Systems. Processes. Details. This is what organizational development is made of. It takes a certain type of personality to naturally be good at and even joy these processes and systems. Finding the right person will make your small business successful. The key to this is establishing a business culture as your putting these processes in place. What does that look like?
1. Systems
The systems of organizational development refer to routines, patterns and events in a company. It starts at the top with management and trickles down to the employees in the company. It’s important for managers to look at organizations from a broader perspective to see how all of the systems work together, instead of how each department works by itself. A classic example of this is the missing link that is often found between sales and marketing. Your sales team says they aren’t getting qualified leads. The marketing team says the sales team isn’t converting the leads they are sending into customers. A manager should step back and look at the big picture to find the gaps.
2. Processes
The processes are the actions, progression, best practices and activities that make up the systems. If your sales and marketing teams aren’t speaking the same language, bringing in leads, or converting those leads to customers, what are they doing that isn’t working? Or what aren’t they doing? Identifying the action steps that need to be taken, in an order that makes sense, while implementing best practices for both the departments and the organization along the way will help improve the day-to-day tasks in the company.
3. Details
You’ve heard the phrase “the devil is in the details.” Even the biggest project relies on the small components in order to be successful. When it comes to organizational development, the details are the who, what, where, when and why that someone needs to be in charge of. A project manager is the person who most commonly would implement these details. But it needs to be a project manager with the right kind of personality.
4. Personality
Someone who is good at creating and implementing systems and processes in your organization, while still being able to pay attention to the details has a methodical personality. This means they think in black and white, perform best when they have a plan, like routine, are dependable, helpful, hard-working, meticulous, loyal, and help bring stability by recognizing patterns. In a sense, they are the guardians of the processes and systems.
5. Culture
Your company culture is made up of the systems, processes, and details that all make up your organizational development. It’s also created by establishing a place people love coming to work at. This may be small things like having an office pet or large things like employee incentive programs. It all depends on who you are and the kind of company you want to be.
Every small business has to have some kind of organization development to be successful. Without systems and processes the important details will get lost. You can make sure this doesn’t happen by choosing the right employee with the right type of personality to be the organizer. A strong and proven sense of organizational development in your small business creates a company culture that encourages people to come to work, helps them be effective at work, and keeps your business thriving.
What processes and systems have you found to be effective in your company? Let us know in the comments section below. We’re always looking for new ideas!
