Diagnosis and Evaluation

Where are we now? Where do we want to be?

This is a simple yet basic step in any intervention, at any level within our respective organizations. Yet what is the extent to which we really do it? Where is the 'you are here' marker in our organizations? Sure, some of us have tools like customer satisfaction and staff engagement data (as well as the basic business financial measures), but holistic, strategic data?

In the 2007 survey, Develop the Developers (by Morrison & Ritchie), responders to the survey provided the following answers in response to development activities:

Use of diagnostic approaches:
Always (8%); usually (33%); sometimes (46%); rarely (10%); never (4%).

Use of evaluation approaches:
Always (37%); usually (43%); sometimes (15%); rarely (2%); never (2%).

This highlights why much of what we do in organizational development (OD) and human resource development (HRD) fails, on a regular basis, to make the desired (and recognized) strategic impact.

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Mike Morrison is director of RapidBI, an organizational effectiveness consultancy. He has been involved in HR, OD and strategic development for over 20 years. He can be contacted via www.rapidbi.com/
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