Organization Development Services
Organization Development (OD) is a systems approach to planned organizational change. OD involves optimizing the development of human organizations and systems. All of our organization development services are aimed at one thing: releasing organizational potential in service to others. Our consulting engagements often involve tailored services to help organizations:
Resolve conflict & build collaboration
Access the power for change
Clarify & agree on strategic direction
Clarify & agree on organization values
Assess the current situation
Improve individual & team performance
Build a motivating work environment
Model enlightened leadership
Increase sales/marketing productivity
Build communication & consensus skills
Facilitate meetings
Harness the wisdom of groups & teams
Deal with differences & value diversity
Underpin a quality/innovation culture
Create a customer-focused culture
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“Bill Harley worked with us as an organizational consultant to help figure out how to get our ‘stalled’ quality improvement efforts back on track. I was impressed with Mr. Harley’s willingness and interest in really understanding our organization, its culture, and the issues we faced. Unlike many consultants, Bill did not come to us with a ‘canned’ set of solutions. Rather, he listened carefully and suggested that he talk with many staff from all areas and levels of our agency before recommending a course of action. He was able to establish rapport and trust with every employee–from the Executive Director to the clerical staff. Bill created training materials from the input he received and was able to forthrightly, yet gently, deal with many of the issues that were impeding our agency’s ability to move ahead. He has excellent communication and facilitation skills and is able to present concepts clearly and simply, yet backs them up with a theoretical and conceptual framework that satisfies our more analytic staff members. In addition to agency-wide training, Bill has worked with at least four work groups in our agency, helping them to set goals, problem solve, and work on interpersonal issues. In every case, the group has made significant strides toward becoming a high-functioning team, not just a group of individuals. In checking his references before contracting with Bill, everyone raved about his approach and the results that had accrued to their organization. After my experience with Bill, I would concur with those assessments.”
Dr. Leslie K. Mercer, Director
Policy & Program Planning
Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board
St. Paul, Minnesota
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Overview of The Organization Development Process
The purpose of these services is to release human and organizational potential, increase unity of purpose, and serve customers more effectively.
1. The organization can be considered from three different perspectives or through three different lenses: the operational, human and customer-focus aspects of the enterprise
2. Most organizations have some alignment between the operational, human and customer-focus aspects of the enterprise. But there are also areas of lack of alignment, disunity or discordance where, for example, the organization may be trying to deliver some form of operational quality to its customers that is contradicted by some lack of quality in the use of its human resources. This discordance inhibits growth, the ability to satisfy customers, and achievement of the strategic direction.
3. To optimize the organization, we work to eliminate this discordance or misalignment. An organization with excellent alignment between the operational, human and customer-focus aspects of the enterprise has little to limit the release of its potential. The qualities of the operational product or service being delivered are congruent with the human needs of the organizational culture and the customers’ expectations.
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“I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for your excellent abilities in working as a facilitator with our organization. Through your guidance we were able to work objectively to discuss many valuable issues pertinent to the long-term growth of Badiyan Productions. Your ability to include everyone as a team player throughout the sessions proved to be an extremely valuable tool. As a unified team, we are able to focus on our strengths as well as work through our weaknesses. In addition, the methods you trained us in for team building and group problem solving will help us solve the many challenges that arise in the future. I must also mention that our clear Mission Statement and Values Credo have given us a renewed sense of pride and inspiration. I would not hesitate to use your services again.”
Fred Badiyan, President
Badiyan Productions, Inc.
Bloomington, Minnesota
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The Way Organization Development Works
The way we go about releasing organizational potential always involves collaboratively planned change. Our method requires the active involvement and long-term commitment of the organization’s own leadership in planning and guiding the change process. A phased approach to releasing organizational potential usually includes the following:
Phase 1–Clarifying & Agreeing On The Change Outcomes Desired:
The organization development process begins with the forging of a preliminary consensus among the leadership group on the desired outcomes to be derived from the proposed change initiative. The consensus reveals the comprehensive purpose of the change initiative and the general strategic direction to be pursued. This step surrounds the change initiative with meaning, importance, energy and unity of purpose.
Phase 2–Assessing The Current Situation:
If clarifying and agreeing on the change outcomes desired (Phase 1) specifies where an organization is going, the assessment in Phase 2 clarifies where the organization currently is in relation to the desired future.
Phase 3–Designing The Change Plan:
Based on the findings of Phases 1 and 2, a custom-tailored change plan is developed collaboratively between key representatives of the organization and Harley Consulting & Coaching.
Phase 4–Learning For & Agreeing On Change:
The initiative participants build a foundation of shared understanding of the operational, human and customer-focus issues involved in navigating the desired change. Learning experiences may include workshops or large group interactive change events to supply the organization with objective, research-based knowledge, enhanced skills, and consensus agreement on key issues and directions. The shared knowledge base and consensus agreement provide people in the organization with a common vocabulary and conceptual framework. This fosters the collective ability to view issues, discuss options, solve problems, understand decisions, and take action from a common vantage point.
Phase 5–Facilitated Action Planning:
The organization’s members create action plans tailored to the realities of their workplace. The action plans explain the steps to collaboratively implement the changes and achieve the new performance. The actual people who will make these changes, model the new behaviors, and achieve this performance are involved in the action planning. This assures both the ownership and effectiveness of the plans.
Phase 6–Practice To Mastery:
We monitor the rate and depth at which changes are introduced to ensure that the organization is not overwhelmed, and create a low risk environment where the new approaches can be tried out and practiced to the point of mastery. We assure that the environment supplies abundant amounts of feedback, coaching and encouragement so that growth takes place, the change is assimilated, and the desired outcomes are achieved.
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“Through skillful facilitation and consultation, Harley Consulting & Coaching helped the Minnesota Higher Education Services Office create mission and values statements that are embraced and understood by all of our employees and utilized daily to guide our decisions and actions. By leading us through a highly participatory process, Harley Consulting & Coaching enabled every person in the Services Office to have a voice—and thereby ownership—in the creation of the mission and values statements. Given the excellent service that we received, we continue to utilize Harley Consulting & Coaching and recommend it to others without reservation.”
Dr. Robert K. Poch, Director
Minnesota Higher Education Services Office
St. Paul, Minnesota
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