While you are assessing the situation and involving your employees, it would helpful to know what has worked in the past and what has not worked. It would also help to get all levels to point out any key issues from different perspectives.

My first piece of advice is to not overlook junior to mid-level staff. Their perspective will greatly contribute to your current status analysis. You should not forget to provide proper environment for those workers. If they think that their opinions will harm themselves in the future, they won't share any valuable insight. Gap analysis will be damaged then.

Simple - Employees will always ask directly or indirectly - "WIIFM", means "What's In It For Me," WIIFM encapsulates a fundamental aspect of human nature— the innate inclination to assess personal benefits before committing to an action or decision. Whether in the realms of business, marketing, or interpersonal relationships, understanding and addressing the WIIFM factor is crucial for effective communication and engagement in organizational development initiatives and decisions.

Involving your employees when defining the vision and goals for your OD initiative can include feedback and input options such as conducting inclusive workshops or brainstorming sessions to gather diverse perspectives. This can ensure goals reflect collective aspirations while strengthening employee commitments to objectives. Be mindful of what your culture is, what you want it to be, how people show up, and how you want to show up. Striving to align decision-making with the organizational values and culture can foster a sense of shared purpose and increase successful implementations.

Be aware of the "change overload". When designing the intervention we must take into account the amount of information and "changes" that teams are already doing.

Responding the Catalina below - absolutely. Cooperation is inversely related to stress; higher stress promotes more fragmentation. Lower stress allows for the building of cooperation. Building organizational performance requires time, and over rushing it will result in increased stress, fragmentation, and failure (with the exception of turnaround situations) And, as I often forget, part of the plan of change should include stuff to STOP doing.

Involving employees in organizational development initiatives and decisions also means informing them of progress and results. Regularly tracking, measuring, and sharing the progress of your initiatives can help employees understand the impact of their contributions and maintain their motivation to stay involved. Moreover, celebrating successes and recognizing individual and team efforts can foster a sense of accomplishment and pride in the organization, further reinforcing employees' commitment to the organization's development.

Communication along with creating cohorts that employees only champion the cause not just gives involvement also helps build credibility n continual agility Employees cross functional championing the projects and then taking lead for communication n closure is the key

An honest, open & transparent feedback system should be set up. A human resource function to drive the intervention maybe critical. This function will be open, free from harassment and backlash from the management/leadership and encourage open interactions on changes sort and feedback provided by all employees. Employees must have a sense of freedom of expression for this function to be utilized. Finally learning sessions on intervention and how it improves organizational operations with possibly performance improvement and acknowledgement be shared for staff appreciate and continue making inputs into the system.

Evaluation and celebration process entails the measurement of outcomes, their comparison with the established goals, and the recognition and rewarding of achievements. To ensure the accuracy, significance, and motivational impact of the evaluation and celebration, active employee involvement in the analysis and appreciation phases is essential. Multiple methods, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or recognition events, can be employed to engage employees in this process. By involving employees in the evaluation and celebration, their efforts, contributions, and impact can be duly validated, fostering a profound sense of satisfaction and pride.

While this article focuses on what to do once an OD initiative is in motion, my recommendation would be to not wait until something is in motion to engage with your employees. While it may seem obvious, it’s often overlooked. The burnout data is clear on how thin employees are running already. Coming to them only when you need something from them adds heavy burden to an already burdensome load. Consider finding ways to stay regularly engaged with your employees. Not only will this help you stay ahead of the gaps but also allows employees to be a key contributor to the priorities. People are far more likely to engage and participate if they feel the initiative is the result of their contributions.