“Results Are Obvious!” Sometimes, the client simply perceives that the outcomes of the OD process have been so obvious that it is not necessary to conduct an evaluation. If peo- ple are responding very positively to the process, or if there have been improve- ments that are obvious to everyone, then it may, in fact, not be necessary to conduct a more formal evaluation. COMPETENCIES FOR CONDUCTING EVALUATIONS Certain competencies are required to conduct an OD evaluation. Internal and external OD consultants should be able to carry out the steps that are described below. 1. Create an Evaluation Plan. Create an appropriate, comprehensive evalu- ation plan that will link outcome expectations with outcome measures. 2. Initiate Ongoing Feedback. Expectations of the client for the consultant and of the consultant for the client should be established during the contracting stage, and a plan for ongoing feedback concerning the client-consultant relationship should be established. Regular meetings should be scheduled, and informal feedback discussions should be encouraged throughout all levels of the organization. 3. Select the Method of Evaluation. The method of evaluation will be determined by the objectives of the intervention and the factors dis- cussed previously. The OD consultant must have expertise in using a wide range of quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods. 4. Establish a Feedback System. A feedback system should be developed to monitor the change effort continuously, both during the intervention (formative) and after the intervention (summative). Processes and out- comes both can be evaluated at both times. 5. Develop and Use Valid Instruments. A consultant must know how to cre- ate, administer, and evaluate valid, reliable, and practical instruments. 6. Ask the Right Questions. A consultant must ask the correct evalua- tion questions. In order to do this, the consultant must know not only the details of the intervention and the people and process likely to be affected, but also how to ask questions that elicit further information. 7. Analyze and Present Data. A consultant must know how to analyze the data generated by the evaluation and how to present it to the client and others in the organization so that it is clear, credible, and useful. EVALUATION 351 18_962384 ch12.qxd 2/3/05 12:18 AM Page 351 8. Integrate Feedback and Make Corrections. Once the data from an evalu- ation are presented, the consultant has to work with the client and/or change team to apply the learnings from the evaluation to improve the OD effort. 9. Transfer Skills to the Organization. A major goal of an OD effort is to transfer OD skills to the client organization so that it can use them in the future. Evered (1985, p. 426) suggests that this competence involves enhancing the ability of an organization to be self-reflective. The following list, based on Evered, describes attributes of a self-reflec- tive organization: • The capacity to examine its own assumptions and to raise pertinent, critical questions about its own functioning and reason for being; • The willingness to continually ask how to know whether it is per- forming adequately; • The ability to continually assess its own health, including its own criteria for health; • The willingness to explore, to test by trying things out, and to trans- form itself continually; • The encouragement of both intra-organizational and boundary-span- ning (for example, outside the organization) dialogue; • The tolerance of dissent, criticism, and self-doubt; and • The continual search for improved ways of understanding its own nature (core learning). 10. Acknowledge Failure and Reinforce Progress. Effective evaluation allows a consultant to study failures and learn from his or her mistakes. A consultant also should recognize progress and make sure that all those involved know what results have been achieved in order to motivate them to continue the change process. 11. Create Appropriate Closure. It is important that there be appropriate closure of a current project before the consultant and the client/change team proceed to the next cycle or project. Achieve closure by reviewing progress with the client and verifying that original expectations have been addressed. SUMMARY When appropriately applied, the evaluation phase of an OD project can be a very effective component. Without evaluation, no one learns how to improve the OD process, and important lessons go unlearned. A cost/benefit analysis 352 PRACTICING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT, 2ND EDITION 18_962384 ch12.qxd 2/3/05 12:18 AM Page 352 will almost always show that evaluation has a positive cost benefit. With the advice contained in this chapter, consultants and clients will be able to evalu- ate an OD process more effectively. References Beckhard, R., & Harris, R.T. (1977). Organizational transitions: Managing complex change. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Cady, S.H., & Lewis, M.J. (2002). Organization development and the bottom line: Linking soft measures and hard measures. In J. Waclawski & A.H. Church (Eds.), Organization development: A data-driven approach to organizational change (pp. 127–148). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Emery, F.E. (1978). Systems thinking. In F.E. Emery (Ed.), Systems thinking (pp. 7–18). New York: Penguin Books. Evered, R.D. (1985). Transforming managerial and organizational research: Creating a science that works. In R. Tannenbaum, N. Margulies, & F. Massarik and associates (Eds.), Human systems development (pp. 419–457). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Fitz-Gibbon, C., & Morris, L. (1987). How to analyze data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Harrison, M.I. (1994). Diagnosing organizations: Methods, models, and processes. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hedrick, T.E., Bickman, L., & Rog, D.J. (1993). Applied research design: A practical guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kaplan, R.S., & Norton, D.P. (1996). The balanced scorecard. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Keppel, G. (1982). Design and analysis: A researcher’s handbook (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. McLean, G.N. (1997). Multi-rater 360 feedback. In L.J. Bassi & D. Russ-Eft (Eds.), What works: Assessment, development, and measurement (pp. 87–108). Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development. Rea, L.M., & Parker, R.A. (1997). Designing and conducting survey research: A compre- hensive guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rucci, A.J., Kirn, S.P., & Quinn, R.T. (1998). The employee-customer-profit chain at Sears. Harvard Business Review, 76(1), 82–97. Schmuck, R., & Miles, M. (Eds.). (1976). Organization development in schools. San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer & Company. EVALUATION 353 18_962384 ch12.qxd 2/3/05 12:18 AM Page 353 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Separation W. Warner Burke and Ann Van Eron T he last step or phase in the OD consulting process is separation. This final phase is important but is rarely conducted in a careful, planned manner. Few consultants or researchers choose to write or speak about this phase of the OD process. While not atypical, the following synopsis of an actual OD effort provides an illustration of a consultant’s managing the final phase rather poorly. CASE EXAMPLE The OD consultant had worked with his client for about nine months conduct- ing the usual steps. Data had been collected via interviews from a majority of management and key staff personnel. The data were reported back to the CEO and his direct reports, followed by a similar summary of the interview results to the larger system. The OD consultant’s diagnosis was that most of the data collected were symptoms and that the major underlying cause was the existence of two “camps” within top management who vehemently disagreed with one another as to how the company should be managed and what business strat- egy was best regarding the future. The consultant held an open discussion con- cerning the two-camp issue with the CEO alone and then with the entire top group of executives. The group verified that the consultant’s diagnosis was cor- rect and that action should be taken to do something about this serious conflict. 354 ∂ ∂ 19_962384 ch13.qxd 2/3/05 12:16 AM Page 354 The CEO was very supportive of participation, that is, he wanted consensus within his top team. As a result, he was immobilized by the seemingly intractable differences of opinion, particularly regarding strategy. The OD consultant provided coaching with suggestions for action steps. Changes within the top group needed to be made. But no action was taken. Time went by, with the CEO continuing to be in a “frozen” state. The OD consultant became exasperated. The CEO did eventually modify the organizational structure somewhat and fired a key executive, but the OD consultant believed that these changes were largely cosmetic and would not lead to the fundamental changes that were needed for significant improvement in organizational performance. The OD consultant had other clients at the time who were more demanding, and, therefore, he allowed this client to drift away rather than pursuing potential options for change and working on his relationship with the CEO. Separation in this case occurred, not due to a planful process, but rather as a function of time passing and inadequate motivation on either the consultant’s or the client’s part to try harder or to agree in a deliberate way to discontinue the relationship. While real and not necessarily unusual (see Burke, 1991, for more detail), we are not recommending this case example as an exemplary one for the sepa- ration phase. The fact that a careful and planful separation phase is not com- mon is no reason to overlook the importance of this final phase in OD practice. Separation is not easy, and, in any case, we should be clear that separations occur more often as a consequence of, say: • A change in leadership due to retirement, a new and perhaps sudden assignment, or leaving the organization for “greener pastures.” For example, one of us had been a consultant to a large, global corporation for well over three years and had worked closely with the CEO and head of HR. Both of these gentlemen retired at about the same time. The suc- ceeding CEO, who had been with the corporation for a number of years, made it clear to the consultant that he would no longer be needed. In the eyes of the new CEO, the consultant had been “too close” to the retired CEO and the HR executive, and he needed to establish his own direction and bring in a new consultant who would not be seen as “linked to the old regime.” Although not planned by the consultant, sep- aration occurred nevertheless. • Acquisition or merger where new leadership takes over and perhaps changes many of the old ways of doing things, including changing consultants. • Sudden change in organizational priorities due to an unforeseen crisis, for example, the Bhopal disaster, Enron’s financial “errors,” or perhaps some sudden change in technology that drastically affects the business. SEPARATION 355 19_962384 ch13.qxd 2/3/05 12:16 AM Page 355 These examples represent frequent unplanned separations and, therefore, are rarely under the control of the OD consultant. We will now address the separa- tion phase in a more conscious and planful manner. THE SEPARATION PROCESS Done properly, the separation phase will be linked back to the contracting phase. What did the initial contract (probably revised a number of times along the way) call for? For external consultants, the contract covers the work to be done, of course, and is usually accompanied by specifications regarding time and money. This process may be less defined for internal consultants, since they are often considered to be “on call” much of the time. Yet internal OD consul- tants can conduct their practice in much the same way as externals, that is, moving through the phases from entry and contracting to separation. It’s just that separation for internals is more like ending a project but not ending a rela- tionship with the client. In any case, separation is planned as a function of the content in this con- tracting phase. Good contracting on the part of the OD consultant consists of agreements of who does what when and the specification of “deliverables”— the work to be performed—and how long everything is expected to take. So here is where the separation phase begins, that is, when the work has been com- pleted to the client’s satisfaction. The Cycle of Experience developed by the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland iden- tifies the separation phase to be a critical part of the change or consulting process (Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, 2003). Closing—identifying what has been achieved and what remains undone—supports learning and integration (Mackewn, 2003). Moving toward closure and separation doesn’t imply that the work has been unsatisfactory, but that it is time to move on. By closing the engagement, there is space for new awareness and mobilizing energy for new beginnings. Closing must happen with the client as well as independently by the consultant. Consultants must pause and reflect on what went well, what is unfinished, and what was learned. The separation process begins with the contract phase of OD consulting by identifying what the “deliverables” will be. Once these deliverables are achieved, then ending the consulting project and client relationship is in order. But, as noted already, separation is difficult. After all, we as OD consultants get into this business because we love to help, to be needed. We may wittingly, but more often unwittingly, foster dependence. 356 PRACTICING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT, 2ND EDITION 19_962384 ch13.qxd 2/3/05 12:16 AM Page 356 DEPENDENCE A part of the value system and folklore of OD is that effective consultants work themselves out of jobs. It is important for OD consultants to transfer their skills to clients and to identify resources in client organizations to carry on change efforts. At the same time, consultants must avoid becoming dependent on their clients as a means to meet their needs for work, money, or affiliation, because these needs can lead to unnecessary change efforts and wasted resources. Con- sultants should respond to actual needs in client organizations rather than to their own needs. As consultants embark on the separation process, they should be aware of their “need to be needed” and refrain from encountering or encouraging depen- dence (Bell & Nadler, 1979). To avoid dependence, consultants have to train those in client organizations to continue their own change efforts. In practice, one project with a client often leads to other projects. An effec- tive consultant develops a good working relationship with his or her client and identifies new opportunities within the client organization. At the same time, the OD consultant should continue to transfer his or her skills to organizational members so that they are capable of facilitating their own change efforts. The notion of dependence in the OD relationship has its origin in the assumption that the consulting relationship is equivalent to the relationship between a therapist and patient. Although both are helping relationships, the situations are quite different. The client for an OD consultant is often an orga- nizational system, and the OD consultant tends to work with many people from the client organization and with the interfaces between people and units. This mitigates personal dependence issues with the consultant. On the other hand, a prolonged project can create some dependence on the consultant. That is why appropriate training of organizational members is so important to effective separation. PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES The client and the consultant can experience a sense of loss that may result in depression and dependence as a positive working relationship comes to a close (Block, 2000; Kelley, 1981). In some societies, endings often initiate anxiety, dis- comfort, sadness, or depression. Therefore, some people may avoid terminat- ing relationships. They may postpone completing projects by beginning new projects or by procrastinating in completing assignments. SEPARATION 357 19_962384 ch13.qxd 2/3/05 12:16 AM Page 357 The client and the consultant may have shared important experiences and are likely to have developed a mutual interdependence. It is important that the consultant initiate a discussion to address and deal with the emotions associ- ated with disengagement. Otherwise, these feelings may not go away (Kelley, 1981), and they could lead to anger or an unproductive extension of the con- sulting process (Dougherty, 1990). In a healthy but terminating OD relationship, the client may miss the confi- dential, candid, and stimulating discussions he or she had with the consultant. Both the client and the consultant can experience the loss of friendship. The consultant may also sense a loss of challenge. The process of jointly determining the appropriate time to terminate the rela- tionship allows the client and the consultant an opportunity to share their feelings and perspectives. An open discussion about the discomfort in separation is impor- tant and healthy. The consultant and the client will find it valuable to understand the stages and the behavioral outcomes of the mourning process for long-term rela- tionships. Bridges’s (1980) book on transitions presents one view of this process. The consultant may express concern about the well-being of the client. In addition, discussing future possibilities for working together can ease the stress of termination (Dougherty, 1990) and can validate the friendship. DETERMINING NEXT STEPS After the client and the consultant have reviewed the initial agreement or contract and determined the results of the change effort, they can then identify any remain- ing tasks and determine whether to continue the services of the OD consultant. The client and the consultant should develop an outline of next steps and decide who will be involved in these. If the goals of the change effort were not realized, the consultant and the client will have to redefine the challenge or desired state and/or generate new intervention options. Even if the goals of the effort were real- ized, there still may be additional or related work for the consultant. In this case, the process moves to one of exploring needs and contracting anew. Alternately, the consultant and client may decide that additional work is not required at this time, but they may still wish to retain some type of relationship. One way to stay in touch with clients is to contract for a different relation- ship as the OD consultant departs. We have coached clients after the comple- tion of change initiatives on a regular basis or for quarterly check-ins to assess progress. Even when a formal arrangement is not made, it is useful to touch base with clients to renew friendships and engage in dialogue regarding initia- tives and developments. When a successful separation is made, it is not uncom- mon for clients to call even years later for another engagement. After we assisted a client with a large cultural change effort, she called for assistance with an even more complex cultural change process when she moved to a 358 PRACTICING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT, 2ND EDITION 19_962384 ch13.qxd 2/3/05 12:16 AM Page 358 different organization five years later. Because time had been spent to evaluate and successfully separate, the client had positive feelings about the work and we were able to start a new process in an efficient manner. We were able to recall our learnings from the first project and build the structures and support needed to be successful. In addition, we had a basis of trust. A consulting project with a different organization was successful, but the client became very busy and time was not taken to effectively separate. A few years later the client was grateful when the consultant stopped to visit and they then were able to adequately close when he had more time and energy. It is likely he did not call for additional projects because he felt awkward about the ending. Some ways to stay in touch and maintain a relationship include send- ing periodic notes and emails, visiting the client when nearby, encouraging the client to call anytime, helping clients find resources, suggesting articles and books, providing recommendations for opportunities that may be of interest, such as conferences, and calling to ask to use the client’s name as a reference for other projects (Biech, 1999). It is useful for all involved to pause and appreciate the successes and chal- lenges associated with the project. We continually remind people to pause and reflect, even briefly. With the fast pace of organizational change, it is easy for people to become burned out. Building in the structure of pausing, learning, and celebrating along the various milestones of a change initiative make final separation a more natural part of the change process. The consultant should plan to fill the emotional gap that he or she experi- ences when a major project is completed. It is not uncommon for consultants to experience depression after successfully completing major projects. Many OD consultants immediately begin new and challenging projects; others plan relax- ation time. It is helpful to acknowledge that low feelings are natural and to learn how to manage them (Kelley, 1981). SUMMARY We’ll conclude with a more successful case of separation. One of us worked with a client to change the organization’s culture. The project involved work- ing with the organization’s leadership team to develop a vision, strategy, and implementation plan. Part of the process was supporting the executive leader- ship team’s development and providing executive coaching to the CEO and his direct reports. The consultant assisted the leadership team in developing and communicating the vision, values, desired behaviors, and plans to the large organization. After implementation teams were in place and the organization was experiencing the benefits of the OD process, the consultant began to reduce her role and support those in the organization taking on more of the responsi- bility to ensure implementation. SEPARATION 359 19_962384 ch13.qxd 2/3/05 12:16 AM Page 359 The consultant had several meetings with the CEO to review the original con- tract and dialogue about their achievements—what went well and what was unfinished. Both agreed that the initiative had been successful in building the case for the need for change, building a strong leadership team (where the opposite had been the case), enhancing morale, and generating excitement and commitment for the changes being made. They regretted that perhaps too much energy was focused on a leader who did not support the change and that it had taken some time to find strong internal OD support. Both the client and con- sultant shared what they learned from working together. The reflection allowed the client and the consultant to appreciate their efforts and accomplishments. The consultant and client then focused on identifying next steps. A plan was made to transition facilitation of the team meetings to the CEO and the internal OD leader. The internal OD leader agreed to follow the structure and format for the meetings that the consultant had introduced. The consultant coached the internal OD person. The OD leader agreed to follow up on the development plans of the leaders the consultant coached. The consultant and the OD leader met with those she coached to review goals and actions. Some of those being coached continued with the consultant for an additional period. A clear transi- tion was made to having the internal OD person facilitate executive leadership team meetings. Together, the consultant and the leadership team reflected on their successes and learning. The leadership team also identified next steps for the team going forward. It was agreed that the consultant would meet with the leadership team once a quarter for the rest of the year to check in on progress on the actions and how the group was functioning. The clients and consultant recognized the emotional component of separa- tion. Some members of the team were sad about the transition. The consultant provided empathy and support. The consultant experienced both satisfaction with the project, as well as sadness in reducing her involvement and connec- tion with members of the organization. It was useful to identify the mixed feel- ings and find support; the consultant talked with colleagues about her experience of loss. The consultant followed up with the team and leader to check in on progress. In addition, the consultant periodically called members of the organization to check in. She later resumed coaching with some members who moved on to other roles. Over time, the consultant was invited to work on a number of projects by those she worked with, both for the same organization and for other systems. Taking the time for reflection about fulfillment of the contract and the process, recognizing the emotional component of separation, agreeing on next steps, saying good-bye, and following up enable the client and the consultant to benefit from this last phase of the OD process. 360 PRACTICING ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT, 2ND EDITION 19_962384 ch13.qxd 2/3/05 12:16 AM Page 360 . by trying things out, and to trans- form itself continually; • The encouragement of both intra-organizational and boundary-span- ning (for example, outside the organization) dialogue; • The tolerance. (2002). Organization development and the bottom line: Linking soft measures and hard measures. In J. Waclawski & A.H. Church (Eds.), Organization development: A data-driven approach to organizational. to contract for a different relation- ship as the OD consultant departs. We have coached clients after the comple- tion of change initiatives on a regular basis or for quarterly check-ins to assess progress.