Change is the Buzzword

Given the evolving nature of the business environment, an ‘open organization’ culture seems has become the buzzword in human resources (HR) circles. But what is an ‘open organization’ and does the concept really work? 

First, lets look at what is an ‘open’ organization. Dr Uday Parikh talks about ‘OCTOPAC’ as a pattern for the development of human resources in an organization. OCTOPAC stands for openness, confrontation, trust, autonomy, proactiveness, authenticity and collaboration. According to me, the following characteristics differentiate an ‘open organization’ from a traditional one.

• A place of work where the employees ‘belong’ to the organization.
• Where there is open communication between the management and the employees.
• Where organization is not hierarchical.
• Where the processes are transparent.
• An organization that is open to change. 
• An organization that takes care of its employees because it believes that the employees are its strength —an organization where the employees are thought of and cared for.
• Where learning is encouraged.

In a traditional organization, the top management takes all the decisions that are enforced on the employees. The organization structure has many layers of management–senior, middle and junior managers who are more of policy enforcers.

Communication is generally one—way where there is not much scope for feedback. For the management, employees are resources that need to be utilized efficiently to produce results. Structures and policies are laid out and are not evaluated often and any change spells instability.

In an open organization on the other hand, even though the senior management makes the decisions, it is after discussion and deliberation with the majority. This way, all the employees are party to the decision being taken. 

The manager plays more of a mentor’s role in an open organization. The communication here is two ways — the management is as much open to feedback and suggestions as it is to giving feedback. The employees are considered important resources that need to be nurtured and groomed. Therefore, a lot of emphasis is given to coaching and training. In an open organization, existing processes are questioned for their future relevance. 

How real is the open organization culture? 

For instance, the founders of Vedaris Technologies had thought of an open system of management. The organization structure is almost flat which does away with unnecessary hierarchy. All important management decisions are communicated through open company meetings. This helps in creating a sense of ‘ownership’ among the employees. Here, employees are inspired to go beyond their job roles and be responsible for everything that affects the organization’s objectives. A fact sheet about each team’s performance is put up on the notice board, which makes the team aware of its performance and targets. 

The company endorses the view that businesses don’t deliver value to customers- people do, and this is the guiding spirit. Beside this, the company also lays a lot of emphasis on being a learning organization. Based on the model of collective learning, it not only encourages the questioning of assumptions, but has a people oriented focus, rather than being policy or procedure oriented. 

Apart from features like flexible office timings, the company has created a ‘help desk’ and other avenues for informal chats. 

Does it have its negatives? 

Sure. It’s much simpler to ‘enforce’ than to discuss and create. As a result, at times, the decisions take time to be implemented since we go through a series of meetings to ascertain that everyone is aligned to the decision. I see a lot of relevance for an ‘open’ organization especially in the IT industry. An ‘open’ organization is synonymous with qualities like flexibility, change and adaptability. Going the ‘open organization’ way sure seems to be a trend that is relevant today and is here to stay.

The author is head, HR, Vedaris Technology