Bottom-Line Organization Development

Organization development practitioners have, for over half a century, engaged with organizations to help them grow and thrive. The artful application of Organization Development (OD) has helped business leaders articulate vision, rethink business processes, create more fluid organization structures and better utilize people's talents. While business leaders and OD practitioners intuitively believe that OD provides valuable results, rigorous measurement of the value delivered has long eluded many OD practitioners.

'Bottom-Line Organization Development' provides powerful tools to capture and measure the financial return on investment (ROI) of OD projects to the business. Given the increasing competition for budget and resources within organizations and the requirements of demonstrating tangible results, the need for such OD measurement tools is very high.

But in addition to proving the value of OD projects, integrating evaluation into the change management process itself can actually increase the value of the change initiative because it opens up new ways of capturing and increasing the value of change initiatives. In other words, there is an ROI to ROI. Merrill Anderson calls this new way of approaching OD "strategic change valuation."

The book explains the five steps in the OD value process - diagnosis, design, deployment, evaluation and reflection. In addition, three case studies take readers through the process of applying bottom-line OD to three types of popular strategic change initiatives: executive coaching, organization capability, and knowledge management. Readers will gain a holistic perspective of how to make the seemingly intangible benefits of these initiatives tangible.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents


Acknowledgements

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

1 Introduction to Bottom-Line OD

Flavor of the Month Approaches to Change
Bottom-Line OD: Breaking the Mold
How This Book is Organized
Maximizing Value With Bottom-Line OD


Section One: Strategic Change Valuation

2 Strategic Change Valuation: The Five-Phase Process

Phase 1: Diagnosis
Phase 2: Design
Phase 3: Development
Phase 4: Deployment
Phase 5: Reflection

3 Diagnose Performance Gaps to Achieve Business Goals

Building the Client - Consultant Relationship
Linking Performance Improvement to Achieving Business Goals
Developing a Winning Business Case

4 Design the Solution to Achieve Strategic Change Objectives

Organizing a Change Coalition
Designing the Strategic Initiative
Writing the Statement of Work

5 Develop a Change Plan With Evaluation Objectives

Change Management and Evaluation: Opening Doors to Understanding
Elements of an Effective Change Plan
Elements of an Effective Evaluation Plan
Isolating the Effects of the Initiative
The Focus of Evaluation: Judgment, Not Numbers

6 Deploy the Strategic Change Initiative and Evaluate Progress

Value-Based Deployment: Integrating Evaluation and Change
Mastering the Mechanics of Evaluation
Maximizing the Value of Pilots

7 Reflect upon the Business Impact Utilizing Post-Initiative Evaluations

Separating Hard From Soft Data
Converting Benefits to Monetary Value
Qualifying the Monetary Benefits
Tabulating the Costs of the Initiative
Calculating the Return on Investment
Leveraging Strategic Insights


Section Two: Special Issues

8 Forecasting ROI

The Business Context of Forecasting ROI for Strategic Change
Requirements for Forecasting
The Timing of ROI Forecasts
Phase 1 Forecast: Should We Invest in the Change Initiative?
Phase 3 Forecast: Should We Proceed With Full Deployment?
Case Study: Forecasting ROI at Braxton Bulldozers
What Happens if the ROI Forecast is Negative?
Benefits of the ROI Forecast

9 Tricks of the Trade: Using Surveys to Collect ROI Data

Why is Survey Research Essential For ROI Analysis?
What are the Limitations of Survey Research For ROI Analysis?
What is the Fastest, Easiest Way to Use Surveys to Isolate the Effects of the Initiative?
How Can Response Rates Be Increased?
What are the Essential Elements of ROI Questionnaire Construction?

10 ROI on the Fly: Evaluating an Initiative After Its Deployed

What To Do When Your CEO Asks: What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Case Study: Conducting a Post-Program Analysis at Power Systems, NA
Frequently Asked Questions


Section Three: Case Studies in the Evaluation of Strategic Change

11 Executive Coaching: The ROI of Building Leadership One Executive at a Time

Introduction
Data Collection Procedures
Profile of the Respondents and Initiation of Coaching
Level 1: Initial Reaction of the Clients to Their Coaching
Level 2: What Clients Learned From Coaching
Level 3: How Clients Applied What They Learned
Level 4: The Business Impact of Coaching
Level 5: Return on Investment
Summary of Intangible Benefits
Recommendations for Leveraging Coaching
Conclusion


12 Organization Capability: The ROI of Aligning an Organization to Strategy

Introduction
Diagnosis and Design: The Change Process Begins
Development: Aligning the Organization to Strategy
Deployment: Transformational Change at Logistics Services
Reflection: Evaluating the ROI of Strategic Change

13 Knowledge Management: The ROI of Continuously Leveraging Knowledge

Overview
Diagnosis: Understanding the Need for Knowledge Management
Deployment and Evaluation
Reflection and Improvement Opportunities

Conclusion

14 Preparing the Partners to Dance: How Leaders and Change Practitioners Work Together to Create Strategic Value

Earning a Seat at the Table
The Values of Bottom-Line OD


Further Reading

List of Tables and Figures

Index

About the Author