Overview
What is Organization Development?
Organization Development is a planned approach to
improving the performance, development, and
effectiveness of human organizations. A large
public research and doctoral university like USF is
a collection of smaller organizations that are
linked together. OD at USF is concerned with the
effectiveness of these individual organization
units, and with the ways that these units work
together to support USF’s organizational mission and
goals.
ODT consultants apply action research and learning
strategies on planned, strategic efforts, called
“interventions,” to improve the performance of
organizations. These interventions focus on the
human systems that are necessary to achieve
organizational goals. These include people,
relationships, policies, procedures, processes,
culture, and organizational structure.
What do ODT Consultants Do?
When you contact USF’s Organization Development and
Training Department about a potential intervention,
a consultant will speak with you to determine if OD
consulting is appropriate for your needs. A
consultant will then be assigned to do action
research in your organization to better assess where
you are now, and what organization learning
strategies may be helpful to achieve your goals.
Examples of ODT interventions include:
-
Strategic Planning
to clarify mission, strategy and goals.
-
Business Process Transformation
to better serve internal and external customers,
reduce bureaucracy, or eliminate duplication of
effort.
-
Change Leadership Initiatives
to implement or respond to new technology or
business processes, manage growth, or adjust to
new leadership.
-
Team Effectiveness Strategies
to initiate new teams, energize or realign
existing teams.
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OD Services
· Team
Effectiveness
·
Leadership Development
·
Strategic Meeting/Retreat Facilitation
·
Strategic Planning and Goal Setting
·
Process Analysis and Redesign
Team
Effectiveness
Committees,
Work Groups, Task Forces, and Project Teams …
Effective group work is an important aspect of
getting things done at USF. ODT has two planned
approaches to helping teams achieve their goals:
Team Jump Start – When a new team is
forming, an ODT Consultant will facilitate your
first meetings. The consultant will advise you on
how to select team members, use action learning
strategies to help the team work effectively, and
ensure that your team is focused on clear goals that
are supported by the team sponsor.
Team Tune-Up
–Your existing team may need some help focusing on
goals, working together effectively, or resolving
conflict. An ODT Consultant can step in to identify
team strengths and weaknesses, and apply action
learning to bridge the gap between where the team is
now, and where it needs to be to perform
effectively.
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Leadership Development
People are often promoted to positions of leadership
and supervision as a result of their job function
expertise and/or high performance in their current
role. Leading and supervising people effectively,
however, often requires a separate set of knowledge
and skills. What led to success in a previous role,
may not be enough to ensure success as a leader or
manager.
ODT supervisory leadership development processes can
help supervisors continue to build skills, comfort,
and confidence in their role as a leader.
Below are examples of supervisory leadership
development objectives:
-
Learn techniques for setting clear performance
expectations with employees
-
Develop effective communication skills for
giving feedback
-
Learn skills for coaching and mentoring
employees
-
Be able to use effective meeting facilitation
processes and skills
-
Enhance time and project management practices
-
Develop strong interpersonal communication
skills
-
Learn strategies for recognizing and rewarding
employees
-
Be able to apply strategies for managing change
and conflict
ODT is currently sponsoring the
Leadership Development Group. This group is a
development forum for leaders at USF.
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Strategic Meeting/Retreat Facilitation
Focused strategic meetings and retreats can be an
excellent way to capitalize on the collective wisdom
of a group. Without effective facilitation, however,
these can become mundane and unproductive. ODT
consultants are trained at the art of facilitation
and can help to design and implement processes that
maximize group input and participation, maintain a
clear focus on the meeting’s intended purpose, and
continuously move the group toward actionable and
quality outcomes.
Below are examples of the types of meetings and/or
retreats that could benefit from the utilization of
an ODT facilitator
-
Group brainstorming and idea generation
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Strategic visioning and goal setting
-
Development of shared agreements about group
process and team standards
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Clarification of critical issues, needs, and/or
untapped opportunities
-
Gathering employee input on key decisions
-
Analysis and redesign of work processes
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Strategic Planning and Goal Setting
Setting an inspiring vision and direction to guide
organizational efforts, and defining ambitious yet
attainable goals that enable others to act is
essential to long term growth and success. Through a
customized strategic planning session, ODT
consultants can help your group to generate ideas,
engage in meaningful and productive dialogue and
debate, make decisions, and set a clear course for
the future.
Below are examples of strategic planning objectives:
-
Ensure that members of the organization are
working toward the same goals
-
Set goals that align with and further the
organization’s vision
-
Assess and adjust the organization's direction
in response to a changing environment
-
Produce fundamental decisions and actions that
shape and guide what the organization is, what
it does, and why it does it, with a focus on
the future
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Process Analysis & Redesign
The overall performance of an organization hinges on
the effectiveness of its daily processes. Problems
arise when work processes become static and
unresponsive to changing environmental and
stakeholder needs, leading to the “that’s how we’ve
always done it” phenomenon. ODT consultants can help
your group to analyze the current ways in which work
gets done, determine where there are opportunities
to make improvements, and engineer new or adapted
ways of working that better serve the goals of the
organization.
Below are examples of process analysis objectives:
-
Better understand the current flow of work
-
Identify and reinforce what’s working
-
Identify gaps, overlaps, and/or inefficiencies
-
Generate ideas for improvement
-
Create actionable plans for implementing process
improvements
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