Proposition:

Organizational Edge is a specialist Business Psychology consultancy, based in the UK. 

The heart of our business is the delivery of effective solutions and services based upon and applying sound psychological principles.  All solutions are tailored to meet the specific needs of our clients and draw upon our extensive experience and knowledge as business psychologists and client focused practitioners who deliver success. 

We enable organisations and people to succeed.  This success is achieved by providing competitive edge through developing collective and individual potential, the design and implementation of practical and powerful solutions, and the formulation of knowledge and understanding to support growth and change.  

Philosophical approach:  

Our name, Organizational Edge, is important to us.  Our work is about creating business and individual capability that enables people to achieve a ‘personal edge’, to provide a sustained and real ‘collective edge’, which delivers advantage to the business, providing ‘competitive edge’. 

Enabling Transition

There are two constant themes in our work that support this approach.  The first is transition.  Much of our work, with individuals, work groups and organisations is about enabling and achieving effective transition.  Whether it is an individual’s transition into a new senior role, or the transition of large scale organisational change, we have the ability to provide pragmatic and effective support. 

The Value of Identity

The second theme is about identity.  Value and meaning is associated with ‘belonging’ and being ‘part of something’.  At an individual level, the most important contributor to the sense of self now comes through the organisation to which a person belongs.  This has great significance in terms of an individual’s self esteem, commitment, sense of control and empowerment.  Enabling people to feel good about themselves because of the business to which they belong is a central factor in performance, retention and establishing an organisation with the advantage of edge.   

Organisations also have identity.  This is composed of the behaviours, values and beliefs that set them apart.  Understanding and shaping organisational identity is key to attracting and maintaining customers and clients, shaping the public perception of brand, attracting new employees, retaining current staff, and enabling people to perform to their best ability.  Here again, Organizational Edge has the ability to provide pragmatic and impactful support.  

Services:  

• Leaders and Leadership – The Direction of Success

Leadership is key to providing the direction for success.  We work with senior executives and team members, individually and collectively, to support them in the process of building their business. 

At a collective level this means facilitating and coaching work with the executive team and other senior teams leading different business functions.  It also often means working with critical teams, who are briefed to lead change, drive key interventions, or cross important business boundaries (strategic partners, suppliers and customers).

At an individual level this is frequently through the process of providing executive mentoring to directors and senior managers.  The reasons for such an intervention vary; frequently they are related to a transition in role from functional to corporate responsibility or to the provision of support during the early months of taking on a new role.  On other occasions the reasons are associated with nurturing and retaining talent, specific performance objectives, or the acceptance of new challenges.  However, in all cases the purpose is to benefit both the business and the individual.

Team:

• Developing strategy and direction
• Developing vision and values
• Establishing the corporate imperatives
• Shaping team behaviours and dynamics 

Individual:

• Mentoring and coaching of executives and senior managers
• Enabling conflict resolution
• Developing ‘power’ skills – to ‘get things done’ across boundaries and in a political context
• Supporting person-role and person-organisation fit 

• Structure, Shape and Culture – The Levers of Success

Organisations are complex social structures.  Competitive edge, performance and effectiveness are determined by culture, shape and functioning.  They are also determined by strategy development and business planning.

Together, these activities provide managers with the most powerful tools they have to bring about meaningful change.  Organizational Edge works with senior executives to develop and shape strategic decisions and interventions that equip an organisation to fulfil its objectives and achieve the desired growth.  This is carried out within the context of the organisation’s culture, structure and ways of operating.  At a tactical level we also work within the intervention process, providing strategic and consultancy support which is practical and often hands-on.

Organizational Edge recognises that many of the barriers to change are deeply rooted in the organisation’s unconscious, and visible within the culture and power structures.  We work closely with our clients to limit the impact of these barriers and to find alternative ways to deliver success.

• Organisational change
• Behavioural change
• Vision and Values
• Strategy development and change
• Organisational development

• Knowledge and Understanding – The Platform for Success 

Many clients have a specific subject they wish to be explored so that the data can be collected and interpreted to support decision making, to provide information or to evaluate recent activities.   

Organizational Edge will select the appropriate research methodology to suit a client’s need.  All research programmes are concluded with meaningful and practical reports and recommendations.  Very often additional reports are required to communicate with internal or external audiences.  These reports are tailored to meet the needs and interests of the receiving audiences. 

Some examples of research assignments: 

• Business partner research
• Client attitude survey
• Cost benefit analysis
• Culture audit
• Customer satisfaction survey
• Diversity research – to compare espoused statements and internal perceptions relating to gender issues
• Employee opinion survey
• External corporate perception – to explore issues associated with attraction and recruitment
• Literature reviews to inform decisions – political influencing
• Pulse checks – to track behavioural, attitudinal or value changes
• Training and development needs analysis   

Products:  

360˚ and 540˚ Feedback  

The use of 360 degree feedback processes can be a very powerful developmental tool.  Typically it is applied to an individual or group of individuals, but can also be readily used to explore changes or areas upon which development investment is required across specific employee groups or significant parts of the organisation. 

The 540 degree approach differs in the sense that it is also applied externally to the organisation, so as to include participant suppliers, customers and business partners. 

Organizational Edge believe that the full power of the process is only gained if the approach is developed within the context of the organisation.  This means that it explores the behaviours and attitudes that are relevant to an organisation now and as it grows into the future.  Consequently the purpose and objectives need to be clearly expressed at the outset, and the way in which the approach dovetails with existing systems (such as appraisals, goal setting, business planning, etc) needs to be carefully considered.   

Return on Investment (Development)  

This process is about assessing the cost benefit derived from development or change activities within an organisation.  Few organisations effectively measure the impact of interventions, and the cost benefit (or loss) is almost never calculated.  However, this is an activity that can be carried out in a meaningful and useful way.  Organizational Edge use an approach which is increasingly becoming a recognised, valid and reliable measure of HRM interventions within the research community (Yeung & Berman, 1977; Habershon, 1998).  

Through the use of this approach we are able to calculate the benefit of a programme or change activity to a client in terms of value creation, and this can be expressed in financial terms.  This is a distinguishing feature of Organizational Edge, setting us apart from competitors and providing additional control and information to clients. 

The overall process is straightforward:

We are happy to provide worked examples and demonstrate the power of this approach.

Charles Sutton