By Neil Simon, Fred Zimmer, Gwendolyn Esco Davis
In order for any organizational design project to be effective, client staff must be more than supportive, more than involved, they must be the ones doing most of the work. To help clients follow the intricacies of this process, we’ve developed a “road map for change.” It enables the client and consultant to work together smoothly through a complex project. Here are some examples of clients using this process to effect lasting change in their organizations.
Agree on Your Endeavor
A new business unit of an automotive manufacturing company wanted to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their organization while at the same time reducing costs leading to an increase in their competitive position. As a union shop, they began with a series of joint union-management meeting which lead to the production of joint statements. The initial meetings of the two sponsors (the area manager and union chairperson) focused on creating three basic documents. The first was creating the sponsor’s operational vision – the understanding of the goals and key aspects of how the organization was envisioned to operate. Next were the operational philosophies – the principles by which the organization would operate. These guiding principles acted as the key values the sponsors wanted within this new organization. Finally, they created a operational summary statement which was a free flowing paragraph summarizing the goals and values. The value of these three documents was
- Building of a relationship where both sides knew each other’s needs.
- Development of a document both sides equally developed and were invested in.
- Alignment of union and management direction.
- Setting a model of union and management working together.
The sponsor(s) and consultant during this agree phase need to focus on a myriad of different organizational, professional and personal aspects to ensure successful adoption and integration of new or improved concepts. The ultimate is integrating these initiatives so that they become sustainable and part of the organizational “fabric.” This article will focus on actual client experiences in each of the phases.
Analyze your system/organization
A county governmental organization needed to create a new concept for their community mass disaster emergency response plan. Traditionally there are 5 areas of response to such disasters. A sixth area of needs was identified – a community management and personnel response function. Coordination and buy-in by all the internal and external components of the organization and the community it served was needed. An agreement had to be first created for incorporation for this new innovative concept. Key to success of the entire project was gaining an understanding of each of the components concerns regarding the integration of this new idea and the effects it would have on their own organization and the whole system. A core diagonal-sliced cross-functional analysis team was created. This team was made responsible for determining the specific needs and issues that would emerge around this very important issue. The deliverable for this project was finding and recommendation. Creating such a team assisted the whole organization in:
- Creating an in-depth awareness of the actual need for such an important function.
- Identifying key critical community and personnel issues and concerns
- Creating a common set of requirements necessary for successful design, development, and implementation.
- Creating new and different understandings of issues each level of the organization encounters
- Creating new relationships between the different components of the organization.
The analysis phase serves many purposes and function in outline the key issues, setting initial direction, and creating requirements for the design function.
Design the system/process
A small design firm was operating the same way it did when it first started business. The organization grew from 3 to 20 plus people. The owner of the company was experiencing extreme stress and unable to manage all the components of the company. He needed to create systems that would allow him to successfully manage the business while at the same time maintaining his creative role. Each function within the group selected a representative to serve on a cross-functional design team. The team members were educated in the different roles of business, customer service, and work processes. Using the requirements generated by their analysis team, the design team members created work processes, business process, and human resource processes that fit together and created a new system for the management of the organization. An important role was played by each of the design team members. That role was being a liaison to the group they were representing. The liaison role included a variety of tasks that benefited the organization as a whole. Those benefits included
- Organizational members having knowledge as to what was going on in the process.
- Design team members being able to sharing ideas and collect feedback for the whole design group.
- Creating a buy-in situation of the organizational membership due to their direct contribution into the forming design.
- Organizational members owning the new processes.
Develop the plan of change and make the organization ready
A component of city government was charged with downsizing its organization. The leaders of the organization risked allowing the employees to develop the downsizing plan based previous team’s analysis and design. The development team created a projected management plan that created the transition structures and ensured all the components of the design being executed. In addition they created a system of accountability for management, union, and workers. Development of this plan assisted the organization in
- Creating a road map for transition
- Identifying implementation issues.
- Creating an understanding of the organizational culture and creating changes that would assist in the adoption of new and improved way working.
- Created a sense of stability for the organizational membership knowing expectations, what would occur when, and who would be responsible for what aspects.
Do the work
Workers in a financial services unit of the organization had to continue with their current work and transition into new practices. The organizational members utilized their plans that were developed to manage their time and identify barriers and assisters that help expedite the transition. The membership was able to:
- Know expectation and demands.
- Identify who was in charge of what
- Minimize anxiety and stress because they could manage their time during the transition.
- Consult other units who overcame challenges and barriers and use each other as resources.
Digest the results
A very innovative professional association re-organizes itself annually. It allows the employees to reexamine and redistribute the work efforts based on their personal and organizational needs. The organization created a documentation system that recorded progress of it made from its initial states of development to the current desired goals and objectives. It create a process by which the organizational system could respond to the myriad of demands placed on it by its multitude of customers which included member, board members, executive director, and outside agencies. This process achieved a continuous improvement process that:
- Was robust and responsive to constituent needs.
- Fulfilled employee personal and professional needs.
- Successfully fulfilled or exceeded organizational goals and objectives.
Conclusion
Investing the time and preliminary expense in have the organizational self design itself pays in many ways. It create an environment in which:
- Employees have business knowledge of the organization
- Gain business, personal, and professional competencies that can be used for the organizations benefits while at the same time enriching the employee’s skills and talents.
- Employees have a better understanding of what it takes to run a business and how things interlink.
- Employees have some say over the future of the organization and its destiny.
- Employees can make decisions on whether or not they want to continue to contribute to the new organization.
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