An Overview: Organizational Development, Consulting, and Training (ODCT)

What we do. When HW Associates works with an organization, we operate with the knowledge that most of the expertise and corporate knowledge already exists within the organization. Our job is to help the organization draw on the competencies in order to expand the range of information the working group are reviewing while offering methods to understand and act upon the information they already have. Too often many see a ‘best practice’ elsewhere and apply that practice to their own organization with disastrous results. Through a partnership with HW Associates, we help your organization figure out what is the ‘best practice’ for you.

What is OD?
Focus and Approach
Typical Phases of a Strategic Change Effort
Our Change Model
HW Associates’ EVP Approach
Retirement Benefits
Leadership in Retirement Plan Consulting
Diversity: Individual and Organizational Strategy for the Future
Other training opportunities

What is OD?

Organization Development (OD) is an effort to increase an organization's ability to improve itself as a humane and effective system as it attempts to meet the needs of the individual and organization simultaneously. OD differs from traditional consulting in many ways. The OD Consultant encourages client involvement throughout the entire process. The ways in which people communicate and work together are addressed concurrently with technical or procedural issues that need resolution.

Organization Development is an effort that is:

1. Planned
2. System/Organization wide
3. Managed from the top in order to increase organization effectiveness and health.
4. Utilizes behavioral-science knowledge through planned interventions in the organization's "processes".
   (R. Beckhard,1969).

OD does involve problem solving yet, its most significant contribution to an organization is the creation of a culture that focuses on the continuous growth and vitalization of the system instead of constantly dwelling in the past actions of the organization. It is the continued growth cycle.

Focus and Approach:

HW Associates partners with your organization to create strategic change through a systems-wide improvement process and intervention utilizing a collaborative approach. Some of the steps include:

• Total system improvement to include organizational culture through the adaption of the opportunities of the organizational environment as the organizational integrity and integration are increased.
• Collaboration - Participation of the client in the improvement process; involvement of all levels of the organization in the analysis-discovery, planning-strategizing, and implementation of the process.
• Increased Capacity - Develop the capacity of the system for continuous improvement of its organizational life; increase competence and commitment to the management and maintenance of the change process.
• Planned Change - Engage a process of understanding, setting direction and action.
• Empowerment - Finding ways to more fully use people’s gifts, develop individuals and teams, while meeting organizational needs and being successful.
• Appreciative Process - Working in a manner that identifies the organization's strengths, core values and patterns of success and then builds on them in developing direction, creating opportunities and solving problems.
• Vision and direction - goals, core values, "ownership" of vision.
• People – competence & commitment, working style, job satisfaction
• Dynamics - managing change and stability, trust development, conflict
• Structures & Processes - adequate resources, physical setting and technology; workforce structure (degree of self management, teams, etc.); parallel systems; decision making processes
• Leadership – strategic management, people development, self-differentiation
• Environment – seeking opportunity in the forces and trends external to the organization that impact the organization
• Alignment – seeking a "fit" between the organization’s strategy for success in its mission and primary task while analyzing the organization’s culture, processes and structures in order to create change in the form of individual and organizational forward movement.

Typical Phases of a Strategic Change Effort

HW Associates will work with your organization to develop a shared understanding of the situation. This is generally known as discovery. HW Associates and your organization will agree on the scope and objectives of the project along with the responsibilities of the participants in the project. It is at this juncture that a contract will be approved for services. Your organization will work with HW Associates to gather and understand the data. The purpose of the data is to establish a shared and deeper understanding of the organization, opportunities for change, problems, and the context the organization works within as a Diagnosis. As part of the process, your staff will work with our consultants to Plan and Design the best intervention for the change based upon the diagnosis.

Once the plan is designed, your organization and the consultant(s) will work together to monitor and guide the intervention process through the creation of action and implementation. Upon completion of the previous phase, the assessment phase of the change plan begins. Results are evaluated, successes are celebrated, lessons learned are analyzed, and the next steps are identified. Upon completion of this change plan, the consultant will follow up at an agreed upon time to explore where the strategic change project is and to explore any need for further consultation.

Our Change Model

HW Associates works in partnership with your organization to create a strategic, comprehensive, and integrated approach to creating value for the employee and your organization that includes both financial and non-financial rewards. Utilizing this method, we prioritize your anticipated return on investments based upon the needs and preferences of key talent segments in your organization.

The Employee Value Proposition (EVP) framework utilized by HW Associates has five key elements:

• Compensation: The money employees receive for their work and performance
• Benefits: Indirect compensation including health, retirement, and time off
• Work content: The satisfaction employees receive from their work
• Career: The long-term opportunities employees have for development and advancement
• Affiliation: The feeling of belonging employees have to the organization

HW Associates utilized a variety of methods to assist your organization to understand and further develop your own employee value proposition, the preferences of your staff, and the reasons that gaps may exist between employees and your organization’s actual goals in relationship to the EVP. EVP is directly related to the Human Resources function.

HW Associates’ EVP Approach

• Creating a defined and unique EVP: HW Associates utilizes a variety of techniques that entail a mix of diagnostic and sensing methods to design a unique value proposition for your organization.
• Branding: HW Associates utilizes leading-edge technology, media, and learning approaches to turn your EVP into precise and compelling images and messages that are continually reinforced throughout the organization and industry.
• Identifying strengths and gaps: In order to motivate and retain current employees, a distinctive EVP has to be perceived as real. HW Associates measures gaps in the delivery of the EVP, while determining their cause.
• Designing and implementing programs to close gaps: HW Associates works in partnership with your organization to design and implement programs necessary to close gaps in the EVP and move toward your organization’s stated goals.

As part of the EVP, HW Associates provides services relating to performance management systems and employee retention management. Contact us for further information.

Retirement Benefits:

Leadership in Retirement Plan Consulting

Today's employers face a multitude of obstacles when managing retirement plans: longer life spans, shifting workforce characteristics, baby boomers nearing retirement age. In this environment, you need sophisticated analytical tools to create and maintain retirement plans that work. HW Associates has technical expertise in the development and delivery of retirement and disability planning that addresses unique financial circumstances of our clients. HW Associates provides clients with the highest level of expertise to cope with these emerging developments through the strategic design, funding, and monitoring of pension and related deferred-compensation plans.

Diversity: Individual and Organizational Strategy for the Future

With economic globalization and the rapid changes experience in technology, organizations are working across national and cultural boundaries. They face new and unique challenges as they seek to reach and maintain market leadership and market shares. Leaders must motivate people from very different cultural backgrounds, experiences and leadership styles collaboratively and effectively across time zones.

Inclusion and diversity training programs are one key tactical component of a diversity strategy. Training provides the knowledge, skills and tools to facilitate behavioral changes in team members. This is important for creating and sustaining change that fosters a more creative, inclusive, respectful and productive workforce and work experience. Inclusion and diversity training must be flexible to meet the demands and schedules of today's active working environments. HW Associates offers various training services that are flexible in their delivery and duration.

HW Associates provides Executive Leadership and Training for Senior Executives. This program is designed to provide conceptual clarity of the issues surrounding diversity and inclusion with a focus upon the business rationale of development and maintenance of a diversity and inclusion program. Additionally, emphasis is placed upon managing a diverse workforce, workplace, and marketplace that will augment relationships, increase productivity, profitability, and customer service.

HW Associates partners with international executives and multicultural teams to determine what causes them to succeed or fail in our team building process. Most organizations often do not utilize their global teams as strategic assets. When properly developed, these teams will contribute significantly to the growth and success of the organization and to its bottom line. It is a known fact that global teams are one of the most consistent sources of competitive advantage for any organization. In this training program, we examine multicultural teams and their patterns of functioning and productivity five ways:

1. An organization that is experiencing dynamic organization change from the past to the present with an eye towards the future.
2. An assessment of the various behavioral aspects of individual reactions to the change experience.
3. A group undergoing specific stages of development and the impact upon productivity.
4. A review and assessment of conflict resolutions styles and strategies for interaction.
5. Comparison of a culturally diverse entity made up of various ethnic, national and business cultures along with the successes experience.

Other training opportunities. HW Associates will individualize or create specialized training programs upon request.

Our diverse team of professionals is creative, motivated, experienced, dedicated, and responsive. The team is passionate about helping our clients attain the most cost effective and appropriate results on a wide range of issues including benefits, staffing, compensation, and organizational change. We'd be glad to talk with you any time to learn about the conversations you want to have at your organization.