There are many industry terms that are thrown around with reckless abandon, though people rarely know their true definitions or impact.
New buzzwords resurface all the time, but what is organizational development?
What is Organizational Development?
Broadly speaking, it defines how resources are utilized to improve efficiency and productivity. It is leveraged to solve problems and analyze processes, with an end goal of discovering new and more effective ways to do things.
This requires investments of time and money, which is justified when organizational development generates positive results. Understanding its importance is a great foundation for success, so let’s look at that before we get to some great benefits.
Why is it Important?
It identifies areas of company operations that need to be changed, which can be implemented into a change management plan. With effective change management, organizations can gradually transition with new processes, which is especially important in today’s shifting digital climate.
Your change plan will highlight areas of improvement, how others will be affected by change, and how it can be rolled out effectively. With a well-prepared change management strategy, organizational development becomes embedded in company culture.
Growth
It will help your company grow, and align sales projections with consumer demand. The rate of company growth is an important determinant of change, which can be used to influence your company business plan.
An important decision is how will you use company resources to accommodate future growth, and to drive it?
Work Processes
An organizational development philosophy will analyze current work processes for accuracy. Quality control measures are necessary to attain company standards, and evaluators can identify profitable processes and look to duplicate them.
This provides greater efficiency, where detailed plans are formulated on how to improve company methods.
What Are The Benefits of Organizational Development?Increased Communication
Organizational development increases communication, interaction, and feedback. These are vital considerations with regards to keeping staff motivated, while aligning their perspectives with company goals.
Transparent communication will help staff understand the need for change, and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Change is necessary to develop, so communication goes a long way. There should be open dialogue throughout the organization, that’s two-way to ensure staff remain open to new initiatives. They can subsequently share useful feedback.
Employee Development
Staff must develop to consistently meet the demands of ever-evolving business landscapes.
Leaders must influence employees to embrace desired changes, which can be achieved by promoting the overarching benefits of development. If staff evolve with the times, they’ll be more productive, and your organization won’t be stuck in the past.
A team whose skills are regularly enhanced can usefully unite to meet company objectives, meaning it’s worth investing in staff training as a component of organizational development.
Increased Profit
Anything that increases profit should be encouraged. Organizational development leads to innovation, which subsequently reduces costs and minimizes employee turnover.
It affects the bottom line in many ways, since it prioritizes improving the quality of your product/service. Employees will be more satisfied as a result, and word soon spreads about your innovative solutions.
You’ll not only receive new customers, but retain existing ones. Focusing on continuous improvement is a great way to ensure you stay one step ahead, differentiating from the competition. This will ultimately generate increased profits, which is crucial for survival.
Continuous Improvement
It’s important to never become too rooted in the current, rather constantly looking ahead to how you can improve. This approach encourages organizations to adopt new models and processes, and consequently focus on how they can improve efficiency.
This creates an up-to-date plan, where objectives are continually aligned with the latest industry trends.
By maintaining a continuous improvement philosophy, you’ll maintain a positive culture that brings multiple benefits with it.
Boosts Quality of Employee Outcome
Staff are your most important organizational resource. In this sense, they need to be looked after, otherwise your plans will inevitably fall on deaf ears.
Staff must be motivated to develop with the organization, which can be achieved by ensuring their satisfaction is a number one priority. If this plummets, they’ll be forced to look for a new job, or continue working at low levels of efficacy.
Your approach to organizational development must boost the morale of employees, which can be achieved through team building, workshops, employee engagement initiatives, and progressive HR policies.
Instill a work-life balance with staff, and be tolerant of the time it takes to accept change. These steps can be implemented as part of a successful organizational development plandevelopment plan.
Hopefully we’ve addressed your question ‘what is organizational development?’, and have brought you one step closer to implementing a successful plan of action.
With a forward-thinking approach, there are many benefits to be realized, so remember to focus on organizational processes that are critical for improvement.
If you liked this article, you may also like:
WalkMe Team
WalkMe spearheaded the Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) for associations to use the maximum capacity of their advanced resources. Utilizing man-made consciousness, AI, and context-oriented direction, WalkMe adds a powerful UI layer to raise the computerized proficiency, everything being equal.