Showing Results: The Economics of OD
Benedictine University, Kindlon Hall, Room 164 (Get Directions)
Signups closed for this CODIC Event
Economists carefully document how people use their resources. They usually have hard data to back up their claims, but sometimes such data are not available and they have to estimate results or economic activity. They use well-tested models to justify their estimates, and sometimes revise their numbers later when final data are available. Because they have shown they can use this method effectively, they present their numbers with confidence, and the data are accepted by those who use them with equal confidence. OD practitioners should be able to do the same with the results of our work.
We all are comfortable and proficient at showing "soft" results of our OD work. These might include improved communication skills, changes in management style or management strategy, use of feedback, group interaction styles and organizational culture styles. This is absolutely necessary for our work to be successful. It also is insufficient for us to keep working. We also have to show "hard" results that business managers can use to justify the expense for our work. These might include increased revenue, increased productivity, lower turnover and ultimately higher profits. This session will focus on how to convert "soft" results in to "hard" dollars.
See how both soft and hard results can be shown, learning through a combination of presentation, discussion and a case study. We will apply Kirkpatrick's four levels of analysis to OD initiatives, and discuss ways of estimating results when actual data is not readily available.
Presenter:
Eric Sanders
Eric Sanders is an independent OD consultant specializing in organizational culture improvement and leadership development. He was a Senior Account Manager for Human Synergistics for two years, and during that time managed many organizational culture and leadership development surveys, debriefed the results to organization leaders and assisted in change planning. His broad background also includes twenty years experience in retail sales and management.
Recently Sanders wrote and facilitated a course on measurement and evaluation of training programs for the Chicagoland Chapter of ASTD. He has presented on organizational culture, and measurement and evaluation of OD initiatives at various trade conferences, including the ASTD International Conference and Expo, OD Institute Annual Information Exchange, Illinois SHRM and the Newspaper Association of America Marketing Conference, and is scheduled to present at the OD Network Annual Conference later in October 2006.
Sanders has a B.S. in psychology from Brigham Young University, an M.A. in economics from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was an Adjunct Professor of economics at NIU and a Visiting Lecturer on economics at UIC, and facilitated over 50 workshops to a total of over 1000 K-12 teachers in the US and Ukraine on methods of teaching economics. Early in his career he taught Spanish for two years, and served for two years as a missionary in Spain and Canada.