Organization Development (OD) is an inward looking process that intends to systematically build the capacity of individuals and organisations to change that would bring about development, improvement or reinforcement of structures, strategies and process for institutional growth.
What we offer under OD: Organisational Capacity Assessment (OCA), Financial Management Processes/Systems, Human Resource Management, and Development of Organisational Manuals.
Why you need OD: You will be equipped with the right tools to effectively respond and adapt to market changes and technological advances and more so to increase productivity and efficiency.
Benefits of OD You are likely to enjoy the following benefits after an OD process;
i. Continuous improvement – OD proactive approach embraces change and leverages on it for renewal.
ii. Better Communication – OD enhances internal communication, feedback, and engagement while also aligning all employees with the company’s shared goals and values.
iii. Employee Development –Employee development is key in meeting market evolving needs. Employee development will be through training and skill competency.
iv. Product and Service enhancement – Employee development creates innovation which brings about improved service and product. This will be attained through competitive analysis, market research, and consumer expectation and preference.
v. Increased Profit – Through optimized communication, innovation, raised productivity, the bottom line is affected in variety of ways and one of them is increased profit margins.
How we conduct OD
SDS will engage the following steps in meeting your OD needs:
i. Identify area of improvement. A need that aligns with the organizational goal will be identified. This approach will allow an in-depth understanding of the area for improvement.
ii. Investigate the problem. An investigation will be carried out to determine the reasons for the problem existence, what the impediments to change are, and what remedies have been tried previously.
iii. Create an action plan. A strategy will be prepared with allotted resources and clearly defined personnel roles. Employees will be offered assistance in achieving a measurable goal. The plan will include communication of any changes to employees as well as feedback management.
iv. Create motivation and a vision. By being enthusiastic role models, the organization’s management will be tasked with motivating its people towards a shared goal and desired impact.
v. Implementation. Employees will be supported throughout the implementation process to ensure that it is long-lasting. To aid the transformation process, there will be constant communication, feedback, employee training, and mentoring.
vi. Evaluation. Following the implementation, a reflection session will be held to establish whether the initiated change was successful in meeting the organization’s objectives.
vii. Adapt or continue. The outcomes of the evaluation will help the organization decide whether to change its plans or stick with them and improve if they are successful.
A. Organisational Capacity Assessment (OCA)
OCA is an interactive self-assessment procedure that allows organizations to evaluate their current state to global best practices. It aids in determining an organization’s overall capacity and identifying areas that need to be strengthened or developed further.
Why you need OCA – Your organisation will be able to define capacity-building strengthening plan based on self-assessed needs. You will also embrace organisational learning, promote team sharing, and encourage reflective self-assessment within your organisation.
How we conduct OCA
In using the OCA tool to assess your organization, we will be able to investigate the following six key OCA domains;
i. Governance. We will establish the clarity of the organization’s motivation, purpose, and stability by reviewing its guiding principles, structure, and oversight mechanisms. Under this domain, we shall assess; Vision, Mission, and Values; Legal Status; Advisory Board; and Leadership and Succession Plan.
ii. Administration. We will evaluate your company’s ability to create and implement important policies, procedures, and systems for managing its overall operations and functions. The following key areas will be investigated; Organizational Structure; Operational Policies, Procedures, and Systems; and Filing and Information Systems.
iii. Human Resource. We will assess the organization’s ability to maintain a satisfied and skilled staff workforce and to manage operations and staff time so that quality initiatives can be implemented. Under this domain, the following areas will be evaluated; Staffing, Job Descriptions and Staff Supervision, Personnel Policies, Compensation, and Volunteers and Interns.
iv. Financial Management. We will assess the quality of the organization’s financial system and policies and procedures and the staff’s knowledge of the system. The following are the sub-areas we will evaluate under this domain; Financial Policies and Procedures, Internal Controls, Financial Documentation and Reporting, and Financial Planning and Sustainability.
v. Organisational Management. We will look at the organization’s planning, external relations management, methods for discovering and leveraging new resources, and decision-making policies. Under this domain, we shall assess the following; Strategic and Operational Planning, Resource Mobilization, Communication Strategy, Documentation and Reporting, Internal Communication Decision-Making, Stakeholder Involvement, and Knowledge Management.
vi. Programme Management. We will be able to evaluate the organization’s ability to provide complete programs that meet the requirements of recipients, involve the community in program design and execution, set and use standards, and track performance. Under this domain we shall assess the following sub-areas; Community Involvement, Project Implementation, Service Delivery, Standards and Referrals, and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Quality Assurance (QA).
B. Organisational Manuals
Manuals are written documents that serve as a point of reference to the management and employees of an organization so as to avoid confusion and conflict.
What we Offer – We will develop the following manuals but as your need will be, we can formulate more. They include; Board Charter, Human Resource Manual, Procurement Manual, Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Manual, Finance Manual, and Occupation and Safety Manual.
Why you need Manuals – To meet your legal requirements, you will minimize organizational risk through mandating compliance, your employees will have a framework for their actions, and it will serve as a quality improvement tool.
How we Develop Manuals
Together with the client, we will engage the following three steps in developing the manuals;
i. An evaluation Day. We will engage all stakeholders of the organization in writing down or developing clearly known and agreed upon Mission, Vision, Organisational Philosophy, Aims, Objectives, Strategies, and Determining Priorities for Policy Development.
ii. A Consultative Process for Developing manuals. A consultative process will provide the opportunity to;
• Eliminate duplication, ambiguity and inconsistency
• Clarify complex information or issues
• Identify potential barriers to successful implementation
• Obtain other perspectives and viewpoints, including raising organisation or external issues
• Seek new ideas and expertise
• Promote good relations between sites and services providers and encourage participation and a feeling of ‘ownership’ in the process
• Test out new proposals and ideas.
• Collectively identify an area for policy development
• Brainstorm the issues involved
• Prepare a first draft
• Distribute the draft and consult across the organisation for comment
• Hold a meeting to review all the feedback, written and verbal and to amend and revise the draft
• Re-circulate the draft and continue this process as necessary
• Prepare a final draft
• Forward the final draft to the Board/Management Committee for endorsement
• Document the date the policy was ratified on the policy and the review date
• Incorporate the new policy into the respective Manual
• Communicate the new policy to all the relevant people and if necessary, a date is set for a training session to ensure all staff have the knowledge and skills to implement the policy.
iii. A Manual Review Process. Review the organizational manual once a year and debate whether the policies included therein are still relevant and suitable; if not, the above approach should be used to amend the existing policies or generate new ones.
Organisational Development Product Pager by
Ruth Kimasan,
Bussiness Support Officer.
SDS Consulting.
