organisational design - Blogs - DPG Community2024-03-29T15:13:37Zhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/feed/tag/organisational%2BdesignShape Sustained Organisational Success by Building it into Your DNAhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/shape-sustained-organisational-success-by-building-it-into-your-d2017-03-24T11:33:40.000Z2017-03-24T11:33:40.000ZBay Jordanhttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/BayJordan<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2217227?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>In 1991 Charles Handy concluded that the basic purpose of an organisation is to perpetuate itself within the context of the environment in which it operates. You might not have thought about it in quite that way, but that conviction encapsulates and drives everything you do as a business leader. It shapes the way you think, the way you act and the way you expect others to think and act. That’s perhaps inevitable, but nonetheless spelling it out provides food for thought. Not least because it demands a long-term outlook. </p>
<p>Most business leaders will plead that they are thinking about the long-term and will cite all their strategic planning efforts as evidence of this. Yet, notwithstanding this, there seems to be increasing consensus that focus is too much on the short-term. All too often corporate failure seems to come as a major surprise: whether after a long-lingering painful demise that drained energy and resources, without achieving anything and failing to avoid the inevitable, or suddenly, as with the failures that precipitated the 2008 financial crisis. This is subjective territory and open to discussion beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say that we need a more effective way of addressing the longer-term measures of organisational performance.</p>
<p>Here too Handy once again gives us some pointers as to how. He said, <em>“The companies that survive longest are the ones that work out what they uniquely can give to the world not just growth or money but their excellence, their respect for others, or their ability to make people happy. Some call those things a soul.</em>” I call it ‘Love at Work.’ But whatever you call it, it stems from people – your employees, your customers, and your suppliers – and the way you treat them – and Science supports this! </p>
<p><img class="mce-pagebreak">It seems that science – apparently much to its own surprise – has proved that <a href="http://i-uv.com/new-research-shocks-scientists-human-emotion-physically-shapes-reality/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="human emotion physically shapes reality">human emotion physically shapes reality</a>. I love that the article refers to this finding as “hiding in plain sight.” It seems to imply that it isn’t actually hidden or a secret, just that we have been slow in identifying it. </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357891?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1357891?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="320" class="align-left"></a>You are likely familiar with Henry Ford’s statement, <em>“If you think you can do a thing or if you think you can't do a thing, you're right.”</em> There are many others like it. They are also true: you need to look no further than placebos and the placebo effect to understand that our thinking does in fact govern our experience. For me, the exciting thing here is the fact that scientist have now proved it is not only true of our thinking, but also our emotions. Of course, that shouldn’t really be surprising either when you understand that emotions are effectively nothing more than unconscious or subconscious thoughts! Yet the implications are profound as they create a new reality.</p>
<p>Handy identifies them when he talks about the need to “make people happy.” Remember, he is saying you’re your organisation’s long-term survival depends on this. And long-term survival is the same as sustained success. So, if you want to be successful and avoid falling by the wayside sooner or later, you need to ensure that you make your people your primary focus. You need to build their happiness into your DNA. </p></div>How can HR help people to engage with change?https://community.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/how-can-hr-help-people-to-engage-with-change2017-03-23T13:17:39.000Z2017-03-23T13:17:39.000ZMike Collinshttps://community.dpgplc.co.uk/members/MikeCollins<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2217229?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>When considering the role of HR in organisational change, there appears to have been a shift from the concept of ‘managing change’ to ‘supporting change’.  And understandably so; managing has echoes of control which in the context of this emotive, and dynamic concept, suggests restriction and constraint.  In contrast, support sounds nurturing and ‘together’, whilst still maintaining individual responsibility, and this is exactly what organisations need to generate a forward thinking and agile workforce.</p>
<p>Ask yourself;</p>
<blockquote>
<p>‘How easy it is to <i>engage</i> employees in change?’</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you ask that very question to HR practitioners, responses will vary from raised eyebrows through to hysterical laughter. But this is a serious matter as if HR can truly understand their colleagues and therefore support and develop them to engage with change, then surely HR can avoid the heavy price of ‘disengagement’.</p>
<p>So, what is the cost of employee disengagement?  There are both direct and indirect costs that span right across the employee lifecycle including:</p>
<ul>
<li>less productivity</li>
<li>declining revenues</li>
<li>lack of innovation</li>
<li>poor customer service</li>
<li>increased absenteeism (£13.6 billion is lost in the UK due to this)</li>
<li>higher turnover (23% of UK employees are looking for a new role)</li>
<li>leading to higher recruitment costs (1).</li>
</ul>
<p>So, is it any wonder that failing to support employees deal with change that <strong>70% of change projects fail</strong> to meet organisational objectives (2)?</p>
<p>Change can be an often-misunderstood term, therefore raising awareness around what ‘change’ means to them and understanding how confident and open employees are to change is a key step.</p>
<p>By doing this, HR can start to define the types of activities, support and interventions needed to help facilitate successful organisational change. HR needs to reduce resistance and build confidence, and right there lies the key. However, there is no magic wand, no quick win here, supporting change successfully is hard and does not happen overnight.</p>
<p>Whilst there might not be a magic wand there are tools that can help inform and guide.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>So, what do we need to know about our people first?</p>
<p>Surely it’s about how ready they are for change?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Probably yes, but to get this level of insight however, is rare and difficult.</p>
<p>Or is it?</p>
<p>Psychologist <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jodi-o-dell-3b45931/" target="_blank">Dr Jodi O’Dell</a> has been researching change and people’s responses to dealing with change for over 5 years. In measuring and assessing people’s readiness for change O’Dell has developed an assessment tool called ‘Engage’. This simple to use assessment tool provides rich, insightful data on the change readiness of your teams and even across a whole organisation.</p>
<p>Engage firstly measures the confidence of your colleagues. It focuses on the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>Are they confident to engage in change?</li>
<li>Do they believe they can do the job required?</li>
<li>Do they believe they can influence outcomes?</li>
<li>Are they confident in interacting with all stakeholders?</li>
<li>How confident are they when the landscape changes?</li>
</ul>
<p>It then assesses how open they are to change:</p>
<ul>
<li>Are they open in their communication style?</li>
<li>Do they build strong relationships?</li>
<li>Are they open to (critical) feedback?</li>
<li>Receptive to new ideas?</li>
<li>Are they agile, and willing to engage in <i>actual </i>change?</li>
<li>Are they optimistic (or cynical) about change?</li>
</ul>
<p>Combined data in these areas ‘takes the pulse’ of people in your organisation and highlights both inhibitors of change which can then be mitigated and accelerators of change which can be harnessed to drive change forward. </p>
<p>HR and OD specialists can therefore define appropriate interventions to specific groups; repeating this over time monitors the organisational pulse a bit like a Fitbit measures your steps and heartrate.</p>
<p>Like a Fitbit can provide insight in to the distance you walk or help inform the decisions you make on where and when you walk at any point during the day; Engage can help you identify and find answers to the following questions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Who are our change ambassadors?</li>
<li>Which departments are more resistant to change, and what can we do about it?</li>
<li>How is our culture impacting our ability to engage in sustainable change?</li>
<li>Did our management development programme develop more confident, open and performing managers?</li>
</ul>
<p>We know that supporting organisational change can be fraught with difficulty. By getting closer to the culture of your organisation and those people within it, extracting data and gaining real insight, <i>it is</i> possible to seize those accelerators of change, diminish those inhibitors and drive forward organisational success. This is where HR can truly add value and support organisational change on a whole new level. Technology is not the answer alone but it’s an enabler to help you make informed decisions.</p>
<p><b>As a valued DPG Community member,</b> we want to provide access to many of these ground breaking tools in a way that provides you with insight and knowledge. Because of this we can offer any DPG Community member a team trial of Engage free of charge.</p>
<p>For more information click the link below and complete your details and a member of the Engage team will be in touch to arrange the trial for up to 10 people. This is a great chance for any HR team to gain valuable insight into how they can support change and people’s readiness for change.  The opportunities are endless!</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://engagecoach.com/dpg-free-trial/">Click here for your free trial</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><em>Sources:</em></strong></p>
<p>1 McKinsey, Deloitte, Ken Blanchard, Harvard Business Magazine</p>
<p>2 Employee Engagement Research (Master List of 32 Findings) </p>
</div>