Organizational Assessment and Development

Thomas P. Holland, Ph.D.Institute for Nonprofit Organizations

University of Georgia

Assessment of Organizational Performance

Definition and Uses

• Assessment in organizations is a process of systematically examining one or more aspects of the organization for purposes of documenting present performance and planning for improvements.

• Uses– Identify staff attitudes, behaviors, opinions, concerns– Examine indicators of organizational effectiveness– Create baselines for comparisons with other internal or

external measures– Document outcomes (results) of services– Inform efforts to improve performance and effectiveness

• Caution: Leaders must be prepared to deal with the results and with resistances to change.

Assessments help by

• Providing diagnostic information for planning change

• Offering opportunities for input and feedback

• Monitoring progress toward goals• Sending messages to participants

about what is important• Stimulating expectations for change

Possible Purposes• To pinpoint issues of concern (such as

morale, engagement, motivations, satisfactions, behaviors)

• To monitor impacts of efforts to change• To provide input for future decisions• To compare views across organizational

segments• To observe longer-term trends

More purposes• To identify impacts of events• To add a communication channel and

feedback method• To guide efforts for organizational

improvement• To provide symbolic communication

(assessment signals to staff what management sees as important)

• To align our efforts with expectations of our customers and sponsors

Examples of Issues that may be Assessed

• External environment• Mission and strategy• Leadership• Organizational culture• Structure• Management

practices• Service outcomes

• Organizational systems

• Work climate• Job-skills match• Motivations• Individual needs &

values• Capacity• Performance

Motivators for Assessments

• We must be clear about what we want to assess and why.

• Someone must believe “we can do better than this,” and then convince others to join the concern.

• Often prompted by messages of discontent from a constituency group.

• Key leaders must be persuaded that the mission would be better served by addressing the concern than just keeping things the same.

Feedback influences behavior

• May confirm or disconfirm previously held views, assumptions, norms, practices

• May call attention to issues needing further learning and change

• May create expectations of rewards and punishments

• May offer cues about inconsistencies, problems, or errors needing attention

• May trigger denial, blaming, retrenchment

Assessments link culture with actions

• Changing culture essential for sustained improvements• Assessments should include identification of aspects of

culture warranting attention• Should have clear links with participants’ interests

(“what’s in it for me?”)• The process of doing them should demonstrate

accountability, modeling the culture you hope to build• Should attend to strengths and possibilities important for

success, not just problems• May require tailored questions for distinctive aspects of

this organization• Assessments should extend our learning

– First level: how we can improve our efforts– Second level: how we can strengthen our learning about our

efforts and their alignment with stakeholders

Effective Implementation Requires

• Commitment of leaders and staff• Openness to learning new things about services

and making changes based on feedback• Interest in clear identification of results intended

and indicators for each of them (this may be harder than anticipated)

• Motivation to understand the relationships between activities and expected results

• Willingness to take risks, to experiment with trial runs and fine-tuning methods, to make us of partial information for innovations

Overview of the Key Steps

• Generate commitment to address the issue• Engage representatives of the groups needed to carry

out the assessment and act on the findings.• Negotiate shared purposes, uses, plan.• Specify WHAT will be assessed, WHY, and HOW.• Communicate intentions and expectations with all those

who are expected to respond.• Collect the information.• Interpret the results in ways that are understandable and

lead to action.• Distribute the findings and recommendations• Engage participants in refining action plans and

implementing them.

Getting Started: The Planning Team

• Must involve representatives of those who will be expected to act on results.

• Negotiates shared expectations, purposes, uses of the assessment.

• Strengthens commitments from leaders and members of the organization.

• Communicates plans with those expected to respond.

• Decides on the target(s) and methods of the assessment.

Build Ownership from the Start

• Get input and support from those whose cooperation will be needed to implement findings

• Formulate the goals of the assessment together, dealing with divergent interests from the start (compromises necessary)

• Address barriers and resistances up front

• Identify together who should be contacted, how, when, by whom, with what questions

Building Ownership (continued)

• Specify how the project will be communicated to participants/ respondents in ways that engage them

• Consider alternative possible findings, implications, approaches to making use of results

• Plan for means of communicating findings and engaging people in action

Developing the Plan

• Get preliminary information on what is to be assessed and examine for implications.

• Refine the focus of the effort and how findings will be used.

• Decide on whether to involve technical experts.• Decide on methods, approaches to gather information.

Look for standard tools for use or adaptation. If none, then design new one.

• Pilot test the selected approach to identify needed refinements.

• Select the respondents to be included and identify how they will be approached and engaged.

Communications and Engagement• Decide what should be communicated with

whom and by what means to maximize ownership of results.

• Consider timing and implications for other issues and activities going on in the organization.

• Carry out the communications plan and deal with issues that arise.

• Provide advance notice of the project and its purposes, components, opportunities for input.

• Convey honesty, build trust and credibility with respondents. Show how anonymity will be respected.

• Demonstrate support by leaders.• Commit to shared action on results.

Assessment Methods• Standardized processes and checklists available through

national centers (example: re-accreditation standards of many national associations)

• Client assessment: examining the impacts of services with target communities through surveys, outcome measures, exit interviews.

• Market analysis of external conditions through focus groups, key informants, questionnaires

• S.W.O.T. analysis and discussions• Staff questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, service records,

financial records, observations, self-administered questionnaires

• Reviews of existing records or data files• May use multiple approaches and adapted formats• Less formal approaches often better for small organizations

Sources for Tools

• Internet, searching by topic of interest

• Catalogs, printed compilations of tools available

• Publications that report development and use of a tool on a topic of interest

• Adaptations of existing tools for local circumstances

• Self-developed procedures

Collect the Information

• Designate implementation responsibilities.• Make sure implementers and respondents

understand steps, expectations, time-table.• Identify the implications of data collection

method(s) on response rates and timing, level of resources required, speed of data analysis.

• Identify how, when, in what format the reports are to be submitted.

• Specify how questions and barriers will be addressed and momentum sustained.

Summarize and Interpret the Results

• Decide how reports will be prepared, by whom, using what tools (statistics?), with what output formats to use (charts, tables, examples), in what time frame.

• Decide whether and how previous relevant information may be incorporated in report.

• Deal with respondents’ questions and anxieties with process and possible results.

• Outline the report and then insert findings as they emerge.• Develop interpretations of findings that are

understandable, credible, actionable.• Formulate specific conclusions, recommendations,

possible action steps.• Decide on steps to deliver and discuss the findings, deal

with concerns, move to shared conclusions and actions.

From Reporting Results to Action for Change

• Start with meetings with top leaders to ensure understanding of findings and to gain commitment to action.

• Disseminate report widely, including schedule of opportunities to discuss it.

• Demonstrate recognition of important issues and possible implications for organization and staff.

• Minimize barriers to widespread ownership by clear presentation, discussions, openness to refinement of conclusions.

• Engage staff in responding to interpretations, conclusions, recommendations, and in identifying implications for action.

• Expect and acknowledge anxieties. We all resist change.

Action (continued)• Work together to formulate targets for change that will

strengthen the organization, keeping focus on mission and shared values.

• Avoid personalizing problems.• Decide on specific steps for change together, who will be

involved, when and how.• Help participants find own strengths and roles in

implementation.• Decide whether and how outside experts should be involved.• Identify how organization will track, record, and acknowledge

progress in the plan for change.• Specify how feedback will be communicated and used.• Set up procedures for dealing with surprises, barriers, delays,

problems.• Recognize successes and share them widely.

Thoughts from users

• You only get what you measure.• Don’t ask if

– You don’t want to know true answers– You don’t plan to act on findings

• Careful preparation, implementation and reporting are essential for usefulness of findings.

• Engage those who will be needed to act on the findings early in the process.

• Don’t get sidetracked by a few nay-sayers.• Model the behaviors and attitudes you hope to

strengthen in the organization.

Application Exercise

• Identify a nonprofit organization that interests you.

• Meet leaders there to discuss aspects that have been or may be the focus of an assessment (internal or external).

• Search for possible approaches and tools for conducting the assessment.

• Develop credible recommendations about why and how to conduct the project.

Assessment of Service Outcomes:

A specific type of organizational assessment

Nonprofits can assess many aspects of their programs and services

• Documenting how consumers benefited by receiving a service

• Financial accountability: documenting how funds were spent

• Program outputs: assessing what services are provided and to whom

• Adherence to standards of quality in service delivery• Participant-related assessments: characteristics of

consumers and their concerns• Key indicators of performance: inputs, services, outputs,

costs• Views of consumers and other organizations with our

program accessibility, timeliness, courtesy, condition of facilities, overall satisfaction with services

Distinguishing Outcomes from Inputs

• Outcomes are documented benefits or changes for participants as a result of their involvement with a program.

• May include aspects such as changes in participants’ knowledge, attitudes, values, skills, behaviors, or conditions

• Inputs (resources, services, staffing) are used to bring about expected results or outcomes.

• Merely participating says nothing about results of participation.

• Outcomes may be immediate or longer-term changes.

Growing National Attention to Outcomes

• Many national nonprofit organizations and associations support studies of the outcomes of their programs and services.

• Some of them provide resources and tools for use by local organizations.

• Managed-care companies stress service results for reimbursement.

• Accrediting bodies increasingly require outcome assessments as review criteria.

• Grant-makers want evidence of results, not just efforts.

Benefits of Assessing Outcomes

• Clear definitions of intended results provides focus for the organization’s work and guidance on improving it.

• Understanding current level of outcome achievement provides basis to examine progress and plan for future.

• Knowledge of results motivates staff and volunteers by showing if efforts make a difference.

• Information about results motivates people in deciding how to use their time.

• It helps the organization identify training needs.• It helps justify budget changes and fundraising purposes.• Information positions organization as successful, leading

to greater recognition and financial support.

Benefits of Outcome Assessments emphasized by users of them

• It showed us what difference the program really made for our consumers.

• The information helped us do a better job, improve our services and their value to our clients.

• It helped us get everyone focused in the same direction.

• Our organization benefited in many ways– documenting results to board, staff, and donors– redirecting attention to more productive activities– attracting new consumers, collaborators and funders.

Challenges for the Future

• Assessing hard-to-measure outcomes, such as consequences of prevention or advocacy efforts

• Sharing useful findings and approaches with other nonprofits, so everyone doesn’t have to start from scratch

• Building assessments right into service activities• Using software programs to store, update, and analyze

information• Strengthening board and staff attention to results and

willingness to make changes based on them• Setting reasonable benchmarks or performance targets

(what constitutes “good” performance?)• Using organizational findings to contribute to community-

level changes

Organizational Development

Interventions intended to restore healthy performance and growth

in an organization

Assumptions• Changes are continually occurring inside and outside organizations.• Organizations are systems composed of component parts.• It is better to improve performance and productivity than to accept

low effectiveness.• Accurate information is helpful; knowledge can lead to health.• Informed, free choices are good for people and organizations.• People should have some ownership and responsibility for their own

jobs.• Adapting to new conditions is good.• Opening up conflicts can lead to productive growth if handled

skillfully.• Organizational change does not have to be haphazard, but the

results of change efforts are not always 100% predictable or controllable.

• It is O.K. for us to make mistakes along the way and learn from them how to improve our efforts.

• Both formal and informal relationships are important components for change.

Organizational Life Cycles and Internal Challenges

• Metaphor of human development• Stages: birth, childhood, adolescence,

maturity, old age• Stagnation: tendency to level off at one

stage of development, resist change• Founder’s Syndrome: resistance of

founder to let go and allow others to run organization

• Mission Drift: attention moves from goals to self-maintenance of organization

Why change?

• To create better alignments between our organizational strategy and operations with the views of our key stakeholders– Employee behaviors and processes– Customer satisfaction and loyalty– Perceived value in community– Donor expectations– Financial results for organization’s future

• Benefits of action must be made clear

Coping with change

• Since views and resources change, organization should– Monitor internal and external environments– Understand what is going on and how that

relates to strategies and operations– Be prepared to make adaptive changes and

innovations

• Organizational culture resists change

Principles of Change• Successful change is an on-going journey of learning and growing,

not a quick fix.• Incentives for change must be greater than those for keeping status

quo.• There must be some degree of buy-in and support for new practices

to be tried.• You can’t change everything at once, so start where your people are

right now and what they’re interested in doing.• People are more motivated to make changes they have helped

design.• There will always be anxiety, fear, resistance when doing things

differently. The greater the change, the greater the resistance.• Making positive changes is more effective than negative ones.• There must be some “champions” of the changes and their

purposes.• Steps should be consistent with the values driving the new ways of

working.• Energy and commitment dissipate quickly and motivation wanes as

time lapses.

Organizational Culture• Culture: that set of unspoken habits, norms, and practices

that guide how a group goes about doing its work, provides order and meaning to everyone, shows how to respond to problems

• Group culture develops over time, emerging from the work habits of founders

• It typically focuses on operational maintenance.• Newcomers are socialized into cultural assumptions about

how we do our work here.

• These assumptions and habits are resistant to change, continuing to guide work even when outside conditions change.

Power and politics• Power: the degree to which individuals can influence

others in any system– Position power: authority based on role definition– Relational influence based on informal networks

• Politics: the ways power is used• Power is unequally distributed in any culture, may be

misused, stifling engagement and effective performance• Coalitions: people who work together for shared goals• Dominant coalition: those who exercise the most power

in a system• Power analysis: understanding the configuration of

power and the ways it is used to frame situations and agendas for action

• Organizational development seeks to strengthen shared power through interventions designed to increase inclusive political processes and expertise-based influence

Force-field analysis

• Identify those influences that are pushing toward change.

• Identify those influences that are resisting change, supporting the status quo.

• Explore ways to strengthen the pushing influences and diminish the resisting influences.

Possible Barriers to Change• People and organizational cultures resist change• Reward system reinforces old ways of doing things (such

as conformity to rules rather than producing results or trying new ideas)

• Making mistakes has been punished• Fear of the unknown• Changes may threaten existing balance of power.• Fear that changes may open up conflicts between

individuals or groups.• Poor communication of purposes and plans for change• Incomplete follow-through on initiatives• Insufficient skills or resources• Leaders demand quick changes or they cave in to

resistances.• The higher the resistances, the lower the prospects for

successful change.

Guidelines for planning interventions

• Explore possible solutions to problems identified, not more detailed dissections of the problems.

• Brainstorm alternative routes to success before evaluating them.

• Consider realistic constraints on choices and changes.• Consider short-term and longer-term implications of

alternatives.• Make sure choices serve to advance org. mission• Go with alternative that generates most support.• Begin with small-scale experiments working toward

solutions.• Identify criteria for monitoring results.• Verbally rehearse steps to take.• Identify possible barriers and ways to deal with them.• Make sure steps, tasks, expectations are clear.

Engage people in finding solutions

• In what ways do the findings from this assessment enrich our understanding of the issue that prompted it?

• Given those findings, what are some things we could do to improve our performance?

• What would be going on here if this organization (place/ community) were functioning as we would like?

• What are the results we want to accomplish?• What sorts of changes and steps would be useful for us

to try in reaching those results?• What are some small-scale experiments we could try

that could take us there?• Who should do what, when?• How should we monitor our progress and assess our

results?

Types of interventions

• Individuals

• Teams

• Inter-groups

• Total organizations

Types of interventions and uses at the individual level

• Training: helping person learn specific knowledge or skills.• Coaching: guidance on mastering skills or solving interpersonal

problems (using, for example, 360 assessments, Johari’s window, Myers-Briggs, stress management techniques)

• Goal setting: helping people formulate goals and priorities for improving their effectiveness

• Performance appraisal: modifying ways of assessing employee performance more carefully and using feedback to improve.

• Job descriptions: useful when job duties are ambiguous and expected results unclear.

• Cross-training: rotating individual to other positions in organization• Career planning: for individuals who have outgrown their roles and

want new skills and challenges.• Procedures manual: formalizing the approved methods for

handing common problems in work.• Process improvement: steps to improve the effectiveness of ways

people do their work and interact.

Interventions at the Team level

• Team building: activities to increase work group cohesiveness, reduce biases, build trust

• Job enrichment: changing mix of job responsibilities so members have greater responsibilities

• Quality of work life: improving work conditions and employee participation in decisions that affect them and org.

• Quality circles: using small work groups to identify ways to improve performance and effectiveness

• Goal setting: helping work groups establish shared goals and steps for improvement

• System mapping: clarifying inputs, transformations, outputs, and feedback loops to improve efficiency

• Conflict management: reducing destructive conflict between members of a work group through healthier communications

Build Strong Teams by fostering• Understanding, relevance and commitment to shared

goals• Open communication of ideas and feelings• Active participation and distribution of leadership• Flexible use of decision-making procedures• Encouragement and constructive management of

conflicts• Equality of power and influence• High group cohesion• Strong problem-solving strategies• Interpersonal effectiveness• Positive interdependence

Team Building Activities

• Hold brief retreat where members get to know one another, interests, hobbies, ambitions

• Let’s imagine all the things that could go wrong about this project and see if we can think of some ways we might solve or avoid them.

• What are some characteristics or descriptions we would like to see in this group? Which of us could take the lead on each of them?

• Design a problem that requires everyone to solve– Ropes course– What would you take onto lifeboat?– How many ways could one use this brush?– I’m think of something I’ve done (or about myself) that I’ll bet

nobody here knows– Find others on web and in books on organizational development

Interventions at the inter-group level

• Goal setting: negotiating changes between teams through agreements on shared goals and ways of working

• Work flow planning: improving the flow of work and products from one part of the organization to another

• Inter-team development: two or more work groups work to improve their relationships

• Cross-training / job rotation: building skills and knowledge needed to work in another part of the organization

Interventions with total organization

• Management by objectives: setting shared goals and steps for achieving desired results

• Strategic planning: establishing long-term goals and directions for the whole org.

• Re-engineering: radical re-design of work processes to improve efficiency

• Total quality systems: improving value and excellence across components of the organization through feedback and ongoing changes

• Structural change: altering reporting relationships and objectives for component parts of the organization

• Culture transformation: changing assumptions about who we are, why we are here, what are “right” and “wrong” ways of doing things

Example: Continuous Quality Improvement

• Move from emphasis on productivity and compliance to quality of performance and services

• Components– Making sure purposes and goals are clear– Encouraging pride in individual work– Monitoring how each person’s work affects others’

(interdependencies)– Gathering information on internal and external

consumers’ responses to services provided– Encouraging risk taking, innovation, collaboration– Reducing waste, duplications, inefficiencies

8 Steps to Leading Change Effectively

• 1. Identify participants for change efforts, depending on level and issue.

• 2. Explore together the findings of assessment and implications for people and the organization (or community).

• 3. Formulate together specific areas for change, targets and goals.

• 4. Link everything with the mission of the organization. Why are we doing this?

5. Formulate work plans for achieving changes together

a. Specify objectives for each dimension. What do we want to accomplish?

b. Identify results to be attained for each objective. What will success look like in each area?

c. Set clear work assignments and timetable. Who will do what, by when?

d. Identify evidence of success. Assessed by what criteria?

e. Publicize intended results and steps. How will we be accountable to others?

6. Make success a team effort• Be sure everyone knows what is expected of her/him

and how that links to group goals• Articulate how each individual’s talents contribute to

success of the whole• Identify means for problem-solving and

accountability as a team (what will we do when problems and barriers show up?)

• Specify methods for reporting and communicating progress (how will we know it’s done?)

• Monitor, evaluate, and report on results• Find ways to reward successes

7. Coordinate implementation

• Maintain emphasis on mission and goals• Keep in contact with team members• Empower and encourage them to sustain movement

toward goals• Accept the anxieties of change• Encourage risk-taking and nontraditional ideas and

actions• Remind members to hold themselves and others

accountable• Take barriers and obstacles back to the group for

solutions (don’t fix it)

8. Reinforce Changes• Communicate progress widely, using multiple means• Articulate the connections between actions

and results• Recognize and reward successes• Report results to others outside team• Encourage group learning from experiences (sharpen

the saw)

• Develop and nurture new leaders, ensuring leadership succession

• Model the behaviors expected of others

Application Exercise

• In a nonprofit of your choice, interview leaders about a recent project for organizational development. Ask the questions of why, how, who, when, what experiences and results?

• What were lessons learned?• What might have been done differently (or in the

future) to make the work more effective?• Identify alternative approaches that you think

would be more useful now. Why? How?

For additional resources, See file on web resources

included in this course web site