What is Organizational Development?
Organizational development allows companies to carry out their process of analysis and changes within the company to improve effectiveness, skills, performance, and knowledge, both individually and collectively, to face the challenges, projects, and problems that arise and solve them in a positive way.
One of the goals of all companies is to achieve efficiency and improve their productivity. So, it is important to analyze the factors that influence work processes, such as culture, resources, team performance, etc.
To implement a correct organizational development strategy, it is necessary to go through a process of four stages, which are:
Diagnosis and Data Collection
In this stage, the problems that arise or will, present within the organization are identified to establish the objectives and priorities and implement the appropriate solutions.
Planning
In planning, it is necessary to define the action plan, consider the variables that may arise, and eliminate the barriers to finding the solution to a specific problem.
Implementation
During this process, the most appropriate action plan for the organization’s needs is established and implemented, which will allow the problem to be solved and/or particular objectives achieved.
Evaluation
At the end of the implementation, a review of the plans and objectives of the company is carried out. The action plan makes the necessary modifications to achieve the established goals.
To implement an adequate organizational development plan, it is necessary to open communication channels within the company and strengthen interpersonal relationships within it from the highest hierarchical positions. The effective implementation of an organizational development plan will allow you to:
- Improve relationships between collaborators
An organizational development plan will allow you to improve collaboration between employees and customer and client relationships. In addition, it is important to remember that OD brings together all
areas of a company in coordination and allows continuous training for all its members to achieve the objectives established at the beginning.
- Promote teamwork
Achieve better performance as a team, with more motivation and satisfaction in the work done. This will reflect on the productivity of the company. This plan is also aimed at improving communication within the company.
- Raise competitiveness
This will give the company an advantage over other companies in the same sector and improve relationships with clients and customers. Raise competitiveness is also achieved by cooperating with other organizations, generating joint projects, and adding value to the company.
- Integrate individual and collective interests into the goals of the company
This plan is aimed at helping employees work together to reach the goals of an organization and identify and correct problems on time. To carry out an effective organizational development plan, it is necessary to have the support of the human resources department. The HR department is responsible for recruiting, training, and retaining employees and managing employee benefits and compensation.
- Build a strong organizational culture
A strong organizational culture is based on values and principles that all members of an organization share. This culture allows a company to achieve its objectives and maintain its competitive advantage. The human resources department is responsible for creating and reinforcing the company’s culture. The HR department must ensure that the company’s culture is aligned with the OD plan and that all employees understand and share the company’s values.
While it is true that promoting an organizational development plan requires time, financial and human resources, its advantages are greater than the investment you will make since OD also helps build the organizational culture of your company.
Organizational Development and Human Resources
Both OD and HR have the common goal of improving the efficiency of a company, which is why it is so important that they are related and work together in order to obtain the best results.
Human resource is a critical organizational function that influences organizational development. It shapes organizational culture and supports the realization of organizational goals by recruiting, training, and managing employees. Functions such as staffing, compensation, benefits, performance management, and employee relations are closely related to OD. Staffing involves acquiring and deploying the right people with the necessary skills to achieve the organization’s goals. It includes job analysis, designing jobs, recruiting, and selecting employees.
In order to carry out organizational development efficiently, it is necessary that HR has a direct relationship with OD because, through this, they can obtain the necessary information to know what the needs of the company are and act accordingly.
Human Resource Functions Relate to Organizational Development
HR and OD are directly related because organizational development aims to promote an improvement in efficiency, productivity, effectiveness, and knowledge within the company through processes aimed at analysis and changes that allow meeting new challenges, projects, and problems in a positive way.
The objectives of OD and human resources are aligned because organizational development seeks to improve the skills and performance of individuals and teams. In contrast, human resources seek to develop and manage the people who work in an organization.
The HR OD department is responsible for managing a company’s human resources. Among its functions are:
Recruiting employees
Recruiting employees involves the activity of finding and attracting the best people for a job. The recruiting process usually includes advertising the position, reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and making offers.
Training and Development
Training and development help employees learn the skills they need to do their jobs. It includes training new employees, on-the-job training, and training to improve employees’ skills.
Performance Appraisals
Performance appraisals are one of the most common human resources management practices. The goal of performance appraisal is to ensure that all employees meet or exceed the expectations of their jobs.
Employee Relations
Employee relations involve working with employees to resolve problems and improve communication. Employee relations activities include resolving complaints, disciplining employees, and negotiating unions or other types of employee organizations.
Compensation and Benefits
Compensation and benefits are two of the most important factors in employee satisfaction. Benefits include insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. Compensation includes salary, bonuses, and other earnings.
Organizational development empowers organizations to achieve their goals through strategic planning. To do this effectively, OD managers must have a thorough understanding of HR practices and how HR can support them in achieving their goals.
The organizational development department is responsible for the company’s development as a whole. Among its functions are:
Designing and Implementing Organizational Change Programs
Organizational change programs help organizations adapt to new environments, technologies, and competitive pressures. HR managers must work with OD managers to ensure that the changes are implemented effectively.
Developing and Implementing Human Resources Management Systems
Human resources management systems include recruiting and selection systems, training and development programs, performance appraisal systems, and compensation and benefits programs. This will ensure that employees are qualified for the tasks they are required to accomplish.
Coaching and Consulting with Managers
This helps managers manage their employees more effectively and enables employees to have a working environment that allows them to contribute fully. HR’s role in OD is to provide the necessary resources and support that will help managers achieve their goals.
Evaluating Organizational Effectiveness
This involves assessing the company’s performance with regard to customer service, financial success, and organizational flexibility. To conclude, HR must have a good knowledge of OD processes to optimize the company’s results.
HR and OD work together to ensure that the personnel of an organization meet the company’s objectives. The HR department is responsible for hiring the right people, training them, and helping them to improve their performance, while OD helps to create a corporate culture.
This is why organizational development is so important for any company since it allows one to have an overview of everything that happens within it and establish what the objectives and priorities are to solve the identified problems.
HR OD Strategies
The HR activity has an essential role to play in the organizational development process. It can develop strategies, services, and processes to understand knowledge work and talent management better. HR’s ability to align organizational goals enables them to monitor how well its OD programs are working closely. The main strategies that HR can use to facilitate OD are:
- Creating a culture of learning and development
- Developing leadership and management skills
- Designing and delivering training programs
- Implementing talent management processes
- Providing coaching and mentoring programs
- Fostering creativity and innovation
HR requires a clear understanding of the organization’s business goals and objectives to develop strategies that will facilitate OD.
When it comes to organizational development, HR is responsible for implementing the necessary changes in order to achieve the desired outcomes. HR must have a good relationship with OD so that they can work together towards the common goal of improving the company.
Organizational Development Goals
The goals of organizational development are to improve performance, effectiveness, and efficiency. It seeks to understand the organization as a whole and identify the areas where change is needed. OD strives to create an environment where employees are able to work together harmoniously towards the achievement of common goals. Some of the main goals of OD are:
- Developing a corporate culture that supports innovation and creativity
- Creating structures and processes that facilitate communication and cooperation
- Enhancing leadership and management skills
- Fostering employee engagement
- Improving performance and productivity
- Reducing employee turnover
HR and OD should align the goals of organizational development with the company’s business goals. This will ensure a clear direction for the organization and that all efforts are directed towards achieving these goals.
HR and OD Business Relationship
There must be a clear business relationship between the HR function and the OD program in order to ensure that both are going towards achieving common goals. Some of these include:
Decision-Making
HR should support OD by providing information regarding decisions related to OD strategies, change management, etc. This will allow them to make settlements based on facts rather than assumptions.
Organizational Design
HR can provide valuable information regarding the company’s structure, processes, and systems as it is responsible for designing a range of employment policies and practices that impact how business is done within organizations. For example, OD needs to know about the status of workforce planning before attempting any changes in staffing levels since this will have an impact on training requirements.
Human Resources
OD should be familiar with HR policies and procedures so that it can identify areas where changes may be needed. For example, if the OD program focuses on developing leadership skills, it might be necessary to revise the HR policy regarding recruitment and selection.
Training and Development
HR should provide OD with a detailed training plan that outlines the type of training required, who will be responsible for delivering the training, and how it will be evaluated.
Performance Management
OD should work with HR to develop performance measurement systems that track employee performance against set objectives. This will help to identify areas where employees need additional support or development.
The business relationship between HR and OD should be based on trust and mutual respect. Both functions need to be open and candid to ensure that the organization’s goals are met.
When it comes to organizational development (OD), human resources (HR) are responsible for implementing the necessary changes to achieve the desired outcomes. OD strives to create an environment where employees can work together harmoniously towards achieving common goals. HR is essential in establishing and maintaining this type of environment.
There must be a clear business relationship between HR and OD to ensure that both are going towards achieving common goals. Some of these include decision-making, organizational design, human resources, training and development, and performance management. The business relationship should be based on trust and mutual respect.
Conclusion
Human and Organizational Development are closely interrelated. HR professionals should make themselves aware of OD techniques and approaches to support any changes that need to be implemented within organizations (if they haven’t already). Organizations should consider whether they want their HR function to focus on implementing OD strategies or if it needs to work hand in hand with OD specialists.
The most reliable way to ensure achievement is by having a clear business relationship between the two functions based on trust and mutual respect. However, members of both functions must work together if a successful change is desired; only through collaboration will true improvement occur. HR’s have to implement OD strategies and vice versa. We wish to continue to have an effective and efficient workplace, so it is important that both HR and OD work collaboratively.
Thank you for reading! We hope that this article has helped you understand the importance of the relationship between HR and OD.
