Organization Transformation: The Real ROI

I’ve noticed quite a few references to organizational transformation in the disability, mental health and aging literature in the past several years. I wasn’t sure if the term replaces “organizational change” or “quality improvement” so I checked Wikipedia and Google. Wikipedia provided the content for a master’s degree in organizational management and change and Google offered 811,000 graphics, images, and icons ranging from Homer Simpson to NASA flow charts.

So let me offer my perspective on Organizational Transformation derived from two decades of teaching, consulting, and trying to manage organizational complexity. Transformation encompasses previous terms such as organization development, change, change management, strategic planning, and action planning.

What is it?

Contemporary use of the term organizational transformation refers to a simultaneous realignment in organizational values, behaviors, structures, and outcomes. Real transformation synchronizes these four factors. Values are important, but values alone are not enough (See Larry Bossidy, Execution). Similarly, new values and new behaviors require new structures (See Charles Handy, The Age of Unreason).

Why do it?

Transformation is about realignment and synchronization. Two decades of leading and learning organizational dynamics and complexity teaches us that a limited focus on individual approaches doesn’t produce any lasting results. We’ve got to work on all four factors at the same time. This is why real organizational transformation is difficult, time consuming, hard work.

Why Now?

Economics and fiscal realities are chasing us down and will run us over unless we change direction. The language of Return on Investment (ROI) is gaining strength. Organizations that can realign and synchronize the key elements of values, behaviors, structures, and outcomes will increase their competitive market advantage, offer better supports to individual recipients and their families and stake a much clearer claim to continued public sector support.

How to do it?

First, recognize that this is hard work and will require real leadership, management expertise, and more time that you expected. Second, you’ve got to manage all four factors – values, behaviors, structures, and outcomes – in a coordinated manner. Third, make sure that everyone understands the link between values and ROI. Specifically,

• Start with values. What do you believe as you begin this organizational transformation? Identify the person-centered values that drive the organization;
• End with the outcomes. What are the outcomes for people served that will result from this transformation?
• Define your ROI terms. What’s your investment – cash, sweat equity, social capital? What’s the return for people served, your organization, the community? Can you calculate the economic return on engaging people in real jobs, paying taxes, and recirculating their wages in the business cycle of the community? What about volunteer hours and community service?

Know what works. What organizational and staff behaviors and organizational structures (governance, finance) will transform the values into outcomes. What are the evidence based practices that will promote your synchronized approach to transformation? How will you demonstrate that you can produce better outcomes with fewer resources than potential competitors?

CQL is committed to providing you the materials, methods, and expertise to assist you in your transformation efforts. Our values remain person-centered and community based. The Personal Outcome Measures® provide us with our metric for outcomes. And now we’ve produced the Guide to Person-centered Excellence with applications in disability, mental health and substance abuse disorders, and aging to enable organizations to synchronize organizational and staff behavior and organizational structure with values and outcomes.

Finally, the real return on our investment, both social and economic, is people who are managing their lives, living and working in the community as valued and contributing citizens; people in control of their treatment and services; and people aging in real communities without the isolation and cost of an institutional milieu.