A consultant for organizational development works with senior management to develop and implement positive changes. Consultants can take a systemic or an individualistic approach to their work. They could work to improve the organization’s culture and strategic processes, or they could focus on an individual employee’s performance and job responsibilities. A consultant for organizational development examines how things are done now and makes recommendations based on desired outcomes.
Most organizational development consultants start observing and collecting information about a company’s current culture. During this stage, they may interview a number of key employees and decision-makers. An organizational development consultant looks for discrepancies between what the company claims to be trying to achieve and what it actually does. For example, a company may claim to have an open door policy, but its local leaders may be instilling feelings of intimidation through strict corrective action policies that undermine a trusting environment.
Organizational development consulting can also look at an organization’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of its market performance. Consultants could investigate how a company reacts to competitors and what it can do to improve its market position. A company’s leadership team will work closely with an organizational development consultant to determine how the company can present itself more favorably. Typically, the new presentation will emerge after a series of internal process changes.
Any organizational development consultant’s goal is to help a company move from one stage to the next. For example, a company may be concerned about its high turnover rate among sales representatives but have no idea why this is happening. When it comes to leaving the company, employees may be hesitant to give honest feedback. Some businesses lack the necessary feedback tools to collect this type of data, or the culture may be oppressive enough to discourage candor.
In this case, an organizational development consulting firm’s goal would be to try to isolate employees from the culture’s influence. When talking to someone who doesn’t have the power to take away their source of income, some employees may be more forthcoming with feedback. Consultants are often experts at creating survey questions that reveal the type of information that businesses require. The issue could be caused a number of factors, all of which are symptoms of a deep-seated organizational culture issue.
These consultants may also work with individual employees or those with specific job descriptions on occasion. Certain employees may need to be retrained to view their roles from different perspectives as a company grows in size and operational scope. Others may require coaching to improve their performance in areas where the company lacks the necessary expertise. The consultant’s job is to assist employees in changing their mindsets in order to improve or modify performance outcomes.