Organizational development is a science-based approach to improving a company's performance. It involves assessing an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as the organizational climate and leadership. To ensure successful change initiatives, organizations must focus on groups and departments, invest in education, benefits, and incentives, and create an opportunity to receive feedback from employees. The most effective way to implement change is to listen carefully, ask questions, pay attention to what has heart and meaning, and improve the management process by aligning the vision and long-term plans.
Today's most important organizational development best practices provide organizations with successful change tactics to achieve their fundamental objectives while embracing partnerships, collaboration, commitment, responsibility, encouragement, and innovation. Effective change management revolves around motivating change, creating a vision, developing support, managing the transition, and maintaining momentum. An implementation framework with four key elements – components (what), roles (who), phases (when), and context (where) – can help organizations prepare for any future changes. Those interested in organizational development positions must have a certification that demonstrates their understanding of the field. Interventions in human processes are programs of change that relate to interpersonal relationships, group and organizational dynamics.
Organizations must put people back at the center of change and analyze their wants and needs instead of introducing a 100% fixed solution into the organization. This includes talent management practices such as coaching, mentoring, career planning, development interventions, and management and leadership development.