Organization Development

Leading & Managing Change

Organizations today are struggling to deal with a world characterized by unrelenting change, driven by powerful market forces. People are increasingly feeling the distress associated with the loss of familiar routines and predictable outcomes for their decisions, leaving everyone feeling more vulnerable than ever before. Its not surprising that people appear to resist change.

The reason many change management interventions struggle and fail is that there is very little understanding of, or attention paid to, the emotional and behavioural issues that impact on the willingness of people to implement the desired changes. Its one thing to know what you should do, why you should do it and even how to do it .... its quite another to actually do it. We only have to reflect on our annual resolutions about diet and exercise to appreciate how true that is!

It is our belief that management in an organization must first understand and be willing to deal with change and discomfort on a personal level, if they are to effectively lead and manage organizational change. This insight will guide management in responding to the needs of employees in an appropriate manner.

Our one-day workshop engages participants in a discussion of the barriers to successfully leading and managing change; provides tools and techniques for overcoming those barriers; and encourages each person to consistently "model" the behaviours they seek in others.

Personal growth, development and the leadership of change is a "process" not an "event" and requires time to learn, practice and refine the application of knowledge and skills. Therefore, we recommend that each workshop be followed by a series of half-day review sessions to provide on-going coaching and reinforcement of skills.

Diagnostic Reviews

As organizations grow and change, a third party review of organization structure and management processes can often provide the perspective needed to implement constructive change. Our organizational and management reviews are designed to be both diagnostic and prescriptive. We examine the structure, culture, climate and leadership of an organization to identify any issues of concern and opportunities for improved effectiveness that must be addressed in order to survive, grow and prosper. We are committed to telling you what you need to hear, even if we know its not what you want to hear!

Employee Surveys

It is often difficult for the leadership of an organization to obtain a clear and unbiased understanding of employee morale, motivation and perspective on how the organization functions. Employee surveys, conducted by a credible third party that can assure anonymity can produce valuable insights for management.

Our approach to the development and implementation of employee surveys begins with a meeting to identify specific areas of interest or concern to be explored. We then develop a set of survey questions and review them to ensure we have captured all the subjects adequately. Each employee receives a copy of the survey and a stamped, addressed envelope to respond directly to our firm. Replies are compiled, analyzed and a report prepared for management review.

A web-based survey capability is under development, that would allow employees to log on to a secure web page, complete the survey and submit it to us at their convenience.