Improving
Organizational
Performance
Process Consulting is Workitect provides help to organizations in all areas
that have an impact on the allocation and utilization
at the heart of our
of organizational and human resources. When working
work…This means on an assignment, we draw on our expertise in a
number of different areas in order to adequately
that we have a basic address the client’s problem. For example:
beliefthat our clients
• A change in the organizational structure to
already possess meet the needs of the business plan may affect
the climate of the organization, which may in
the technical turn require an organization development type
of intervention.
information and
knowledge to develop • Implementation of a performance-appraisal
program may require installation of a manage-
a strategy or improve ment-by-objectives system so that performance
is evaluated against agreed-upon objectives and
their organization’s
standards.
performance. The
• Productivity or quality improvement may involve
value we add is to work on organizational issues such as the
structure, management systems and climate,
provide concepts,
plus work on human resource areas, such as
tools, guidance and training and education, and reward systems.
facilitation (in other • Succession planning may require changes in the
design of the organization and of specific jobs,
words, a process) plus changes in supporting human resource
to help management systems, such as staffing, career planning and
information systems.
teams be more
• Strategic corporate planning has a direct impact
effective. on both organizational planning and human
resource planning.
We apply an organizational-improvement model
(shown on next page) that helps in diagnosing an
organization’s performance and identifying corrective-
actions. Details of the process are described elsewhere.
Process consulting is at the heart of most of our
©2005, Workitect, Inc.
work. This means that we have a basic belief that our
clients already possess the technical information and
knowledge to develop a strategy or improve their
organization’s performance. The value we add is to
provide concepts, tools, guidance and facilitation (in
other words, a process) to help management teams be
more effective.
Strategy
No organization can be successful in the years
ahead without comprehensive planning. The entire
management process begins with planning, and all
other functions and processes flow from the planning
process. Effective strategic planning results in
decisions on what to do and how to do it.
We help executives and their management
teams define missions, develop long-range business
strategies, and establish objectives and action plans.
Our help takes many forms, including organizing and
facilitating planning meetings with top management
teams, and conducting future search conferences.
Future Search Conferences are task-focused events
that use no expert speakers, involve diverse groups
crossing many organizational boundaries, are largely
self-managed and aim for real dialogue. Each
conference focuses on discovering and exploring
common ground, by getting people to look outward
and inward before looking forward. It represents a new
approach to meeting management. Large groups
(40-80 participants) examine together their past and
present, produce scenarios of their ideal future, and
generate strategies and action steps to make those
scenarios a reality.
CASE: The senior managers of a major service company
met to improve their “strategic thinking” and to lay
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 the groundwork for a comprehensive strategic-planning alive process with a much higher degree of
process. Using a future search-conference approach, commitment.
the group developed a wall graphic depicting the
A Vision Framework is used to help senior
history of the companyand one depicting the desired
management teams discuss and define the organization’s
future state of the company. Other activities produced
vision, mission, values, guiding principles and
healthy discussions of barriers and concerns, and
strategies. It summarizes, in one graphic display,
personal commitments to actions to achieve the
key elements that must be taken into account when
desired future.
moving to a new vision and helps sort out confusions
RESULT: The outputs flowed naturally into the strategic of terminology.
planning process which became a more dynamic and

2 ©2005, Workitect, Inc. www.workitect.com • 800.870.9490

 No organization
can be successful
in the years
O R G A N I Z A T I O N I M P R O V E M E N T
ahead without M O D E L
comprehensive
planning. REQUIRE ESS
RES
UL
S M IN
The entire ES Hard number

TS
Hard numbers

EN
financial requirements
IN

BU
Corporate requirements Requirements are met
BUS

TS
management Social,political, legal Social, political, legal conduct
expectations
Position relative to competition
process begins Corporate pressures
Customer satisfaction
Expectations of customers
with planning, and all Expectations of
Employee expectations are met
employees
other functions and
processes flow from
the planning process.

RATEGY LTURE
ST CU
Attidudes toward
Underlying strategy & goals
values & assumptions
Organizational climate
Purpose, mission, vision
Distribution of power & rewards
Competitive strategy
Work people do or don't do
Operating principles
Other norms that explain
Objectives & goals how things get done

STRUCTURE
R
S

EW
K
S

A
TA

R
D
S

G
IN
K
A
-M
P
EO

N
IO
P
LE

IS
EC
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INFORMATION

SYSTEMS

3 ©2005, Workitect, Inc. www.workitect.com • 800.870.9490

 Organization
To ensure that corporate objectives are met, it is
necessary to effectively plan, structure and develop
the enterprise as a whole and its various components.
Workitect helps clients with this process by providing
services in the following areas:
Assessment, Change and Improvement
• Preparing the organization to anticipate and
manage change.
• Assessing the readiness for changes in strategy,
policy and programs.
• Assessing the climate or culture of an organiza-
tion through a variety of data-collection tools.
• Using data from organizational climate
assessments to help work groups establish and
implement action plans for improvement.
• Determining managers’ and employees’
perceptions of key management processes and
practices, and the extent to which management
goals are accurately translated and implemented
throughout the organization.
CASE: A west-coast service company wanted to improve
its customer service and quality. We applied our
assessment process and analyzed the current
condition, then fed the results back to the senior-
management team in a strategy session during
which plans were developed for implementation of
improvements.
4 ©2005, Workitect, Inc.
RESULT: A 22% improvement of customer satisfaction
ratings plus improvements in the functioning of the
management team.
CASE: For the senior-management team of a large
refinery, feedback on the organizational climate and
managerial practices was collected. Members of the
team were interviewed. In a three-day Organization-
Improvement Session, the data was shared, and
strengths and areas of vulnerability were identified.
An action plan for improving organizational climate
and the performance of the management team was
developed.
RESULT: A 20% increase in productivity plus reduced
turnover in key jobs (and lower costs).
Teams and Work Groups
• Creating and sustaining high-performance
teams.
• Resolving or managing conflicts between units
so as to focus the energy and resources of the
organization on the attainment of business
goals.
• Facilitating effective meetings, conferences and
task-oriented retreats.
• Task-force design and facilitation.
• Creativity and innovation search.
CASE: For an aerospace division of a Fortune 100
company, we facilitated a process to help the
management team of the customer-support department
become a high-performance team. Using a model of
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 team performance (below), the team examined their
level of functioning in each of seven different stages
of team development. A feedback instrument,
completed by each member of the team, created a
profile that was used by the group to identify actions
needed to improve the performance of the team.
Leadership Practices
• Providing subordinate feedback, coupled with
developmental programs, for executives and
managers to help them improve their leadership
and management behavior.

RESULT: In a subsequent survey, the team identified • Establishing standards of performance,

specific and tangible improvements in its performance,
including improved service to each other which
enabled the team to provide better service to external
customers (and raise customer-satisfaction ratings and
retain key military contracts).
clarifying roles, responsibilities and objectives
of departments and individuals.
• Implementing work planning and
objective-based performance-management
systems.

Service Quality • Establishing effective open lines of

communications between all levels of an
• Implementing processes to improve customer
organization to ensure ownership and
service and service quality.
commitment to the organization’s goals.
• Implementing processes to improve the internal
CASE: For a major energy company, we provided
service that departments provide to each other
feedback from subordinates on the leadership practices
within the organization.
used by the top 200 managers of the organization,
CASE: A utility company asked us to help improve their presented as part of a five-day executive-development
service quality and integrate the effort with a TQM workshop designed to help the company create a more
approach which had been launched the previous year. competitive (externally) and more participative
We conducted a thorough assessment of their level of (internally) culture.
service quality, and documented the assessment, along
RESULT: The company has increased its market share
with recommendations, in a Customer Focus Analysis
and earnings per share above the industry average.
report. During a two-day planning meeting with the
Organizational climate surveys show a significant
senior-management team, our report was reviewed,
movement to a participative-work environment.
educational material regarding the integration of
service and quality was presented, and
corrective-action plans were developed.
RESULT: Customer satisfaction ratings improved by
31%, quality in other aspects of the business improved
and employee productivity increased, due in part to
the fact that employees could see the relationship and
the importance of customer service and quality.

Competency
Development
System
5 ©2005, Workitect, Inc. www.workitect.com • 800.870.9490