Practicing Organization Development (A guide for Consultants) - Part 39. Organization development (OD) is about planned change. As change has turned into the only constant, many managers and other people are pursuing change strategies with vigor. OD is a major strategy for leading and managing change at the individual, group, intergroup, organizational, interorganizational, and large systems levels. This book is about what it takes to be an effective change manager, change leader, and OD consultant | EVALUATION 351 Results Are Obvious Sometimes the client simply perceives that the outcomes of the OD process have been so obvious that it is not necessary to conduct an evaluation. If people are responding very positively to the process or if there have been improvements that are obvious to everyone then it may in fact not be necessary to conduct a more formal evaluation. COMPETENCIES FOR CONDUCTING EVALUATIONS Certain competencies are required to conduct an OD evaluation. Internal and external OD consultants should be able to carry out the steps that are described below. 1. Create an Evaluation Plan. Create an appropriate comprehensive evaluation plan that will link outcome expectations with outcome measures. 2. Initiate Ongoing Feedback. Expectations of the client for the consultant and of the consultant for the client should be established during the contracting stage and a plan for ongoing feedback concerning the client-consultant relationship should be established. Regular meetings should be scheduled and informal feedback discussions should be encouraged throughout all levels of the organization. 3. Select the Method of Evaluation. The method of evaluation will be determined by the objectives of the intervention and the factors discussed previously. The OD consultant must have expertise in using a wide range of quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods. 4. Establish a Feedback System. A feedback system should be developed to monitor the change effort continuously both during the intervention formative and after the intervention summative . Processes and outcomes both can be evaluated at both times. 5. Develop and Use Valid Instruments. A consultant must know how to create administer and evaluate valid reliable and practical instruments. 6. Ask the Right Questions. A consultant must ask the correct evaluation questions. In order to do this the consultant must know not only the details of the intervention and the people and process likely to be affected .
