Most companies, upon hearing the words Organisational Development (OD), automatically think Training Needs Analysis (TNA). Many will have heard of, or have used, TNA to review, and identify gaps in, the skills of their employees. In recent times these audits have become ubiquitous, especially in large companies, analogous to the skills matrices that HR departments the world over have been filling in for decades. This is not OD.
TNAs are important management tools, helping companies to bridge knowledge gaps and even address employee’s cognitive, communication and decision making skills. The problem is, if the processes, systems and strategic elements of the businesses are not working efficiently then the result of a TNA programme is a group of well trained employees in a potentially failing company. What is really needed is a more strategic approach, placing TNA as a component within a framework that addresses the whole company, assessing how the business operates and identifying its capabilities and competencies as well as its deficiencies. In essence that is what Organisational Development provides; an analysis of an organisation’s strategic direction and objectives and its ability and flexibility to fulfil those objectives and manage the necessary changes.
An OD review allows organisations to analyse their effectiveness and competence in achieving strategic goals. That is, of course, if the company indeed has strategic goal or even a strategy, which is very often not the case. A strategic objective, however, is not enough if the culture of the company is one of non-cooperation and conflict. An OD programme seeks to identify key issues and to develop a culture of collaboration and communication between departments and individuals. Where cooperation becomes second nature, information is shared and generated for the good of the company and individuals within teams are fully aware of the strategic objectives of the organisation. Ultimately the goal of an OD programme is to equip the organisation’s leaders, managers and staff with the flexibility to deal with change in the company and with the obstacles that crop up in the process of achieving strategic objectives.
The process of OD asks two questions: How well do you know yourself and how well do you know your company? The answers to these two questions are revealing and often they are “not as well as I thought”. Reflecting on our own abilities and behaviours is often difficult and is something most people avoid. Reflecting on our company’s competencies and abilities is often even more difficult. In order to grow a business, it is critical that we know both ourselves and our companies. This is where an OD review can provide some critical insight.
TNA is often associated with passive learning where an employee learns a new skill in isolation and then uses the newly learned skill in their company. We could say that the individual has been developed but not necessarily their organisation. The importance of active learning is that lessons learned can be directly applied to the organisation, both from an individual and structural perspective. The active learning process uses the organisational environment to provide context and examples so that the employee can see the benefit of the learning and where it can be employed for the benefit and development of both the individual and the organisation.
Fundamental to the OD process is the nature of leadership; from the top down and at every level. Having identified that an organisation requires assistance with its organisational development we often start at the top of the business with a programme of active learning, providing the leaders with a course such as Leadership for Growth (LFG). This will provide workshops on topics such as developing teams, building effective strategy, creating change environments and, of course, leadership. The Emerging Leaders (EL) and Managing People for Growth (MPfG) programmes provide similar workshops aimed at managers and leaders throughout the rest of an organisation. The objective of these workshops is to create the culture of collaboration and communication at every level so that strategic objectives can be attained and companies can grow.
From this point we can then examine an organisation in greater detail; what are the structures, what are the relationships between individuals and departments, is there performance management in place, what is the approach to team building, conflict and coaching. Through the workshops, and with the benefit of 360º and psychometric profiling, we can build a picture of an organisation through its people and then address specific needs. We provide individuals with the ability to see themselves as others see them and to compare this with how their own self-perception. From this point, individuals learn to be reflective and to understand how their behaviour influences and impacts on others and how it affects the organisation. In this way, developing individuals becomes intrinsic to the development of the company; the needs of the individual become inseparable from the needs of the company.
Organisational Development is much more than a simple Training Needs Analysis. It is an opportunity to lay bare the heart of the organisation and to address the fundamental issues within. You may ask yourself, does my Company need Organisational Development? We would ask can your company afford not to?
For further information about article please contact nick@leadershipfactory.co.uk