a change team, designing or redesigning an organisation or business process
• Being a partner to the key decision-makers on a transformation project
• Facilitating a work team, acting as a process consultant to a critical work group
• Providing methodological leadership to the change programme
• Being an extra pair of hands during an overloaded period
• Carrying out regular health checks for each strategic cycle, and so on

Since Organizational Development roles can be diverse, the purpose and the outcome we aim for is consistent: to bring greater health and effectiveness to the organisation, especially in times of change. In addition, let’s briefly look at the three elements that make Organizational Development consultants different in the world of consulting:

• The centrality of relationship-building
• Expertise in human dynamics and the various OD intervention processes
• The development process of OD professionals

Therefore, the development of Organizational Development professionals is not just about academic study but about spending more and more development time getting to know this one instrument we own and learning to do more fine-tuning of that instrument through the integration of both our learning and experience. It is not mere theoretical knowledge that helps one become a thorough Organizational Development Professional, but it is rather the understanding of human dynamics and knowing how to channelize the emotions, feelings and goals of various individuals into a single-focussed direction.

Organization development professionals aim to improve an organization or work-group’s handling of internal processes in dealing with situations such as change, decision making, leadership style, harmful conflict, building trust, teamwork, and communication. They determine how an organization operates and make recommendations for improvement. Organizational development professionals are typically hired to support organizations that are not working up to their potential and in danger of failing. They make strategic changes to bring businesses back to profitability and strong liquidity.

Organizational Development professionals empower organizations and their staff, the very people who know the work best, to think creatively about new ways of working and getting results. They are committed to improving the performance and effective operation of the organization and simultaneously, to the development and empowerment of its employees. Organizational development professionals act as valued partners of organizations, providing them valuable skills towards future personal and organizational growth and by building morale which reduces employee turnover and rehiring costs.

What a Professional does

Expertise in human dynamics

Organizational development’s primary goal is to help an organisation become healthier and more effective, especially during change. The key custodians of the organisation’s health are not the internal or external HR or Organizational Development specialist; they are the organisation’s leaders and managers. Therefore, an Organizational Development professional must be committed to encouraging ownership and the growth of organisation capability   among the primary practitioners of OD, that is, leaders. By taking that stance, our main approach is not one of offering expert opinion, but rather, our   commitment   is   to   design   processes to facilitate an organisation’s ability to help itself through the skilful engagement of its main leaders.  Our goal is to help an organisation to secure from its own internal members the acceptance, energy, commitment and competence to make things work.

Relationship-building

As Organizational Development professionals we cannot rely on just a formal role, rank or power to influence; instead, we must earn the right to help by focusing on increasing our interpersonal influence to make things happen, which in turn makes managing the relationship arena an area of key focus. Managing relationships and using one’s self to shift mindsets and behaviour requires a committed and in-depth understanding of how the human system works.  We need to draw on our knowledge and understanding of various Organizational Development theories – psychodynamic, psychoanalytical, system, group dynamics, action research and change – we also need to have a heightened level of self- awareness and understanding to put ourselves into a good place to be of use to our clients.

The self as instrument

Unlike the expert technical consultant, it is not just our thinking skills (head) that will enable us to do the job; we must bring our head, heart and all our being to make real-time intervention effective.  Even if we start off thinking that all we need is a bit of technique and knowledge, our experience will soon tell us that much more is required. We will discover that we cannot take our clients to places to which we ourselves have not travelled. In other words, it is not concepting or techniques that will give us the competence to do our job – even though they are important for our credibility.  It is   the ability to stay   acutely aware of our own inner process’s moment by moment, our ability to get in touch with the complexity of what’s prowling beneath the waterline of human dynamics, that will stand us in good stead in this work.

Bringing about change at an Organizational level has a huge impact on the work-processes, working methods, working cycles and most importantly the change in the efficiency of the employees once the intervention takes place. A person monitoring the entire change process has to be of high calibre and technical ability. An Organizational development professional has to be learned enough to keep track of progress using various indicator and shall also have the tact of getting along with the employees of the organisation to better identify the deficiencies existing in the control mechanisms of the organisation. More and more interactions in the professional environment provides great help to Organizational Development Professionals to polish their skills to excel and compete in their field.

NEED FOR ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Organizational development is a technique used for bringing change in the entire aspect of the organization, rather than laying stress on the individuals, so that change is readily absorbed. It pursues changing ideas, attitudes, theories, edifices and practices so that the organization can better adapt to technology and live with the fast-moving change. It is a powerful technique which uses behavioral science knowledge to help organizations adjust easily to the changes. Every organization has a need to remain viable and to survive in the world of change. So, the need for organizational development has grown rapidly in response to this need of the organization. Thus, in the present article we are going to discuss the need for organizational development.

Need for Organization Development

Organization Development is an extremely broad field. It can be applied any time an organization wants to make planned improvements using organizational development. It can be used in any of the following situations:

• To develop or enhance the organization’s purpose for what it wants to be
• To help regulate functional structures in an organization so they work together for a common purpose
• To create a strategy for how the organization is going to make decisions about its future and achieving that future aim
• To manage conflict that exists among individuals or groups and disrupt the ability of the organization to function, in a healthy way
• To apply processes that will help improve the ongoing operations of the organization on a continuous basis
• To create a collective environment that helps the organization be more effective and efficient
• To create reward systems that are suitable for the goals of the organization
• To help in the development of policies and procedures that will improve the ongoing operation of the organization
• To evaluate the working environment, to realize strengths on which to build and areas in which change, and improvement are needed
• To provide help and support for employees who need an opportunity to be coached in how to do their jobs better
• To help in providing feedback on individual performance and training to help them in their individual development

Every organization has room for improvement. Sometimes organizations must quickly react to environmental challenges, whether from competing companies or economic disruptions. The business world changes constantly.  Thus, there is a need for organizational development to adapt to these changes, increasing their effectiveness and making the most of their resources. Organizational development is not just what businesses do to alter and expand or to react to external factors. It is a strategic process of organizational improvement, addressing an organization’s changing needs through careful assessment and planned intervention.

Why Is Organizational Development Important to Businesses?

There is much need for organizational development in businesses because it addresses and solves a problem, thus increasing a company’s effectiveness. Organizational development works to improve organizations in a more methodical way. The purpose of organizational development is to balance the strengths and weaknesses of a business, reestablishing the employment of that business’s resources and to use them most efficiently and productively. This is done thorough judgement, drafting, employee engagement and training where necessary, and progressive measures to maintain employee performance.

Organizational development is a process that makes use of organizational resources to improve performance and output in the workplace. An effective organization can also raise employee morale because workers can feel more empowered and valued when the company is well structured. The importance of organizational development also depends upon how a problem is solved within a company as well as the ways in which a process is analyzed to find a more effective way of doing it. Applying organizational development requires an investment of time and money. But as you begin to understand the need for organizational development as well as the role of organizational development in helping you chart a strong course for your business, it will more than justify the costs.

• Identify Areas That Need Change – One of the functions of organizational development is that it identifies areas in a company where change is needed. Senior decision makers and managers can analyze each need and extend the possible effects of change into a management plan. This plan outlines the distinct ways in which the change will improve company operations, which staff members will be affected by the change, and how it can be exhibited efficiently to employees. Without organizational development, an organization would have a tough time developing effective change management programs.  Thus, there is a tremendous need for organizational development
• Promotes and Manages Growth – Yet another reason for the need for organizational development is as an important tool in managing and planning company growth. This can be achieved through an organizational development study that brings together sales enlargements and customer demand to help determine the rate of the company’s growth. In some cases, the organizational development analysis may change a company’s original business plan and push them into an exciting new direction. However, by using this analysis, one can properly detain company resources such as personnel to promote and manage future growth
• Helps Product Innovation – Another important function of organizational development is product innovation, which requires the examination of various kinds of information to be successful.  The need for organizational development is there because it can help outline each element of product development and create a method for using it effectively
• Analyzes Work Processes – Analyzing a company’s work processes is another role of organizational development. When your company is concerned in organizational development, you can diagnose work processes for efficiency and correctness. You can determine whether there is repetition in the things you’re doing, or if you need more employees to take up a task that is neglected. Any quality control measures needed to attain company standards are put in place. Surveyors analyze processes that can be combined for greater efficiency and develop and implement thorough plans on how to improve company proceedings

IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Leadership refers to the ability to influence, modify and exercise control over the behaviour of others in a group. It is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide members of an organization. Leadership involves establishing a clear vision, sharing the vision so others will follow willingly and providing the knowledge, information and methods to realize the vision. Simply, leadership is the ability of an individual or organization to lead or guide other individuals or organizations. Today, people are increasingly recognizing the importance of leadership in organizational development. Leadership is the willingness to take ownership of the organization combined with an intrinsic urge to do what is best for the organization.

Types of Leadership

A leader plays an important role in any organization. Thus, the leadership style a leader adopts can significantly contribute to organizational development. The two main leadership styles are –

• Transformational leadership – Transformational leadership is a contemporary approach to leadership where a leader inspires followers to transcend their self interests for the good of the organization. This is a leadership style which in which leaders motivate and inspire employees to innovate and create change that will help grow and shape the future success of the company. This leadership style serves to enhance the motivation, morale and job performance of employees through a variety of mechanisms such as connecting employees’ sense of self and identity to a project and collective identify to the organization

• Transactional leadership – Transactional leadership is a contemporary approach to leadership where a leader promotes compliance by employees’ through rewards and punishments. This is a leadership style that focuses on supervision, organization and performance. The rewards and incentives enhance motivation to perform effectively

Leadership plays an important role in the development of any organization. No organization can work efficiently without effective leadership. Leadership is an important function of the management which helps to enhance productivity and to achieve organizational goals. In fact., leadership is an essential part and a crucial component of effective management which helps to maximize efficiency and achieve organizational goals.

There is a great importance of leadership in organizational development. The role of leaders, throughout an organization, is critical to the success of organizational development interventions. Creating and maintaining worthwhile businesses require an understanding of the role of leadership in addressing personal development of employees. Happiness and contentment is a common goal of everyone and the rest of the things are possibly means to that goal. Personal outcomes of employees like meaning in life and individual well-being have become an important concern for organizations in the extreme competition for attracting and retaining talent. Meaning in life makes one’s life purposeful and subjective well-being is about being happy; these are important dimensions of anyone’s life, and people expect work organizations to contribute to them. Focusing only on work-related outcomes may not be sufficient anymore. There is a need to better understand the processes by which desirable personal outcomes of employees can be enhanced. Leadership motivates the people to a higher level of performance through their strong human relations. It is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and to achieve organizational goals, so managers must have traits of a leader.

Importance of Leadership

• Influencing the Behaviour of People – A leader impresses his subordinates with his leadership ability. He brings them under his control in such a way that they put in their best efforts to achieve the goals of the organization. Good leaders usually get good results through their followers
• Helps Employees in Fulfilling their Needs – A leader establishes personal relationships with his subordinates and tries to meet their requirements. People follow a leader because he provides them with security and the opportunities to earn wealth, gives them the right to work and tries to understand their feelings. Employees willingly accept him because he takes care of their needs. Consequently, they work with complete dedication and enthusiasm
• Introducing Required Changes – The business environment is changing at a quick pace, so in order to face the changing environment, many alterations have to be introduced in the organization. Since the people already happen to be under the influence of the leader, he can easily make them agree to implement these changes. In this way, the possible resistance to the change is eliminated with the strength of leadership ability
• Solving Conflicts Effectively – A leader can effectively solve every type of conflict be it employee vs. employee or employees vs. employer, under the weight of his influence. A leader allows his followers the liberty to express their views. That is the reason that he easily understands the reality of the conflict, in this way, by understanding the nature of the conflict he tries to provide timely solution and minimizes the possibility of adverse results
• Training and Development of Subordinates – A leader helps in the training and development of the employees. He makes them aware of the modern techniques of work. In addition, he makes it possible for them to be good leaders in the future
• Setting a Clear Vision – This means Influencing employees to understand and accept the future state of the organization. A good leader will influence his followers to perform their duties by explaining the vision and the importance of their role in the outcome
• Motivating and Guiding Employees – This involves finding out the needs of the employees and fulfilling them. It is important to define the employees’ role in the work process and provide them with the tools needed. A good leader will explain the task and be available to assist them if they run into a problem
• Building Morale – This involves pulling everyone together towards a comment goal. A good leader will let the employees know how much their work is appreciated. A simple gesture like providing praise for a task well done, or throwing a party to recognize small achievements, will regenerate their spirits

Organizational Culture

Ever wonder what makes a strong and winning culture? Every culture is unique on its own, having a multitude of factors in enabling those cultures. However, we at Strengthscape, have noted 6 remarkably essential components of a strong and winning organizational culture. Working with the following 6 components can be your stepping stones for building a strong and winning culture.

1. Vision & Mission: The first step to a great culture is its vision and mission statements. These simple yet powerful statements are the torchbearer of an organization’s values and help them with its purpose which in turn, guide employees to take day to day decisions. When they are prominently demonstrated in every interaction of the company and its employees, it helps to orient customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders and create a brand for the organization
2. Core Values: Once the vision and mission are in place, the next step is to look for the core values. Where your vision and mission help you in articulating the purpose, core values help you set guidelines on the behaviors and mindsets which needs to be demonstrated to achieve the vision. Having well-defined values which are clearly communicated to all employees create a standardized language and drives the organization to speak same language both internally and externally
3. Actions: With well-defined values for your mission statement, it is important that a specific action plan is implemented. If your organization believes that people are the greatest assets, then make them feel that they are valuable by investing on their learning and development or if your organization values excellent client service, then take actions to make sure each client no matter how big or small are served with excellence. Have a reward mechanism in place that can reinforce the expected behaviors and actions. Organizational values must be reinforced in the performance appraisals, business review criteria and baked into employee’s day to day operation
4. Employees: Culture building does not happen without employees who either share the same values or have the willingness and ability to embrace those values. And this is the reason why best organizations of the world have strict recruitment policies. They look for people who are not only most talented but also fit well with the organization’s existing culture. One research suggests that applicants who were found culturally fit would accept a 7% lower salary, and departments with cultural alignment had 30% less turnover. Hence, candidates prefer to work with organizations that are aligned to their personal values, existing employees stick with cultures they like, and by having the right “culture carriers” on board, reinforces the culture an organization already has
5. Storytelling: Every organization has a unique history — a unique story to tell. And the ability to excavate that history and craft it into a story is a core component of building a strong and winning organizational culture. The elements of this story can be formal or informal, yet they become more compelling when it is identified well, shaped and communicated as a part of the ongoing culture
6. Environment: Ever wonder why some organizations do not have separate offices with soundproof doors? Or why giant financial firms cluster in London and New York? Or why Google’s culture is so welcoming of the millennials. There are multitudes of answers to that; however, one simple answer is that environment shapes culture. Having an open workspace is conceived to have certain office behaviors, like collaboration. Regional cultures play a pivotal role in impacting the culture of the organization – it can ether reinforce or can be contradicting. Be it geographical, architectural, or aesthetical designs of a company, it has an impact on values and behaviors of the employees

As mentioned earlier, there is plethora of factors that influences your culture however, these six factors or components lay the foundation for shaping a new corporate culture and help promote organizational development.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONSULTING FIRMS

Organizational development consulting firms are responsible for the creation and improvement of system wide programs that support the growth of people and the development of  an organization. These firms help companies to improve, grow and cope with the design and application of effective strategies, and the useful business services to carry out and deliver them. An organization is comprised of individuals with their own unique set of needs. Each company has its own unique blueprint to do business. The consulting firms aim to take the existing blueprint and work with the company and its employees to achieve its strategic goals. Some organizations just work. They accomplish what they set out to do, powered by engaged employees with the tools and motivation to get the job done. Only few of them are designed to achieve this. Consulting firms help organizations improve their performance and become a better place to work by ensuring their entire organization can deliver on their strategy.

Organizational development consulting firms plan to improve the performance and effectiveness of the organization, which harmonizes people, processes, and strategy. These firms know that the achievement of business objectives is brought about by people who are the key elements of each company. They support companies in organizational development to help them make their business more effective. They help to plan and deliver a performance management process that helps to measure the performance and results of the device or perform a comprehensive analysis of the competencies of the company and create a behavioral framework for years. The consultants and human resources experts work in partnership with the organization to ensure that people’s jobs meet the needs of their businesses and that individual functions are designed to strengthen their skills. They also help to make the most of the talent by working with them to get the right people in the right position to make the best contribution to their business.

Organizational development consulting firms seek to improve an organization in handling of internal processes in dealing with situations such as change, decision making, leadership style, harmful conflict, building trust, teamwork, and communication. They help them achieve and exceed their business goals, increase employee engagement, employee retention and satisfaction. Organization development consultants seek to improve an organization’s supervision of  internal processes in dealing with situations such as modification, decision making, leadership style, conflicts, building faith, teamwork, and correspondence. They assess how an organization works and then give suggestions for improvement. OD consultants are typically hired to support organizations that are not working up to their potential and are in danger of failing. They make decisive changes to bring businesses back to fruitfulness. OD consultants enable organizations and their employees to think innovatively about new ways of working and getting results.

They are bound to improve the administration of the organization and to the development of its staff. OD consultants are very beneficial to organizations as they provide them with useful skills which help in personal and organizational growth. They provide better perception and proven results. OD consultants –

• Develop comprehensive employee engagement and retention strategies
• Understand the company’s specific goals and objectives
• Increase retention, engagement, customer satisfaction, and productivity
• Decrease employee’s turnover
• Improve recruitment
• Establish specific goals
• Provide judgement, advice and direction based on outcomes
• Provide access to opportunities for more improvement

An organizational development consulting firm believes that committed and energized employees build great companies. These firms measure and evaluate companies and their cultures. They partner with leaders to define their vision and map out their future success. They work with teams to add inspiration and purpose for every individual, every day and when they do these things, they build stronger companies.

• Vision Strategy – Teams are tougher when each member realizes how his work results in the company’s success. Consulting firms work with leaders to align business strategy and corporate vision, and to help translate those tenets to the everyday activities of employees. They understand an organization’s culture, its strengths and challenges and customize programs accordingly
• Culture Assessment and Alignment – The most important thing for a company’s success is building an appealing and stimulating tradition in all aspects. Using several measures, consulting firms assess and track company culture, and then design and develop the programs that help a business shape its culture into the desired one, while maintaining its originality. They help ensure that a company’s values are lived and seen across the behavior of all employees
• Executive and Career Coaching – Good leadership starts from understanding your passions. Consulting firms partner with leaders to find opportunities to align business strategy with real leadership and career objectives, and offer the tools and skills that help leaders succeed in encouraging their teams, while using their own leadership style
• Advancing Human Firms – Consulting firms work hard to partner with HR throughout each stage of their work, involving them as internal consultants to the business. Some HR leaders engage them in developing their team’s internal consulting skills even further

The organizational development consulting firms work in collaboration with company leaders to perform analysis, outline drawings, develop content and manage resources through application. To help customers improve their organizational and business performance, their organizational development team brings detailed experience in improving performance. They focus on reorganization of companies, culture, and processes; human capital strategy and operational excellence. These firms specialize in the mixture process and the quantitative severity with the performance of external best practices to inform and develop tailor-made and systemic solutions for their customers. Their team combines the best outside viewpoints and innermost understanding for efficient and systemic solutions that provide superior value to the customers.

Stages of Implementing Interventions

Organizational Development is a process of making an organization more effective in achieving its desired goals. The goal of Organizational Development interventions is to enhance the productivity, performance or behaviors via a set of organized individual and team activities. Interventions may be implemented by a change agent as part of a development program or employed by a client following a process to evaluate the condition of the organization’s health.

Steps in implementing Organizational Development Interventions: –

Step 1: Entry: –

The requirement for change within a company becomes apparent when an issue is identified. Management, or a group of individuals within the Organization, search for a person who is skilled enough to examine the problem or facilitate change.

Step 2: Start-up: –

The change agent gets into the Organization’s environment. He works to describe issues surrounding the problem and tried to secure commitment across the Organization to a change attempt.

Step 3: Assessment and Feedback: –

The change agent collects information about the situation and provides the same to decision makers as well as those having a stake in the change

Step 4: Action Planning: –

The change agent works jointly with management and other stake holders to formulate a by a step-by-step corrective-action plan.

Step 5: Intervention: –

The change agent helps in implementing the intervention and the change process is carried out.

Step 6: Evaluation: –

The change agent assists the management and other stakeholders to evaluate the Organization’s change effort progress.

Step 7: Adoption: –

Members of the company acknowledge ownership of the change, accept responsibility for it, and the change is implemented throughout the Organization.

Step 8: Separation: –

The change agent prepares to leave the organization. As part of the process, the change agent works to disengage while making certain that development of Organizational Development intervention will proceed after his or her departure. This step is achievable since the knowledge and skills of the change agent have been transferred to the entities in the Organization.

Organizational Development intervention strategy is designed only for scientific research and diagnosis of a problem.  This action research helps to understand current system of an organization. Interventions   are   designed   based   on   participation   &   involvement of organizational members.  This empowerment helps Organizational development practitioners to implement interventions successfully.  Survey based feedback also gives valuable inputs to Organizational Development professional in applying Organizational Development interventions.

Implementation of Organizational Development Interventions

The Organizational Development intervention strategy can be summarized as below:  –

1. Diagnosis: The search for performance gaps is called as diagnosis. These gaps help to know w here client’s performance is less than desired.  For accurate diagnosis of the current scenario, there should be a trustworthy relationship between the consultant and client. This relationship helps in collaboration to find out real need of the change.  For successful diagnosis it is necessary to link performance improvement strategies to achieve business goals.  Underlying causes for this performance gap are analysed.  Causes can be categorized into internal or external.  Internal causes may lead to adoption of new   strategy or setting new goals.  External causes m ay leads to designing new actions regarding actions of competitors or by regulatory or social related changes.
2. Designing an organizational development intervention: Diagnosis leads to designing an Organizational Development intervention strategy that is problem based. Objectives of Organizational Development intervention strategy are   developed   to   have   a direct   link   with   business      Designing   an   Organizational Development intervention strategy represents the best solution, outlines specific outcomes, and role of each component in the entire process.  Designing also gives specific points to keep watch on for evaluation of the process.
3. Development of Organizational Development intervention strategy: Design is a blueprint of developing an Organizational Development strategy. The Organizational Development intervention strategy is designed and developed with the evaluation objectives.  The development of Organizational Development intervention strategy is crucial step as it is directly related to desired outcomes.
4. Implementation of Organizational Development intervention strategy: Action takes place and progress is evaluated, organizational members can be engaged at this stage. The deployment needs high level of energy and creativity of participants.  Participants need to have clear picture of change and their role at each step.  Meaningful feedback helps to reinforce accountability for process to be effective.  Evaluation can be carried out by constructing pilot studies and data collection.
5. Evaluation: It can be studied by understanding impact after implementing Organizational Development strategy. It can be done be checking immediate feedback or learning gained   through the process, or by evaluating performance. This is continuous process.

Few examples of implementation of Organizational Development interventions in Indian scenario: –

1. Larsen and Toubro introduced Organizational Development as a separate/function and department for effective implementation of Organizational Development interventions.
2. Wipro adopted for internal organizational restructuring to meet customer specific needs.
3. ONGC relies on succession planning, employee participation, training, organizational remodelling and climate surveys as Organizational Development interventions.
4. TCS has extensive Organizational Development interventions in the form of goal alignment, balanced scorecard and culture building intervention.
5. Bharti Airtel focuses on coaching, mentoring and career planning as Organizational Development interventions.
6. Aditya Birla group implements Organizational Development interventions like rotational job assignments, career planning, leadership development.
7. Infosys has a broad base of Organizational Development interventions like Leadership development programme, personal development initiatives, cross functional assignments, 360 degree feedback, psychometric testing (M BTI) for individual personality assessment.
8. Tata Motors reorganized the organization through restructuring, training was extensively used and flexible communication pattern was introduced.
9. Sail introduced new modified performance management system as a part of change initiative.
10. Bank of Baroda implemented reorganization at all regional and zonal levels.

The above Organizational Development intervention implementations are merely representative data and there are many such initiatives taken by Indian organizations for individual, team and organizational effectiveness.

Adapting to organizational change

Organizational Development is an essential strategy for any organization that needs to stay relevant and keep up growth in an ever-changing business world. By utilizing their resources, organizations can increase efficiency, productivity, and even their industry value. In any case, it is just through the identification of existing or potential issues that organizations can accomplish successful company development. With issues come solutions, and with solutions come change. However, while it might sound perfect in theory, no solution can be converted into positive change without a full feeling of collaboration.

Although exceptionally advantageous, the procedure of Organizational Development can represent certain difficulties for both the employers and workers alike. The idea of a diverse workforce with differentiating characters and perspectives frequently outcomes in conflicting degrees of flexibility among employees. This, unfortunately, can add further difficulties to the execution of your newest improvements. It is important that leaders stay mindful of employment fulfillment levels while still keeping up an organization that is capable of adjusting to new conditions.

Luckily, it is feasible for employers to implement organizational change while at the same time thinking about the requirements of the organization and its employees. The following is a list of approaches to make this procedure simpler and more consistent for all parties.

Help your employees get involved. Workers may appear as though they are against change when actually they are against not being consulted in that change. Everybody needs to feel like they are an important individual from the group. Consulting employees, or possibly keeping them educated, is a good method for keeping up unification among workers and supervisors. This transparency also considers the feedback important to make enduring and completely practical change. Moreover, if employees are kept aware of changes that will be implemented, it will be simpler to incorporate those changes when the opportunity arrives.

Maintain awareness of your employee culture. It will be simpler to stay mindful of employee satisfaction and well-being if you look at their values, habits, and workplace norms. This also shows that you are devoted not only to the success of the organization, but to the success of every employee of your team.

Delegate certain tasks to your employees. Not only will this make your activity simpler during the development procedure, yet it will also result in employees who feel respected and included.

Vocalize your expectations. Discussion about what you expect from your workers as the changes are being talked about and implemented. This gives them space and time to react to what’s going on. Make certain to listen effectively to all reactions. At that point, decipher how to best consolidate new ideas while giving your workers the best possible help.

Organizational Development is a constant procedure of progress which also can possibly prompt worker frustration, if not implemented effectively and fairly. Luckily, however, it doesn’t need to be a discouraging procedure. Employers can accomplish and keep up high levels of worker fulfillment while still striving for the change that organizations must make so as to remain effective and strong.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT GAMES

In organizational contexts, training and development is a function that aims to enhance job performance. Training and development include enhancing the performance of companies, as well as the individuals and teams that make up such organizations. Training is associated with rapid improvements in organizational performance through organized teaching, whereas development is associated with the achievement of longer-term organizational and personnel objectives. While training and development have distinct meanings, they are frequently used interchangeably and/or in tandem. Training and development activities have several advantages. They improve employee performance, increase productivity, and lower staff turnover. and improve company culture. Thus, in this article we are going to talk about training and development activities.

Training and Development Activities

Depending on the kind of the company; training and development might be implemented in numerous activities. However, training and development activities are generally the same for every organization.

• The First Activity is Training – This activity is usually executed as soon as the employee is hired because it focuses on the current job. It trains the person to the work correctly, which fit with business culture and objectives. Employees may receive further training after completing basic training in order to be given more duties and responsibilities in their existing employment. Part-timers, contract workers, and full-timers might all benefit from training. Because the training is focused on the current work, it will be assessed against it
• The Second Activity is Education – This action is generally carried out after an employee has worked for the firm for a specific amount of time. Education focuses on the kind of professions that a person could hold in the future. It helps the person gain more information, understanding, skills, and talents in order to accomplish a better job in the future. Full-time employees who will be promoted or contract workers who will be sponsored to become full-time employees are frequently provided education. Because future professions are so specialized, schooling is frequently compared to them
• The Third Activity is Development – This action is often carried out as soon as the person is employed and continues. Development focuses on future activities in which the employee will be employed by the business. Employees’ employability and values will be enhanced as a result of the development activities, and they will be given additional responsibilities and opportunities to advance in their careers in the future. Individual development is also beneficial in locating the best work for them in order to increase their effectiveness and productivity. This activity is typically not judged against individual professions, but rather on its overall worth

These training and development activities may be divided into activities that are more specific depend on organization condition, strategy, and objectives. For the purpose of the firm, the HR department facilitates strategic planning to train, educate, and develop every employee. While the HR department serves as a facilitator, top managers will serve as sponsors, line managers will be responsible for mentoring, and providers will be experts in the subject. At times, each party’s objectives and motivations clash with one other. Conflicts are unavoidable in the workplace, but they must be resolved quickly. Everyone should be aware of their job, duties, and status.

More about O.D. Activities

Training and development should be done in a holistic manner. In certain situations, the organization concentrates solely on two activities: training and education, while neglecting development. These scenarios are not advised since development is critical in planning an organization’s future. Employee involvement and dedication to the firm are also boosted through development. It will increase work satisfaction, productivity, organizational stability, and the prospect of future progress. As a result, all training and development activities should be included in an organization’s organizational development strategy. A good training and development activity will create strong human power that will run the company to the top.

Training has grown increasingly trainee-focused in recent decades, giving individuals being trained greater freedom and chances for active learning. Exploratory/discovery learning, mistake management training, guided exploration, and mastery training are examples of active learning approaches. Executive and supervisory/management development, new-employee orientation, professional-skills training, technical/job training, customer-service training, sales-and-marketing training, and health-and-safety training are examples of typical initiatives in the sector. Strong-reliability businesses, which rely on high safety standards to prevent catastrophic harm to people, equipment, or the environment, place a premium on training (e.g., nuclear power plants, operating rooms).

It’s vital to remember that in order to perform their work function in the company, all personnel require different degrees and forms of growth. To sustain effective performance, adjust to new ways of work, and stay motivated and engaged, all employees require some type(s) of continuing training and development.

However, if training and development is not purposeful and focused on certain objectives, it might cause more harm than benefit. Needs assessments are routinely done to determine what needs to be learned, how it should be educated, and how extensively it should be trained, especially when the training is being conducted on a big scale. Employee and management-specific skills to develop (e.g., for new employees), organizational-wide problems to address (e.g., performance issues), adaptations needed to suit changing environments (e.g., new technology), or employee development needs are all revealed by needs assessments in the training and development context (e.g., career planning).

The degree of efficacy of training and development activities may be anticipated by the needs assessment and how well the needs were satisfied, the training execution (i.e., how successful the trainer was), and the characteristics of the trainees (e.g., motivation, cognitive abilities). The effectiveness of training is usually measured on an individual or team basis, with few research looking at the effects on organizations.

Assessment Test for organizational development

Assessment tests for organizational development must follow a systematic, scientific approach to assess the dynamics at the workplace. The approach will include the collection of data and analysis of the factors that impact organizational performance, in order to identify areas of strength, weakness and opportunity. Any framework that is used as a base for the assessment should include all the factors influencing the organization and its performance. These are multiple interdependent factors that range from organizational culture, leadership and external budget pressures to the skills and behaviors exhibited by their entry-level employees.

The Burke-Litwin Model of organizational performance and change is a good fit to develop assessment tests for organizational development. It provides a framework to effectively analyze, interpret, develop, communicate and manage change within an organization. It is a systematic model that describes the link between the primary factors that affect performance and how change happens in an organization. It also captures the difference between the primary and secondary factors, with the primary factors having greater impact on performance and change processes.

The external environment, the organization’s mission and strategy, leadership, individual and organizational performance and organizational culture are the major influencers while, organization structure, management practices, systems, work unit climate, motivation, task and individual skills, and individual needs and values are the secondary factors that influence individual and subsequently organizational performance.

The external environment deals with the key external drivers, the way they impact the organization; the mission and strategy elaborate the top managements vision for the organization, whether they are clearly drafted and the employees’ perception of these vision, mission statements and strategies; leadership involves those who provide direction to the organization, the role models, the styles of leadership used and how it is perceived by the employees; the organizational culture involves the rules, customs, values and principles that guide practices and behavior within the organization; individual and organizational performance refers to the overall productivity and quality trends within the organization.

Structure defines the way functions and people are arranged in specific areas and levels of responsibility and the nature of primary communication and decision-making relationships; systems detail the organization’s policies and procedures which include the systems established for reward, performance appraisal, human resource and resource planning; management practices involve the way managers utilize human material resources to aid the organization strategy and how they relate to subordinates; work unit climate details the nature of work relationships within teams and with other colleagues; tasks and individual skills and individual needs and values explain the skills that job-skill match throughout the organization and the needs, expectations the employees have to improve their job satisfaction; motivation details the internal and external motivation within the organization.

The assessment tests for organization development will result in organizational impact assessment and organizational risk assessment. The impact assessment identifies the personnel to carry out the development, how it will impact the organization and whether it will attain the developmental goal. The organizational risk assessment gives the risks and identifies methods to mitigate them as the developmental process progresses. Organizations can invest in tools in order to systematically develop their company while considering all the factors and risks that influence the change.

Training for Organizational Development

Who doesn’t want their organization to aim for higher goals and strive for success? The VUCA world is creating immense pressure on organizations to keep adapting to changes that would either help them survive or perish. Organizations must continuously react to the environmental changes and with these continuous changes “Organizational Development (OD)” has emerged and bloomed as a field of expertise. This has made training for organizational development crucial for many senior leaders and professionals.

Let us first begin by defining the term “Organizational Development”. This field provides strategic experience to leaders, HR professionals and business managers to address the demands and needs of the changing environment (market or technological changes) of the organization by assessing it carefully, planning an intervention at the policy, systems and people level and implementing the same. Systematic changes in the policies and systems followed by simultaneous changes in the beliefs and attitudes of the employees are aimed for.

OD is important for various reasons as listed below:

• It increases the levels of open communication, two-way dialogues and feedback amongst the employees and between the leaders and employees as well
• There is a system of continual improvement established within the organization that makes managing change a smoother process
• It instills research and innovation as one of the key skills to live by that eventually helps to improve the company’s products and services
• It helps to change the desired expectations of the employees, create a platform of opportunities that will help to hone their skills and keep the organization up to date with the critical competencies required in the workforce
• All the above-stated factors impact the bottom line and increase the profits for the organization

Training for Organization Development knowledge and skills can be taken both via classroom sessions and virtual sessions. The duration of the training can range from 6 months to 12 months. Multiple universities worldwide are offering these courses a certification, diploma or graduate program. Typically, these certification programs would cover most, if not all, of the following aspects:

• Creating a philosophy and charter for organizational change
• Consulting for Organizational Excellence, Development and Change
• Understanding the Core Concepts of Organizational Development
• Learning the basics of Social Psychology and Group Dynamics
• Leading organizational Change, Managing and implementing change initiatives
• Change models like the Lewin Change Model
• Creating diagnostic tools and assessments for evaluating organizational change
• Defining individual and team roles and implementing strategies for Team Success
• Creating and evaluating competency frameworks and designing employee development plans
• Constructing an Organizational Design based on Organizational Analysis
• Planning and implementing cultural transformation
• Tracking Organizational Development Analytics
• Develop the skill of Strategic Thinking and Systems Thinking Approach

Any certification and training for Organizational Development helps in the following ways:

• It increases credibility as an OD professional
• Provides a structure and increases reliability due to application of proven methodologies in the transformation plan
• Helps to be an advisor to the leadership team
• Hones skills to become a change catalyst in the organization
• Enhances the ability to lead change management, leadership development and other OD initiatives effectively
• Polish facilitation skills for implementing organizational development plans

If you find these benefits important for yourself to succeed in your career growth, enroll for a training on organizational development today.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING

NEED FOR ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING AND VARIOUS TYPES OF TRAINING

Organizational development training is a program that helps employees learn specific skills or knowledge to improve performance in their current roles. Leaders at all levels should be equipped to create a sense of importance in employees that sets individual talents and passion in motion toward achieving the shared goal. It is very important for leaders to show employees a sense of meaningful appreciation. That is why training for organizational development solutions helps to establish a clear vision that sparks engagement and commitment. Organizational development training provides opportunities that enable employees, at all levels, to develop the skills and competence needed to be successful in their chosen careers or prepare for new duties by taking part in different types of developmental programs.

The Need for Training

The following are the two biggest factors that contribute to the increased need for organizational development training –

• Change – The word change includes almost everything. It is one of the major factors that lead to the need for training and development. There is in fact a direct connection between the two. Change contributes to the need for training and development and training and development contributes to individual and organizational change, and the cycle continues. It is technology that is leading to this need and changing the way business’s function, compete with each other and progress

• Development – This is another reason for training and development becoming even more necessary. Making money is not the only motivation at work. People who work with organizations look for more than just employment out of their work; they look at a comprehensive development of self. Self-awareness is an important element world over. People seek happiness and satisfaction at work, which may not be possible unless an individual is aware of the self

Types of Training

Different training is given to employees at different levels. The following training methods are used –

• Technical Training – Technical training is that type of training that is aimed at teaching employees how a particular technology or a machine works
• Quality Training – Quality training usually takes place in companies which physically produce a product. It teaches employees to identify defective products and only allows perfect products to go out to the markets
• Skills Training – Skills training is the training that is given to employees so that they can perform their peculiar functions. For e.g. A receptionist would be specifically taught to answer calls and handle the answering machine
• Soft Skills Training – Soft skills training includes personality development, being welcoming and friendly to clients, building understanding, training on sexual harassment etc
• Professional Training – Professional training is done for jobs that have continuously changing and evolving work like the field of medicine and research. People working in sectors that are continuously changing must be regularly updated on matters of the industry
• Team Training – Team training includes learning to create trust and harmony between team members for increased efficiency

Training is about knowing where you are in the present and after some time where you will reach with your abilities. With the help of training, people can learn new information, new approaches and rejuvenate their existing knowledge and skills. This leads to much improvement and increases effectiveness at work. The aim behind giving the training is to create an impact that lasts even after the training ends and the employee gets updated with the new circumstances. The purpose of training can be skill development for individuals and groups. Organizational development training attempts to build the ability to achieve and preserve a new desired state that is beneficial for the organization and the world around them.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Organizational development programs provide employee training to enhance organizational operations and help workers expand their skills so that they may be of greater profit to the company. Organizational development is significant in meeting established goals, and for progress and gaining market share. Even for organizations not focused on financial goals, like non-profits, organizational development can raise the organization’s reach and help it do better in the community or help more people.

Characteristics –

Below are some characteristics of a successful organizational development program.

• Training Aligned to Goals – The base of any successful organizational development program is to make sure that the training is steady with the organization’s aim, vision, and goals. Growth and development won’t meet objectives without this arrangement
• Leadership Commitment – Organizational development begins at the top. If the leadership is not committed, they shouldn’t expect their employees to be committed either. Development programs will help leadership get on board so they can support the process as it moves through the rest of the organization
• Communication Effectiveness – The ability to communicate the principles and skills needed to reach organizational goals is necessary and no one should be left out of the communication process. All communications whether verbal, visual or written, are important and should be consistent, clear, and targeted to different positions and departments so that everyone knows where they fit and how does their participation help in the development of the organization
• High Quality of Training and Coaching – Organizational development will only be as good as the coaching and training employees get, so an extremely good quality of training and coaching is necessary in order to move an organization further in significant ways. Many training programs are dull and ineffective at teaching people how to improve and develop their skills. If you want the initiative to succeed, make sure you have high quality training in place
• Taking A Long-Term View – Most organizations have short and long-term goals. Focusing only on short-term goals doesn’t give organizations the chance they need to develop over time. Meeting short-term goals is one step in the process but taking a longer view will be more absolute and lead to more growth over time

Organizational development programs are a sure way to get a boost in one’s career. Organizational change is challenging but fulfilling. It gives you a chance to make a difference in your company and in other people’s lives. Getting a certificate can also help you earn more income and open up new career opportunities. Whether you are interested in making a career change or you want to add to your qualifications, the following programs can help you do just that.

Organizational development programs usually share several basic characteristics. They are considered long-term efforts usually of one to three years. In addition, organizational development lays stress on collaborative management, where managers and workers in different positions cooperate to solve problems. It also recognizes that every organization is different and that the same solutions can’t necessarily be applied to all companies. Another common factor of organizational development programs is an emphasis on the value of teamwork and small groups. Most organizational development systems implement wide organizational changes and overcome resistance largely through the efforts of small teams and/or individuals.

An integral feature of most organizational development programs is the change agent, which is the group or individual that facilitates the process. Change agents are usually outside consultants who have experience managing these programs, although companies sometimes utilize inside managers. The benefit of appointing outside consultants is that they provide a different outlook and do not have a one–sided view of the organization’s problems and needs.

The drawback of outside change agents is that they usually lack an understanding of key issues particular to the organization. In addition, outside consultants may have trouble securing the trust and cooperation of the members in the organization. Due to this some companies apply an exterior and interior approach, which combines the advantages of both change agents.

Implementing Organizational Development Programs

Organizational development programs comprise of two groups of activities; “action research” and “interventions”. Action research is a process of collecting data of an organization, feeding it back for action planning, and calculating results by collecting more data. Action research can be seen as the distinguishing element of the organizational development process, where the change agent uses actions plans to make changes. The results of actions are measured and evaluated, and new action plans are devised to effect new changes. Organizational development interventions are programs that comprise of specific activities designed to effect change in some phase of an organization. Organizations that wish to achieve organizational change will employ a full range of interventions. One easy method of classifying these interventions is by group size and interrelationship, typically an organizational development program will integrate more than one of these interventions. A few of the more popular interventions are briefly described below –

Interpersonal interventions in an organizational development program designed to enhance individual skills, knowledge, and effectiveness. One of the most popular interventions are T-groups, which help workers become more aware of their own and their coworker’s behavior patterns. A typical T-group consists of 10 to 20 volunteers who meet at a certain time. The result of this meeting would be that the team would become more proficient because of greater understanding and subsequent efforts to improve.

• Group – Organizational development group interventions are designed to help teams and groups within organizations become more effective. Group diagnostic interventions are simply meetings wherein members of a team analyze their performance, ask questions about what they need to improve, and discuss potential solutions to problems. The advantage of group interventions is that members often communicate problems that their fellow workers were unaware of. As a result, many problems are resolved simply as a result of the meetings. Team-building meetings are the same as diagnostic interventions, but they involve taking the group away from the workplace for some time. The group members go further than just realizing problems by suggesting, discussing, and offering solutions
• Intergroup – Intergroup interventions are combined into organizational development programs to create cooperation between various groups within an organization. For example, interaction between different departments often deteriorates in larger organizations due to the battle for limited resources. Conflict resolution meetings are held, and group leaders are brought together to realize their responsibility to the intervention. The teams meet separately to make a list of their feelings about the other groups. Then the groups meet and share their lists. Finally, the teams meet to discuss the problems and to try to find solutions that will help both parties. This type of intervention helps to slowly diffuse tension between groups, caused by lack of communication and misunderstanding
• Comprehensive – Organizational development comprehensive interventions are used to create change in an organization. Survey feedback is a popular comprehensive intervention. This technique basically involves surveying employee attitudes at all levels and then reporting the findings back to them. The employees then use the data in feedback sessions to create solutions to perceived problems. A number of surveys have been developed specifically for such interventions. An advantage of change interventions is that companies can often realize a quick and very important effect as a result of minor changes
• Appreciative Inquiry – This approach centers around examining organizational practices that have proven successful as a way of addressing development issues. Traditional approaches focused too much on seeking problems and looking for new solutions, whereas many organizations have numerous successes or strengths that might hold a better key to an organization’s development. Appreciative inquiry lays stress on discovering and identifying present strengths and anticipating a positive future building on those strengths. It calls for employees to recap their best experiences in the organization and imagine new prospects

Organizational development programs are designed to solve a problem, thus facilitating an organization to achieve the goal. These are designed to improve the organization’s functioning and empower managers and leaders to better manage their team and organization. These programs are required to address the issues that an organization might be facing ranging from process, performance, knowledge, skill, will, technology, evaluation, career development, abrasion, top talent retention and the list can actually be far- reaching.

Organizational Development Courses in India

Organizational Development Courses in India explore the planning and evaluation of organizational changes and emphasize the behavioral science theories underlying the Organizational Development practices in India. Students examine the contemporary concepts, terminology, models, methods and interventions of organizational development. They also learn about the initial inquiry and assessment process that drives the need for planned changes in an organization. The history of scholarly thought in the field is discussed, and expected future developments are also considered.

Types of Organizational Development Courses: –

• Organizational Training Course: Employees in this course examine and understand the concepts and methods for finding, training and developing business personnel to bring about increased effectiveness within an organization’s structure. The course also explores how to determine a company’s staffing needs and use this information to design and implement an appropriate training program
• Organizational Culture Course: This Organizational Development course in India helps employees to diagnose and prescribe fixes to the informal social structures at play within a business organization, such as personal idiosyncrasies, group processes and office politics. The course also examines the various forms an organizational culture may take, and it explores methods to promote a harmonious business setting through incisive staff appraisals and personnel changes. The coursework often draws from disciplines like sociology, psychology and cultural anthropology
• Diagnosis and Intervention Course: From this course, employees learn to recognize organizational performance dysfunctions and apply appropriate intervention models to correct them. Choosing the most effective intervention for any situation is emphasized in the course, and employees become familiar with commonly used techniques; both interventions involving in-house staff members and those using outside consultants are considered. Advanced Organizational Development courses in India, such as this one, may require online participants to perform fieldwork conducting diagnostic assessments in an actual organizational environment
• Leadership Development Course: Employees in this course look into the processes of succession to discover how suitable candidates for key mid- and high-level leadership roles are determined and prepared. The identification and training of candidates from within an organization (rather than outside hires) is a focal point of this course
• Organizational Behavior Course: In this course, employees will learn the foundational elements of an organization including culture, leadership and motivation. The objective of the course is to educate employees in theoretical management ideas that they can integrate and apply to their future organizational work. Employees will also study how sociological and psychological behavior theory applies to the function and culture of organizations
• Applied Organizational Psychology Course: This course includes the study of human behavior. Topics include leadership, how to perform in a team and attitudes when at work
• Data Assessment Course: This course will teach employees about the feedback of data in organizational development. Consulting services are also analysed

Importance of Organizational Development Courses in India

• Well-Trained Employees – Organizational Development Courses helps the organization have more efficient and knowledgeable employees. This in turn leads to better performance and resource optimisation. The company can also provide for strict and well-defined bye-laws by help of these courses as the employees can be educated about the significance and process of changes desired. A spirit of competitiveness as well as teamwork is instilled in the employees by the help of Organizational Developmental Courses
• Survival in Competition – Due to the ever-changing economic environment and fast paced competition, an organization may at times fail to achieve its objectives or at times to even survive, if it does not adapt itself to the changing circumstances. Sound level of awareness and decision-taking ability shall exist at the Top managerial level of organizations to ensure the consistent growth of the organization, irrespective of changes in the external environment. A decision to employ Organizational Development courses is one, that helps the employees of the organization to cope up with the changes in the external environment, as well as to learn and develop expertise in new and reformed work methods
• Better Organizational Workflows – An organizational development programme at times involves defining as well as modifying work roles and the working structure of the organization. In other words, it focusses on developing workflows that improve efficiency of employees, will keeping the cost to implement the same at a tolerable level. The cost of developing and implementing such workflows shall not however, exceed the benefits derived from the same. Such reforms in workflows are required when organizations do not identify such changes and incurs extra costs or losses due to the ill-functioning of existing processes
• Reformed Employee Roles – Organizational Development Courses in India teach employees about the importance of their roles in a workflow or in the organization for that matter. Reform in work roles may include the order of the employees’ responsibility in a particular process, or the level of authorisation a person now has, and so on and so forth. The objective of reforming the roles of employees is to evolve to a better working process which aims at increasing profitability of the organization in the long run, while helping the organization be a competitive force in the short run
• Improved Operational Performance – As a result of the education and knowledge gathered by the employees from the Organizational Development Courses, their operational performance is certain to improve with time, depending up the grasping ability and application of the employees subjected to the process. As the employees are introduced to a reformed and effective method of working, it may take them some time to adapt to the new process, but once employees start getting used to the process, the benefits of this change are ever-lasting and help develop an organizational culture that is open to new and reformed working methodologies

Organizations these days have grown more and more competitive with the growth in the number of participants in each industry, and with the buyer’s requirements being the key parameter for success of any organization, it is key that the changes in buyer’s conditions as well as changes in the external and internal environment is carefully monitored from time to time. Organizational Development Courses in India are just the perfect way for an organization to evaluate whether it is keeping up with latest developments, and if not the same is fixed by the Organizational Development Process by suggesting measures and providing guidelines to match the desired, and more importantly required level of performance. To conclude, for any organization to survive and strive in an industry, it becomes imperative to undertake Organizational Development Courses from time to time to stay competitive and profitable.

Every Organization, regardless of its size, needs to discover its place. When an organization has a clear sense of a vision, purpose, direction and desired objectives, organizations and its people are able to navigate, and eventually find their way in the bigger picture of which they are a part. An effective vision is created by analysing the past, understanding the present and exploring options to craft a clear future vision. Organizations that enjoy on-going success have core values and vision in place that remains fixed while their business strategies adapt to the ever-changing world.  

An organizational vision is often grounded with a deep sense of direction, where an important part of choosing the right framework for the organization is a self- reflection of organization’s strengths and weaknesses. In order to choose the best strategy available, one is required to analyse all these factors. Once the goals for your organization are created, apply the strategic framework process to the goal that is to be achieved in order to help the employees understand how their goals fit into the bigger picture.  

Strategic intent is another idea that draws from both vision and mission. It incorporates an ideal future state, an objective defined in competitive terms that is progressively a piece of vision. One additional point to consider is what exactly is the long-term organizational vision. The strategic framework needs to be founded on the organization’s mission, vision, and goals in order to be successful. 

Next, set up a strategy and detail how your employees understand the mission. Whether it’s a SWOT analysis or a brainstorming session, it’s important to buy your employees point. Your strategy should address predicted difficulties, future opportunities also internal strength that can help organization to achieve their mission. In most of the organizations, the management team writes the company’s overall Mission and Vision Statements. Below are the important points one needs to take care of- 

• Clearly identify organizations culture, values and strategy taking into consideration your employees and stakeholders 
• Ensure the objectives are reasonable and attainable
• Communicate the vision and mission of your organization in clear, simple and precise language
• Develop buy in and support for your points within the organization
• Make sure you long term vision and employees’ short term and long-term vision are aligned also guide employees to more productively by providing common goals

It is essential for the company’s culture to be built around the core values and objectives. Companies core values impact who you hire and how you treat your employees also how you present and interact with the outside world. Hiring decisions should always resolve around company’s values. An emerging human resource tactics evolves around employee engagement which involves implanting your organizational culture and values in the work environment.  

Strengthscape’s  Jamavaar® is a business workshop that helps in creating a visual map of the Vision to create a high-impact leadership program that addresses the most critical skill of an effective leader also helps in creating a clear plan of action for the organization & teams.