It is likely if you are reading this that you will have some interest in OD; either because your organisation is in the process of developing an OD strategy or has already done so, or that you are or have been asked to be in some way involved in the development of a strategy or to be a participant in the diagnostic stage.
The development of an OD strategy should always start first and foremost with the appointment of an expert in OD – either someone appointed internally, normally as Head or Director of OD or an external OD Consultant. See Employing OD Consultants.
The Organisation Development Strategy should then begin with a very thorough organisational diagnosis. It is a long-term, sustained change effort and should not be rushed through, nor should people’s expectations be raised and then dashed by conducting a widespread diagnosis involving a wide range of stakeholders and then abandoned because it might all take too long or it seems too difficult. The very act of involving people in the diagnosis will raise expectations and hopes that things are going to be different and that people will themselves be involved in getting there.
Once you have started, you are in it for the long haul! That is not to say that nothing will change quickly; some significant short-term gains can be made by focusing efforts on priority areas and be delivering highly effective interventions. The more people you are able to involve, the more momentum will be gained and the higher the commitment and motivation levels.
The diagnosis
An OD strategy should focus primarily on helping the organisation to meet and deliver its stated Purpose, Vision and Values. These are thus the starting point of the diagnosis. Many organisational change efforts or development activities are aimed mainly at affecting behavioural change; but without consideration of what the organisation is ultimately trying to achieve and what values are important in delivering that, the behavioural changes are likely to be short-lived and potentially, sooner or later, may be lost.
Suggested headings and a number of question areas are given here, under which to conduct a diagnosis. The list of questions and areas to address is very extensive and you may not need to ask all of these by any means. Many organisations are acutely aware of their strengths and shortcomings and know which areas they need to focus immediate attention on. It is fairly critical, however, to revisit (or develop) Purpose, Vision and Values in the first instance, so that you can then make sure that everything below supports their delivery.
It is also advisable to beware of falling into the “assumptions trap”. Whilst an organisation may be well aware of the areas it needs to address, you may be missing a wealth of data and information if you take for granted that what you are being told is the whole story. It won’t be. It will be the perspective of anything from one to very many people; but it will mainly be that – a perspective or perspectives and people easily influence each other’s perspectives until they become to be seen as fact.
You should involve as many people as you can in the diagnostic phase, through conducting individual sessions, collective sessions including time with the top team and various management and staff groups throughout the organisation and through large scale conferences and/ or Large Group Interventions, which aim to bring as much of the whole system as possible together at one time.
N.B Although the diagnosis is placed in the context of a whole organisation, the headline areas and many of the questions themselves are just as legitimate if you have just taken over a whole department, or even a team. In these cases, you would need to ensure that the purpose of the team, vision, values etc fitted within the framework of the organisation’s purpose, vision and values etc.
After the diagnosis
Once you or the person conducting the diagnosis has all the information, it should be pulled together, analysed and key themes highlighted. Inevitably, there are always some things that come out in various guises again and again, but it is still useful to do a thorough quantitative as well as qualitative summary. For an OD strategy to be effective and have credibility, it is also wise to share the findings from the diagnosis as widely as possible and essentially, with the organisation’s leaders and managers as they will play a vital role in helping to develop the OD strategy and ensuring that people are developed accordingly. It may very well be that the person leading on OD will need to involve the organisation’s managers in some further prioritisation of key areas to address first and favoured options in terms of approach and interventions.
There may be recommendations around a whole range of systems and processes that do not strictly come under the banner of OD, but it must be remembered that Organisation Development is about developing the capacity, capability and potential of the organisation and the people within it, so a watchful eye needs to be kept on other areas that need to develop alongside the OD strategy.
If what transpires from the diagnosis is that there is no clear organisational Purpose, Vision or Values, then this must be the starting point, as any interventions developed without this clarity will not work in the long run.