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The Key Principles and Strategies for Effective Organisational Development

Although many companies are highly successful, surprisingly, few manage to achieve their full potential, often due to inadequate organisational development. In practice, even the most successful businesses can improve their performance. The main requirements are the ability to recognise and adapt to change through organisational resilience.

During the last few years, consumers worldwide have witnessed the demise of businesses that had household names for decades. Despite their standing, they failed to adapt when lockdowns, supply chain disruptions and the move to online shopping left their inflexible operations unprepared and outmoded. By contrast, other well-known companies and even startups experienced rapid growth through their ability to think outside the box.

Covid-19 and e-commerce won’t be the last factors to disrupt traditional business models. Companies need to accept this and take steps to prepare their management and staff to weather any future changes and prosper.

Organisational development in action

The process consists of applying targeted interventions designed to ensure that the attitudes and actions of a company’s personnel are aligned with its goals and enable them to react promptly and effectively to adjust to internal or external changes.

The first step is introspection, establishing or redefining the company’s purpose and evaluating the current structure’s ability to achieve it effectively. Based on the insight gained, it is then possible to identify the areas in which changes are necessary and prepare management and staff to implement them.

The evaluation process requires strong leadership but must be completely objective to be effective. Therefore, it would be best to arrange for an unbiased, specialised consultancy firm to conduct it. After the initial evaluation, an organisational development programme should include but not be limited to the following steps.

Performance management planning:

Optimising and managing individual and team performance depends on several factors. These include goal setting, implementing strategies to keep employees engaged and motivated and recognising and rewarding their positive actions.

Job profiling:

Ensuring the best fit for a given task is not only essential for new appointees. All too often, existing employees perform poorly merely because they are assigned tasks for which their skills and experience are not best suited. However, their potential can be fully realised after careful profiling and additional training, where beneficial. Identifying innovative thinking and flexibility are key features of effective profiling and organisational development.

Profiling enables each role to be assigned for maximum efficiency, as the incumbent will now fully align with the company’s goals. After that, relevant individual key performance areas and indicators can be clearly defined and continuously monitored.

Change management:

Given the disruptive effects of new technologies, rival products, currency fluctuations and public demands, changes to how a business must operate to remain successful are not merely likely but inevitable. Only a company’s ability to treat these as opportunities rather than barriers will assure its continued success. An action-research approach backed by company-wide shared responsibility, accountability and action is the answer.

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