HR’s Role in the Organizational Development Cycle

Organizational development—a science-backed method for implementing systematic change- is an important part of any organization’s journey. Without it, implementing long-term changes can lead to chaos and unsustainable outcomes.

HR and organizational development have similar principles and concepts but distinct meanings. Still, the fields of organizational development and HR are closely intertwined, and HR plays a significant part in influencing and implementing organizational development.

Here are the seven key phases of organizational development and how HR can make an impact on the process.

7 Phases of the Organizational Development Cycle

Organizational development focuses on aligning core areas, such as:

• Strategy

• Systems

• Values

• People

• Leadership

To do this, an organization must create and sustain long-term, organization-wide change. Although this is no easy feat, the organizational development cycle lays out clear processes to help strategically tackle the process and create lasting change.

1. Entry: In the entry phase, leaders or managers identify a need or opportunity for improvement within the company. This can be triggered by changes inside or outside the organization, such as sociopolitical changes, high turnover, productivity loss, or poor communication. The issue then needs to be evaluated for its scope and any deeper-rooted issues. HR’s Role: In the entry phase, HR can assess organizational needs and alert leaders to any issues in the organization that need to be addressed, especially when related to HR functions, such as performance issues or employee conflict.

2. Diagnosis: The diagnosis phase involves “diagnosing” the organization's existing structure and functions. Leaders examine current systems across the organization and determine whether they’re successful or not. This can include techniques like a SWOT analysis, data analysis, or employee surveys. HR’s Role: The diagnosis phase is about getting a finger on the pulse of the organization, which is an imperative function of HR. HR can have a hand in methods to diagnose the organization, like data analysis or employee sentiment.

3. Planning: The planning phase develops an action plan to implement changes. It includes defining goals and objectives, getting feedback from stakeholders, and allocating necessary resources. The planning phase incorporates feedback from key stakeholders, leaders, and experts to determine an action plan. The action plan typically consists of specific objectives and goals, strategies and interventions for improvement, and resource allocation. HR’s Role: HR is heavily involved in the planning process, from aligning objectives to resource allocation. However, one of the most important goals of HR in this phase is to plan change management strategies to prepare employees and ensure a smoother transition.

4. Intervention: Interventions are actions taken to implement changes and achieve predefined goals. They depend on the organization's specific needs but can include actions and initiatives like team-building, employee development, and culture changes. HR’s Role: During this phase, HR plays an essential role in supporting employees and effectively communicating through organizational changes. HR should expect and plan for resistance from employees and bumps in the road as transitions are made.

5. Evaluation: The evaluation phase measures the impact of the plan on the organization. In the evaluation phase, leaders may alter or enhance interventions if predefined goals aren’t being met. HR’s Role: HR helps to gather feedback and analyze data during the evaluation phase, and compare data with existing benchmarks. HR can also give anecdotal feedback on how employees are adjusting to changes and report any ongoing issues.

6. Stabilization: In this phase, changes are embedded into the organizational culture and reinforced among employees to help sustain and stabilize improvements. HR’s Role: During this time, HR can provide ongoing support to both employees and leaders to ensure that changes are sustained and employees fully adapt to them.

7. Reassessment: The last phase is where the overall cycle is reassessed. If interventions have proven successful and there are no ongoing issues, the cycle may be documented and closed. However, if needed, the process may also start over again from the diagnosis phase to improve the organization further and refine the phases. HR’s Role: In the last phase, HR reflects on the cycle and has a hand in determining the next steps. No matter what comes next, HR should have a plan to communicate outcomes to employees and continue monitoring for further development opportunities.

Key Insights: How HR Can Boost Organizational Development

Even though organizational development is separate from HR, HR plays a key role in implementing and improving organizational development, whether or not initiatives are focused on HR functions. 

Here are a few ways that HR can help improve and promote organizational development:

• Keep a finger on the organization's pulse: Understanding organizational needs is the first step of organizational development. Without understanding the organization's needs, processes that need improvement can go unnoticed and unaddressed. By continuously assessing the organization and identifying gaps, HR can have a stronger idea of what the organization needs.

• Align HR strategy with organizational goals: Aligning HR strategy with business goals and organizational culture can improve organizational effectiveness and create a more closely aligned organization that is better suited for successful organizational development. Additionally, having overarching organizational goals that everyone is working toward can make it easier to target improvement areas and implement changes.

• Develop training programs for employees: Promoting continuous learning for employees – especially to address skill gaps and leadership development – can ensure that an organization is more prepared to embrace change and improve the organization. However, training doesn’t just have to be for technical or leadership skills; development programs can also help enhance skills relevant to organizational development, such as change management and communication.

• Focus on organizational resilience: There is no denying the importance of organizational resilience, which can create a future-proof, adaptable organization. A resilient organization will adapt and evolve with changes, instead of fighting against them, which can make a significant impact on the success of organizational development.

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