It’s not just for the bigger boys and girls…

Organisational Development (OD) refers to a systematic and planned effort to enhance an organisation's effectiveness and overall performance.

Sounds fancy - and it may be something you’ve never heard of before.

That isn’t surprising - it’s often associated with large corporations - yet it is equally valuable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer employees than the global multi-nationals. In fact, OD can provide many significant benefits for SMEs of any size, including improved employee engagement and experience, and the development of line managers. Anyone who has been reading along with us for a while will know that these advantages can contribute to increased productivity, better retention rates, and a more positive work environment.

Employee engagement is a crucial factor for any organisation, regardless of its size. Engaged employees are motivated, committed, and emotionally invested in their work. In smaller businesses where each employee's contribution is absolutely essential, creating high levels of engagement is particularly important and here, OD initiatives can really help.

For example, an SME can easily implement regular feedback sessions to enable their teams to express their ideas, concerns, and suggestions. This not only makes people feel valued, but also creates an environment of open communication and collaboration. By involving individuals in decision-making processes, businesses can tap into their knowledge and expertise, which can lead to innovative solutions and improved performance.

OD interventions can make a really positive impact on employee experience. Employee experience is the sum of an individuals interactions with the organisation, including their work environment, culture, and overall satisfaction. It’s a no-brainer! A positive employee experience will lead to increased job satisfaction, reduced turnover rates, and higher levels of productivity.

And lets face it - it wouldn’t be a Human Everything blog without us mentioning line managers. Line manager development is a critical component of organisational development, particularly for SMEs. Line managers play such a pivotal role in the day-to-day operations of the business and are known to be the main causes of whether your people go home having had a good day, or a bad day. Investing in the development of your line managers undoubtedly leads to improved leadership skills, better communication and increased employee satisfaction, not to mention freeing up the time of Directors and Business Owners to focus on the strategy - working ‘on’ the business instead of ‘in’ the business.

Developing your line managers in effective communication skills, conflict resolution, and performance measurement (including giving feedback!) in a personal and human way is hands down the best way to lead effective and motivated teams.

Overall, embracing organisational development can help SMEs thrive in a competitive business landscape by optimising their human capital and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. You don’t have to be a megalith corporation to focus on OD. In fact, for those of us in the world of SMEs, OD with its focus on the people IN your business, is even more important.