Roles of Organizational Development Consultants in an Organization

Roles of Organizational Development consultants in an organization and explain how the nature of the relationship with the client as defined in their roles may influence the outcome of the assignment.

This is the practice of helping an organization solve problems and reach their goals. A key emphasis on OD is assisting clients not just in meeting their goals but with learning new problem solving skills that they can use in the future. An OD consultant can help an organization to plan and minimize risk.

Here are primary the distinguishing characteristics of OD:

1. OD focuses on culture and processes.

2. Specifically, OC encourages collaboration between organization leaders and members managing culture and processes.

3. Teams of all kind are particularly important for task accomplishment and are targets for OD activities.

4. OD focuses on the human and social side of the organization primarily, and in so doing also intervenes in the technological and structural sides.

5. OD focuses on total system change and views organization as complex social system.

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6. OD relies on an action research model with extensive participation by client system members.

7. OD takes a developmental view that seeks the betterment both individuals and organizational attempting to create WIN WIN solutions.

8. OD practitioners are facilitators, collaborators, and co learners with the client system.

Roles of organization development consultants. Organization development consultants contract with clients to offer a range of services including: • Advocate Here the consultant comes up with his ways to which should be done and followed in the organization development. In this role consultants will tell people what to do and not to thus influencing the partner to do something.

Working with departments, committees and other groups to help them plan implement changes in their organization such as work recognition or moves and space changes.

• Joint problem solver / Group solving

In this role the consultant joins the client, almost as a peer in defining the problem, testing assumptions and alternatives, identifying issues and testing the feasibility of different options helping a group identify a key issue, gather info about it and routine decisions or action plans needed to address the issue.

• Trainer and Talent management

This role is appropriate during consulting to acquire some information, learn some skill or value some idea or process. Helping managers assess their departments workforce so that the right people are in the right roles with the right set at the right time.

• Meeting design and facilitation

Working with clients to help them plan an agenda, stay with the agenda and discuss issues effectively. • Technical expert. These can also be called information specialists. In this role the consultant provides the client with specialized knowledge, skill and professional methods and organizational dynamics.

• Team development

Helping teams to develop its ability to work more effectively together. • Business process redesign Working with a group to analyze the current way of adopting a specific piece of work to determine whether there is a better way to design how the work gets done. • Customized training Working with a group to develop or renew knowledge, skills or values relative to a group goal. • Fact finder. In this role the consultant is functioning basically as a researcher collecting information. This is one of the most crucial critical aspects of problem solving and is the one that receives the least attention.

An inherent danger in this role is that the very activity of collecting information and asking questions, almost always sets up an expectations that something will happen as a result of the questions. Relationship with the client may affect the outcome of the assignment therefore expectations need to be set upfront. Such include the scope of the project, the project timeline, what you hope to achieve, your role and how you’ll measure the success of the project. Therefore in the change roles given above of the organization the consultant needs to be:

I. Respectful.

Much as the consultant is working clients have to value their ideas and contributions. This will actually influence the outcome of the assignment for the level of corporation in the ideas in the roles above added will actually be of big impact and facilitate easy work of the consultant.

II. Keep the communication lines open.

With this inclusive in the relationship need for reassurance to the clients will be in place than others when it comes to the assignment progress, asking a client how they would like to be updated and follow through with their request need to be in place. Whether its weekly updates in person or daily by phone its important to put the client at ease and let them know that their project is on track. This will determine and influence the outcome of the assignment.

III. Create a connection.

Consultant need to learn the interest of the client in the organization development and creating this kind of connection can leave a lasting impression which may serve you well when the client has a future consulting need. This shows a level of interest with the client and organization development and as a result will influence the outcome of the assignment.

IV. Say no if you need to.

In many cases, clients ask us to do things beyond our capacities so if you cannot meet a deadline or deliver on a request, don’t say that you can. Saying yes and not being able to follow through undermines your creditability with your client.

V. Avoid being biased.

Saying the truth about what is needed is a good thing in the organizational development as long as it’s of the professional point of view. Where change needs to be in place is essential to be said in order to enable the organization develop.

VI. Do your research well enough.

Consulting just like any other work needs to be undertaken when one has done proper research and this will actually determine and influence the level of outcome. As a result the proper findings will be put in place in a justifiable manner making the consultant and therefore outcome of the assignment will be improved.

VII. Offer assistance but do not be too much involved in the assistance.

It’s proper to maintain a good nature of relationship where by as much as you are offering solutions do not do everything on behalf of the organization. Give the clients time to brainstorm and involve them thus giving them an idea that they can actually do it in a certain manner and this involvement improves their level of approaching things at work. This will definitely influence the outcome of the assignment.