Impact of Goals on Organizational Development

Organizational development is a continuous process which aims at improving the organization's overall performance. It is essentially a series of deliberately planned activities which help an organization in achieving its strategic goals. In fact, setting a strategic goal is critical to the organizational development. It is interesting to see how goals can affect organizational development.

Goals as a Means of Employee Motivation     

Goals give a definition to all organizational activities. They provide a framework upon which an entire business can function. When the goals are clearly defined everyone in the organization is informed about their respective roles and responsibilities. This helps the employees in realizing what is expected out of them. As a result, everyone can target their efforts towards achieving the goals. 

In this regard, communication of goals is an essential factor. If the goals are not communicated properly, it can result in ambiguity. The employees will be confused as to what is expected out of them, and where should they focus their efforts. As a result, the efforts will not be streamlined and lead to mayhem. In such a scenario, an organization can never achieve its goals, which can constrict the organizational development. Formally publishing the goals through print medium or on the website is a good way of ensuring that the employees are educated about the goals. Direct communication of goals to the employees through their reporting authorities is the most reliable way of communicating goals. 

When the goals are achieved, it gives a sense of accomplishment to the employees, motivating them to perform better in future. It also forges a feeling of unity amongst the employees, as its the teamwork that is getting paid off. This is a critical factor for the success of any organization. Thus, one of the most essential processes of organizational development is setting up of realistic goals and formulating strategies to achieve them. 

For more info about setting goals refer Setting SMART Goals for Your Organization

Many organizations seek help from business strategy consulting firms to set goals and re-align their organizational development activities. Such agencies are well versed with the implications of goals on OD and thus devise intelligent strategies that can help an organization to achieve goals and significantly improve its performance.

Training - A Means for Motivation and Retention

Employee morale is a deciding factor for an organization's success. Employees who are insecure, low on morale often suffer from low productivity. If for some reason, an entire organization's performance is lackluster, then there might be a serious issue underneath. Such underlying problems can be resolved with appropriate training programs.

Training for Employee Motivation and Retention  

Although, training is an integral part of an employee's growth and an organization's development, not many companies feel the need to invest in good training programs. In fact, any prospective plan for training often counters resistance from employees and managers. Both feel that training will consume a lot of their productive time. In reality, training is crucial because it improves productivity. There are some scenarios in which training becomes absolutely essential. Some of these are:

• Employees show dismal performance.
• Employees lack certain skills.
• Organization adopts a new technology, for which employees need to be trained.
• Employees are to be assigned different role/responsibility.
• To test a new Performance Management System
• Certain event, activity has had an unpleasant effect upon the morale of the employees.

Types of Training Topics  

Training topics are often organization-specific. However, there are some general topics upon which every organization should provide training. These include:

• Communication
• Ethics
• Public Speaking
• Workplace Safety
• Sexual Harassment

An organization can take the help from HR and OD consultants to chalk out an appropriate training program for its employees. They can either invite an external trainer to impart training or ask one of its members to contribute. One great idea is to assign the responsibility of training to its own employees. Employees can share their skills or knowledge acquired at seminars, conferences that they attended. This gives an opportunity for employees to enhance their knowledge base. Besides, they also develop a respect for each others skill set. Such training programs boost employee morale to a great extent. After the training, it is a good idea to save the training material on a shared network or company's intranet, wherein all employees can have an access. 

For any training program to succeed, it is imperative that all concerned individuals must actively participate. Employees must be convinced that the training program can add value to their profile and enhance their career prospects. Besides, they will get a feeling that the organization is willing to share information with them. This results in better performance and a healthy employer-employee relation.

Strengthening Relationship with Clients

Every business that is set up in this world aims to cater to the needs of certain client segment. Hence, it would not be an exaggeration to say that there would be no business without clients. A business always runs on the basis of repeat orders, which come from satisfied clients. Hence, it is very important to have a healthy relationship with your clients for your business to thrive and flourish. Strengthening relationship with clients is imperative in this competitive world to retain your clientele. We have shared some tips on how to strengthen the bond with your customers.

Know Your Client  

The first and the foremost thing when you sign a contract with a client is to get to know them better. Try to find out as many details about the concerned individual or organization as possible. Study their business partners, competitors to know exactly what type of deliverables they expect.

Commit What You Can Deliver

It is possible to get carried away and commit deliverables that are beyond your capabilities. This can result in failure and eventually strained relationship with the client. Hence, be realistic and commit only those things which you are assured of fulfilling. 

Exceed Expectations

Clients hate vendors who underperform. On the contrary, they have a very positive impression about vendors who exceed their expectations. If you go beyond the scope of work and deliver something extra, your client will be more than happy to place a repeat order. 

Stay Focused   

As you go on building relationships with your clients, it is possible to get involved in their business on a more personal level. However, you must know where to draw the line, as too much passion can ruin the relationship with your client. Hence, stay highly focused on your goals and consistently deliver on the points that are mutually agreed

Be Firm

A customer may not be always right. So, there is no point in being ever accepting to their views and demands that can be damaging for both you and them in near future. Be firm and take a stand wherever required. However, be polite while doing so. Most generally, in long run the clients respect the vendors who are candid in their approach.

Know Your Client's Worth

This is the most important of all points. It makes sense to invest in a relationship only if it is worth it. Check how working with a particular client will add value to your business image or bring more business to you. It is also important to know whether such client is serious about investing in your products. Accepting unviable pricing and other business terms can be detrimental in long run. Hence if you notice these symptoms it would be appropriate to walk away from such deals/relationships.

Performance is a key aspect that decides your relationship with a client. There is no alternative to quality of service when it comes to forging bonds with clientele. 

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