There was always something a bit fringe about Organisational Development (OD). Rather like pop psychology it was treated with just a little bit of suspicion – not quite on the same level as those of us with professional HR credentials. But no more it seems. Maybe it’s something to do with the realisation that we need to make organisations attractive places where people can grow and learn as well as work. Places people want to be part of and whose objectives they can identify with. Where they can be happy and will hence be willing to perform – a win-win for everyone.
As a result OD with its focus on behaviour and culture has moved into the HR space, informing the systems and processes that will help create these kinds of organisations. We are seeing more and more HR people taking on an OD role, and a positive organisation culture rather than a ‘nice to have’ idea is now seen as a prerequisite to successful organisations.
Not a surprise then that a current preoccupation for me and others in the HR/OD space is how the relationship is likely to develop. There are no quick answers to this but what I have discovered in the short time I have been looking at this issue is there are no clear lines between the HR space and the OD space. There are lots of ways of cutting the ground whether it’s between the operational and the strategic, organisation and individual or formal and informal but there are no absolutes.
Not unlike the argument I came across when writing on human capital – that human capital management was just another way of describing strategic HRM – there are some who argue that OD has become subsumed within the business partner role.
It’s an interesting time and clearly more and more HR practitioners are keen to get closer to the OD field. However, whether this means OD has been subsumed into HR professionalism or HR is now more confident about embracing the multi-faceted world of OD is debatable. What is clear is that good quality information and insight is one of the cornerstones of good people management, and coming up with models that will enable organisations to identify, analyse and use information to inform future direction is certainly a respectable aim that OD skills will help to achieve.
Good post. Just wonder if OD will do better than HCM in terms of its acceptance and application in the public sector.
I think the reason that OD has been treated with suspicion is that too often it is used by consultants (particularly independent contractors) to tart up a rather dull CV. In practice what they offer is not much more than project management with a nice communications programme.
You are right to say that OD needs to be embraced by HR people. But that does not mean they have to own it. I see OD as cross- disciplinary, combining HR and people management with expertise in operational management, systems and process design and yes, even project management! Part of the reason so many organisations have failed to create effective, efficient and satisfying work environments is that they have failed to tackle it on a multi-disciplinary basis.
Stephen Brooks FCIPD Member of the Management Group, PA Consulting
There are two pieces of research that people may find of interest on the subject by IES
Fish or Bird? Perspectives on Organisational Development and Learning to Swin, learning to fly? A career in Organisational Development.
Both are helpful in articulating what "OD" is. I hope people find it helpful.
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