University of Michigan research determined that a human capital agenda (including culture management, ability to respond to change quickly and strategic decision-making) that contributes to business imperatives can account for nearly half of business performance. To achieve excellence, an organization’s leadership must consider and leverage human resource factors that influence performance and contribute measurably to goals.

IRI’s Organization Effectiveness (OE) approach supports organizational excellence by starting with a client’s business objectives and determining how HR practices can be created, strengthened, or reinforced to support operational objectives.

Partnering with clients, IRI provides full-service human performance consulting and training services to:

• Establish or enhance a human resources structure and infrastructure
• Structure and align work processes and systems
• Develop leadership competencies and skills
• Create a workforce that is knowledgeable, skilled, able and motivated to perform
  
  

Overview

IRI offers a broad range of expertise through our OE services. These include market-tested training courses and client-tested consulting processes that focus on delivering measurable results and return on investment.

• Our work has helped clients achieve a broad range of goals, including:
• A reduction of new-hire turnover rates to four percent from 55 percent
• $1 million in training savings within the first year of implementation
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Awards, including the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award

IRI’s OE practice includes the principles of Human Performance Technology (HPT) where appropriate:

1. Compare the present state of individual and organizational performance with the desired state to identify the performance gap. Explore the impact of the work environment (information, resources and incentives) and the people (motives, individual capacity and skills) on performance.
2. Design and develop or acquire appropriate interventions. These may include measurement and feedback systems, new tools and equipment, compensation and reward systems, selection and placement of employees, or training and development. The interventions are implemented and the change is managed to ensure maximum success.
3. Evaluate after each phase of the process to ensure each step is adding the necessary value. The final evaluations are centered on improvement of business outcomes (such as quality, productivity, sales, customer retention, profitability and market share) as well as determining return on investment for the intervention.

Our OE practice also is effective in situations in which the client has identified a performance gap and is seeking appropriate intervention. In these cases, IRI draws from four focus areas to meet client needs:

1 .ORGANIZATION DESIGN

• Structural analysis, policies and procedures
• Operational and information systems strategy
• Staffing and compensation strategy
• Organizational diagnostics and employee engagement

2. PROCESS IMPROVEMENT AND SYSTEMS

• Workflow process improvement (LSS)
• Human resource and employee life-cycle processes
• Aligned performance management systems
• Fastrack Teams^sm

3. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT & PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

• Strategic and business skills (strategic planning, project management, finance for non-financial managers)
• Leadership and communication skills (motivation, influence, listening, speaking and presenting)
• Competency identification and succession planning
• Team development and leadership skills (facilitating meetings, forming and championing the team)
• Problem-solving and decision-making skills

4. WORKFORCE TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

• Employee orientations and on-boarding
• Technical skill training
• Sales training and support systems
• Interpersonal skill training (communication, teamwork, respect and sensitivity)
• Self-development skills (time management, goal-setting, business writing)
• Executive coaching
  
  

Logistics and Options

IRI uses a project management approach to its OE practice area. This means that our work is typically defined and described according to a systems approach to project management. These principles include:

• Define the goals, scope and boundaries of the project
• Identify the team and all stakeholders directly and indirectly involved with the project
• Create plans, schedules and budgets. We can work on a fixed-fee basis for many of our projects or a time-and-materials basis for others.
• Clarify customer-supplier relationships for every phase and step of the project
• Determine what will be measured, by whom and how and when (what gets measured gets managed)
• Create a communication strategy and implementation plan to ensure the right people get the right information when they need it
• Create a risk management plan that has both mitigation (preventive) and contingent (responsive) activities identified

IRI identifies the most qualified resources to manage and deliver all OE engagements and to perform the tasks required for success. A relationship manager and a project manager oversee the initiative and ensure that work is completed on time and within budget. Clients typically meet and approve project team members to review responsibilities and ensure a good cultural fit with the organization.

For more information about IRI’s Organization Effectiveness services, contact IRI Consultants at info@iriconsultants.com or by calling (313) 965-0350.

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