One thing that I have learned as I have worked with clients over the years, is that everyone from a teller in a bank, a research scientist in a high tech or aerospace organization, an employee on a manufacturing line, or a doctor working in a hospital for the homeless in the inner city, needs a comfortable working environment. People need to feel respected and valued for the contributions they make on a daily basis. I have also observed that teams, departments, business lines and entire organizations that create this kind of environment are more productive and successful.

In this paper, I will address how organizations can create a comfortable, respectful, inclusive environment and how this change will benefit the organization.

The organizational change process that I have developed in collaboration with several of my clients over the past twelve years is based on the standard of practice for the Organizational Development field. Workforce and Marketplace Diversity are a critical part of the change process.

• Determine what is working and what needs to be changed to achieve the goal of the process
• Provide feedback on current organizational values, norms, practices and policies
• Determine baseline data to measure future progress
• Make issues/barriers public
• Create the process for making needed changes
• Generate commitment through inclusion in the process

• Goal (What is to be accomplished)
• Actions Steps (What will be done and how)
• Persons Responsible (Leadership)
• Persons to be included for implementation.
• Timeline
• Measurement (How will we know if we are successful)

Results
Here are two examples of successful organizational change strategies.

The first example summarizes an Organizational Change Process with a small manufacturing plant that is part of a Fortune 500 company. PREP Inc. was contacted by the Plant manager to "do diversity training" because they were losing women and African American mid-level managers on a continual basis. People did not trust managers and communication between managers and hourly employees was limited. My suggestion to them was to start with a cultural assessment to find out if training was the appropriate initial intervention. The cultural assessment was completed and a Change Team was formed. After the Change Team had worked together for two years, there was an internally developed and conducted Corporate HR Organizational Assessment; here is a brief summary of the results:

• "This is a better place to work"
• "Employees are more involved"
• "We are producing more products with fewer errors"
• "Management listens --we have formed a partnership for the first time in our history between hourly employees and managers"
• "We are more skilled and knowledgeable than before (training is directly related to need)"
• "Employees are integral in designing and implementing new production lines"

The second example comes from a small company that provides retirement plan assistance to businesses and has national recognition for its expertise. It had grown from a twelve-person business located in the founder's Milwaukee home to a company with two hundred and fifty employees. During the latest period of fast growth, the working environment had become unhealthy:

• Trust levels were low
• Communication was poor
• Many Managers had been promoted based on technical skills and did not have effective managerial skills
• There was constant turnover, especially with the newer employees
• They were facing two racial discrimination law suits

A colleague and I conducted a cultural assessment with focus groups and interviews to identify the critical issues/barriers and to create doable action plans that would help build a more positive work environment.

Based on our assessment, we formed a change team that represented all levels of the organization, including the President. We sought diversity for the change team members based on:

• Different roles /functions/departments
• Race
• Length of service
• Gender
• Age, etc.

For the past year, this Change Team has been working together to:

• Lead the change process and include all employees in the planning and implementation stages
• Create new flexible policies and processes
• Provide training for managers and employees on critical skills
• Communicate and celebrate progress
• Create further action plans based on feedback from ongoing monitoring and measurement

I was recently contacted by a member of the change team who asked me to write a letter of recommendation attesting to their organization commitment to diversity. They are applying for the Milwaukee Urban League's "Spirit of Diversity Award." This was particularly exciting because the African American manager from the change team that contacted us had stated in her initial assessment interview that she was planning to leave. She did not think things would change and it was a very difficult environment for her and others.

What a difference, one year, and an empowered group of managers and employees can have in creating positive organizational change. They are preparing a follow-up assessment to answer the two questions:

• What is working?
• What do they still need to work on?

This follow-up assessment will give them feedback on:

• What they have accomplished
• How well they have communicated their actions and
• Direction for further actions

In Summary:
We are doing business in rapidly changing times. The businesses that are successful now and into the future will pay attention to people and their needs. Successful organizations will design and create organizational structures that reflect its values. This alignment will be crucial in attracting and retaining an organizations most important asset, its employees and customers.

Pacific Resources Education Programs, Inc.
San Francisco, CA 94122
tel: 415-664-4015 · fax: 415-664-4041
e-mail: Carol@prep-inc.com