Organizational Development

About Organizational Development

Sometimes when people ask us about organizational wellness and/or organizational development, we’ve got a short answer and a long answer.

Short answer: It’s taking a holistic and solution focused approach to consulting.

Long answer: We use a system-based approach and a strength-based approach to improving your organization’s capacity and impact. Our team will talk with your team to learn about how a particular aspect of your organization is operating, learn about your tools, your spending, your goals, and develop an action-based plan leveraging your team’s current skills and organizational assets that will help you get there.

Examples are helpful, so here is one for you:

A senior community center approached us wanting assistance updating their newsletter processes as well as find the best way to get it out to their members. We asked questions like:

What do you use now?
What are you hoping working with us will accomplish?
Do you have an example of newsletters you like?
What parts of the newsletter are your member’s favorite?
Are there parts of the newsletter difficult for your team to keep writing?
Tell me about your communication plan.
Your center serves people 50-100 years old! Individuals in this age group like receiving information in different ways. Do you know what communication methods are working best within your membership?
Where are you putting your newsletter communication to reach new members?

During this conversation, we learned the center lost its director during covid because of budgetary losses – that director was their only staff person.

Additional questions around around board of director stress lead to drafting blurbs in their newsletters for volunteer opportunities to take pressure off the small board and get more members involved (during a time seniors were told they couldn’t get involved – still lots of opportunities!).

Additional questions around their budget and fiscal sustainability led to calls to action for donations, a fun fundraiser, and an updated membership and program fee roll out to be promoted in their newsletter. This plan had them hiring their director back within six months.

We of course still helped with the newsletter itself: a beautiful template, a publisher who would print for free, and a free email newsletter software and template they felt confident using. We also made an label template for them – they had been writing addresses by hand every two months!

Your organization is an ecosystem that needs to be cared for.

When you start struggling to get sleep, doesn’t it affect your mood, thinking patterns, physical energy levels, and more? Would you want your doctor to just give you a sleeping pill or to also investigate what else might be going on? When your client tells you about a struggle, don’t you ask or help address their environment or social supports?

It’s all interconnected at your organization, too. You can’t make a financial decision, a tech decision, a grant decision (you get the picture) without it having an impact on clients, programs, and staff. You can’t make a staff, program, or client decision without it affecting your marketing and communication.

And that’s the long story of what we do!

You may come to us with a newsletter request, but we know that’s usually a symptom of something bigger.

About Organizational Development

Examples are helpful, so here is one for you:

Your organization is an ecosystem that needs to be cared for.

Or book a 15-minute inquiry with the KovirOrg Team