Organisation Development and Change Specialists – COVID-19 has destroyed your market, waiting for it to come back is a waste of time

Written by Karina Reid, August 2020

I recently watched a video of Prof. Dave Ulrich, recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, where he calls HR professionals to form an opinion, and to “earn their seat at the table”. This includes organisational development and change specialists. In the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, this really resonates. 

It is safe to say that most people are still shell-shocked by COVID-19 and its devastating effects that will linger for a long time to come.

It seems like individuals, teams and organisations have become “paralysed”. But why? Organisational development (OD) and change specialists confirm that most projects have been stopped, with little indication of the way forward.

A few questions come to mind. Are the OD and change projects that were initiated before COVID-19 still relevant? And how is this impacting the OD and change Specialist roles? Has the organisational purpose changed? Or has the purpose of teams changed? Are leaders and managers equipped to navigate the new normal? How has COVID-19 influenced the psychological contracts with the organisation; and Is maintaining the wellbeing of staff the organisation’s responsibility? If so, how do they deal with it?

Don’t wait - The landscape may have changed, but NOT the value you can add.

Are the OD and change specialists also “paralysed”, or are they actively assisting organisations to move forward, or even help to “fail forward”? Should we change tactics and actively lead, drive and influence organisational success?

Here are some personal observations from engagements with OD and change consultants, and specialists.

Now is not the time to simply wait for projects to be resumed. The OD and change specialists need to be proactive, and to take up the challenge to assist leaders, managers and organisations to move forward. Organisational change may be dictated by factors like restructuring, retrenchments and repositioning. However, most organisations will need to focus more on developing leadership and management capabilities for the post-COVID period, posing questions like: 

-         Has the “why” changed? The “why” is what drives the community with whom you share a vision. What is the new north star? (growthinstitude.com)

-         Should we concentrate more on smaller projects, with smaller steps, for example building high performance teams? Work where the pain points are.

-         Capacitate leaders and managers in managing wellbeing – making sure we have “whole” human beings.

The context may have changed for OD and change specialists, but the models, theories and solutions have not. A case in point are Prof. Ulrich’s well established theories, such as the HR Competency Model, the Change Management Pilot’s check-list, and the High Performance Team Development model. These robust approaches are still applicable today, and will certainly continue to be effective within the new post-COVID OD and change context.

Here are four competency domain descriptors (selected from a list of nine) that are of great relevance within the COVID-19 environment.

Credible activist

The credible activist captures the extent to which HR professionals achieve the trust and respect they need within the organisation, to be viewed as valued partners. 

How do OD and change specialists ensure they maintain and develop such trust and respect? This can only happen if there is action, relative to the “organisational pain”. Real conversations need to happen regarding the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown. Individuals are worried about the economic and social impact of the pandemic, as well as their health and livelihood.

Strategic positioner

How can OD and change specialists lead, influence and direct the organisation currently in terms of the external and internal business context?

The OD andchange specialist must be concerned with both the external and internal business context, and to translate these into practical insights that will help position the organisation for success. 

Culture and change champion

What is the role of OD and change champions in moving the organisation forward? The culture and change champion spearheads both change and culture, and HR professionals can help maintain the momentum.

If previous large-scale projects are on hold or not happening, what can be done in smaller impactful projects?

Which issues must be addressed right now and how? For example, how do we engage different employees, teams and communities in campaigns by using fun and gamified ways, like digital treasure hunts and competitions?

If the employees are not ready for hard business and productivity drives, perhaps offering wellbeing and/or resilience campaigns may be what is needed currently.

 Technology and media integrator

How can the OD and change specialist assist the organisation to leverage technology within and beyond a post-COVID environment? The technology and media integrator leverages technology and media support tools to help create high performance organisations. This includes social media to recruit, retain, develop and engage human capital. 

The pandemic has forced everyone to embrace the online world. Now, there are so many more platforms available to encourage e-learning and engagement. Herein lies the opportunity to start fun, innovative campaigns that will benefit the organisation. Engagement and empowerment platforms such as closed community apps enable such delivery (www.egsbe.com).

Innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Kaya Consulting Group has done thorough research over the last few years around the impact of poor wellbeing, and have developed a 7-Facet Wellbeing Indicator Assessment tool. Their assessments and workshops (which are also available online) positioned them well with organisations that are mature enough to realise that the wellbeing of their staff has been significantly compromised by the status quo. Kaya’s business has grown and expanded during Covid-19 because of the need for local and international companies to companies to address employee trauma and pain. (www.thekayagroup.com)

Yiedi (founded by Jayhshree Naidoo) helps organisations to enable and empower employees to explore intrapreneurial opportunities, stimulating fresh, innovative thinking within a COVID-19 world. They are also assisting organisations who have retrenched staff, to encourage them to pursue entrepreneurship, and are even assisting those retrenched employees to start their own businesses. (www.yiedi.co.za)

As an OD and change specialist, now is not the time to wait for others to lead and create new projects. Act as strategic positioners, credible activists, technology integrators and culture/change champions. Find out what is required to assist the organisation now.

Then, start driving capability building with leaders and managers and create awareness within teams. One small project at a time……..

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