Organization Assessment and Action

Assessment can help organizations learn how they are performing compared to their peers. Assessment can be the launching point for a planned change effort. It can motivate a sluggish board, or help a funder make wise funding decisions.

However it's conducted, an organizational assessment will have some impact on the organization and must be done wisely. The best approach to organizational assessment for your organization and your community is one that is uniquely tailored to fit your goals, resources, needs, and constraints. For assessment to have the greatest impact, the process must be designed as a journey of learning and discovery rather than as a test or judgment.

 

Six Success Factors

Many factors need to be carefully considered to conduct or sponsor either a successful organizational assessment or a broader assessment program. Six success factors deserve special mention:

1. Depth and breadth of skill needed
2. Commitment and buy-in
3. A well-tested framework
4. Accurate and complete information
5. Confidentiality and ownership of findings
6. Clear expectations regarding use of findings

These factors have implications for the approach you choose and the resources you will need to do assessment well.

1. Depth and breadth of skills
   
   Using sensitive, impartial, experienced, and skilled people to conduct the assessment is critical to getting the best results. Consultants should possess organizational expertise, industry knowledge, and process skills. Ideally an assessment team will have at least two members to allow for a broader range of expertise and to ensure that issues aren't missed. Team members with a high degree of organization development experience and industry knowledge not only will be better able to identify issues during the assessment, but also will have greater credibility with the organization. This credibility improves the relationship with, and in-depth probing of, organizational stakeholders. It also increases the depth of the analysis of organizational strengths and challenges.
   
   <sub>Retrieved from: http://www.fieldstonealliance.org/client/tools_you_can_use/01-10-06_org_assess.cfm
   
   From “Tools You Can Use” E-newsletter. Copyright Fieldstone Alliance (formerly Wilder Publishing Center). All rights reserved.</sub>

List of Some Assessments OED Provides:

• Change Style Indicator
  
  The Change Style Indicator® is a change management assessment designed to measure preferred styles in approaching and dealing with change.
  
  discoverylearning.com

• DiSC
  
  DiSC is a personal assessment tool used to improve work productivity, teamwork, and communication. DiSC is non-judgmental and helps people discuss their behavioral differences. If you participate in a DiSC program, you'll be asked to complete a series of questions that produce a detailed report about your personality and behavior. discprofile.com

• Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
  
  The Myers Briggs Type Indicator® instrument and knowledge of personality type are used by many organizations, large and small. “Since type provides a framework for understanding individual differences, and provides a dynamic model of individual development, it has found wide application in the many functions that compose an organization," write Gordon Lawrence and Charles Martin in Building People, Building Programs (CAPT 2001).
  
  myersbriggs.org

• Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI)
  
  SDI is a suite of assessments for understanding the motives that color our perceptions and drive our behavior. When faced with conflict, SDI helps to reveal how people experience changes in their motivation predictably and sequentially in three stages. SDI is often used to identify motives behind behavior, and spot and prevent conflict.
  
  strengthdeploymentinventory.com

• StrengthsFinder
  
  StrengthsFinder is an assessment that takes a deeper look into our natural talents that often go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths. This assessment will allow you to discover your top five talents and begin to explore how they can be utilized in the workplace.
  
  strengths.gallup.com

Resources:

• Organizational Self-Assessment Quick Test
• Train to Perform Graphic
• SWOT Matrix
• SWOT Worksheet

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