Essential Foundations for Organisational Development Success

I have spent 25 years leading Learning and Organisational Development teams in many industries, including some of Australia’s top companies. In every business I work for, I ensure three crucial elements are in place to deliver a great learning and organisational strategy: 

1. Well-designed and executed OD infrastructure projects to build a solid foundation 

Achieving this requires three tools: capability frameworks, success profiles and a leadership framework. These are all essential tools in Organisational Development. They help to define the capabilities (transferable people skills, transferable business skills, leadership behaviours, and business knowledge) required for all roles and leaders. They also allow for the identification of business-wide gaps in capability. These tools are used in all aspects of the employee lifecycle – from EVP and recruitment decisions to performance and talent development and succession planning. Together, these tools contribute to a well-rounded and effective workforce strategy by setting benchmarks of capability and performance for all team members to strive toward. Leadership Frameworks provide a structured guide for leaders to navigate challenges, make informed decisions, build a great culture, and motivate and inspire their teams. This also helps businesses identify and develop future leaders, ensuring continuity and adaptability when faced with change.  

2. A compelling OD strategy, including a motivational vision and change plan

This strategy serves as a guiding force in aligning teams towards common goals. It inspires motivation and increases discretionary effort. 

"Knowing Where The Team Is Going, And The Key Projects, Tasks And Communication Activities Required Fosters Unity And Provide A Sense Of Purpose And A Shared Identity Within The Organisation"

Knowing where the team is going, and the key projects, tasks and communication activities required fosters unity and provide a sense of purpose and a shared identity within the organisation. This clarity of direction around the path that will be travelled enhances decision-making, engagement and resilience, all crucial elements for sustainable culture, strategy and long-term business success. Focusing on capability development also acts as a powerful tool for attracting top talent. There must be alignment to organisational goals to develop a more compelling, purposeful and impactful strategy. This compelling vision provides positive incentives and assists with executive buy-in and sponsorship, two of the most critical aspects of OD services. 

3. Data-driven decision-making – pay close attention to the data

Organisational Development data helps direct the capability development decision-making, identify leadership trends, measure program performance and aid in budget management. Tim’s top ten data sources from an Organisational Development perspective include the following: 

● Employee/Team Performance Metrics identifies potential capability gaps.

● Employee Engagement Survey gauges the health of the culture and potential actions the business can put in place to further motivate team members.

● Talent Development Metrics includes the data regarding skills acquisition/development to build the necessary capabilities for roles around the business.

● Workforce Diversity Metrics contains demographic information that will help build a more diverse workforce.

● Retention (and regrettable loss) Rates and Exit surveys points out possible changes to policies or strategies to encourage retention of talent.

● Organisational Culture Assessments includes values, beliefs and behaviour assessments and drive culture programmes.

● Leadership Effectiveness includes capability assessments and personality/leadership assessments, and this aid in bridging gaps in capability through effective leadership development programmes.

● Program Metrics – any OD program with the standard five levels of assessment (Kirkpatrick) will assist in defining and monetising return on investments made to developing leaders

● Strategic Alignment Metrics compares business improvements with capability improvements to define the benefits of OD strategy and highlight improvements that could be made to interventions.

● Industry Benchmarks includes tools such as Hogan assessments or Human Synergistics to determine the bench strength of your leaders and areas where you could possibly buy or borrow talent. 

While there are countless other aspects and elements to consider when implementing Organisational Development within businesses, these top three, done well, enable all other initiatives and lay a solid foundation for innovation and exploration of ‘what else is possible’.