The benefits of partnership for OD and HR: The changing roles of OD and HR create a new partnership dynamic
| Date | 12 August 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390980000985 |
| Published date | 12 August 2007 |
| Pages | 32-35 |
| Author | Fiona Ellis |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
32 Volume 6 Issue 4 May/June 2007
RGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (OD)
has been established for well over 50 years, but
with rapid globalization, a fast pace of change
and organizations focusing on core business
while outsourcing “peripheral” activities, it seems timely
to ask: “What is the role of OD in the 21st century?”
Here we explore these issues through the experiences of
OD and HR professionals in major organizations such as
British Airways, Nokia and Hewlett Packard.
The blurring of boundaries
The HR business partnering concept developed by Dave
Ulrich, with its inherent shift to a strategic dimension, is
now widely adopted in major organizations, so the
boundaries between OD and HR are increasingly
blurred. Sara Smart, manager, commercial and
management development, at British Airways (BA), cites
the example of how “a major restructuring benefits from
OD input, but the consequences, such as appointing
people to roles and managing individuals, fall to HR.”
Both HR and OD are ultimately helping business
leaders develop their organizations and people, with
the aim of becoming more self sufficient in the process.
Business leaders are more educated and aware about
implementing change and its implications, and this has
further altered the landscape of how both HR and OD
relate to the business they are part of, and their own
need for partnership.
Smart suggests: “The line manager might want to
work with one person, whereas the skill set often
resides in more than one individual. This line/OD/HR
dynamic can become tense if there is not clarity about
accountability and the specific skills that the OD
consultant brings.”
A matter of positioning
The debate can be widened to include the question of
where OD should ultimately sit in an organization. While
OD is often part of HR, Christine Lloyd, director of
people and OD at Cancer Research UK, says: “OD is
most effective when it has a voice on the board. It takes
an insightful organization to do this, but I am increasingly
seeing OD director roles being advertised that include
responsibility for HR, business strategy or new business
development. When you integrate these activities, you
create a really powerful capability for effecting change.”
Using the Ulrich model, an OD group can be part
of a centre of excellence; equally, however, OD
professionals can be attached to business units and
work as roving consultants with varying degrees of
linkage to HR. This relationship depends on the extent
to which HR has shifted from transactional to strategic
work. Tiina Takala, vice president, organizational
development and change, at Nokia, comments: “HR is
more and more doing OD-related work, like capability
strategies, change planning and facilitation,
management team coaching and organization design.”
by Fiona Ellis, Bath Consultancy Group
The benefits of
partnership for
OD and HR
The changing roles of OD and HR
create a new partnership dynamic
O
As HR becomes more strategic, there’s a potential
overlap in roles and skill sets with organizational
development. Rather than compete,Fiona Ellis,a director
of the Bath Consultancy Group, argues that the two
should work in partnership. She draws on the experiences
of OD and HR professionals in a range of organizations
to explore the nature of this evolving relationship.
© Melcrum publishing 2007.For more information visit our website www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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