Organization Development (OD) is the practice of helping organizations solve problems and reach their goals. A key emphasis in OD is assisting clients not just in meeting their goal but with learning new problem-solving skills they can use in the future.

How do OD consultants work?
OD consultants contract with clients to offer a range of services, including:

Change management -- working with departments, committees and other groups to help them plan and implement significant changes in their organizations.

Group problem solving -- helping a group identify a key issue, gather information about it, and outline decisions or action plans needed to address the issue.

Meeting design and facilitation -- working with clients to help them plan an agenda, stay with the agenda, and discuss issues effectively.

Team development -- helping a team to develop its ability to work more effectively together.

Business Process Redesign -- working with a group to analyze the current way of doing a specific piece of work to determine whether there is a better way to design how the work gets done. (See our site on Business Process Improvement.)