Organisational Change

Fast-forward to 2005, the field is still rapidly growing, and nowhere is it more evident when innovation and ability to adapt quickly to change are imperative for survival.Yet there is still the perennial challenge that OD professionals face: What is the value of OD? How do you quantify the impact of Change Management?

In the past 10 years of work and study in the field of OD, I have adopted the scientific method I learned from psychology into a very simple approach that proved effective in tackling this challenge:

1. Clarify the objectives of the client for intervention.
2. Establish clear indicators of change. Where possible, translate these indicators in dollar terms. (It is what the top management is really interested in!)
3. Before the intervention, establish current measures for the indicators.
4. After the intervention, measure again.
5. Determine impact/value by comparing before-after intervention results.

For example, one organization wanted a more innovative culture. Indicators of innovation may include the number of patents, number of R&D; and/or process improvement projects, number of staff suggestions/month, % of staff involved in cross-functional projects. These can then be translated into specific dollar value in terms of cost savings, income generated from projects/suggestions, or revenue from new products or services.

Once the indicator is established, the organization redefined it’s objective for innovation: $1.5M aggregate value (cost savings + revenue from innovation related projects based predefined criteria). This indicator became the basis for identifying the impact of OD interventions such as innovation workshops, project-team development, innovation-related performance management systems, etc.

The 5-step process is very simple and easy to apply. What is crucial is establishing clarity and sustainability in each step of the process.

This is where an OD professional comes in, to facilitate clarity for change: clarity of objectives, clarity of indicators, clarity of impact. Where indicators are not readily available, OD professionals design tools to establish appropriate indicators (i.e. behavioral assessment/observation, interviews, surveys, questionnaires, etc.). What you measure is what you get and OD professionals help you measure the right thing! The impact follows!

A skillful OD professional not only facilitates clarity but the sustainability of change as well. Are the objectives sustainable? Are the indicators appropriate for a sustainable change effort? Do the interventions applied deliver sustainable outcomes? The value you generate now, will it still be there tomorrow, five years or ten years down the road?

I once conducted organizational diagnostics for a PR firm that just spent US $0.5M on technology upgrade and were facing difficulties in the process. After interviewing the staff and management, issues surfaced beyond technology. Staff was resigning, the morale was low, the firm was losing key clients, the IT system was appropriate for manufacturing, not a PR firm. Everybody knows it except top management caught in an escalation of commitment for the technology investment! It was a clear case of managing change, but managing it with worse outcomes!

Every organization is already managing change. Thing is, is yours changing for the better in the long-term? Are you getting the best value out of your investments towards change?

If you are not sure, an OD professional can always help.

Rona Puntawe

Rona Puntawe is an experienced organizational development (OD) professional who has conducted OD projects for a broad range of organizations in Singapore, Australia, Philippines and USA. She has a Master of Commerce in Mgt and Organisational studies from University of New South Wales, Sydney. She is trained in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) with a degree in Psychology. Article was originally published in the now defunct www.rainbowfire.blogspirit.com.

Article was originally published in the now defunct www.rainbowfire.blogspirit.com.