At GDQ Associates, our goal is to offer tools aimed at facilitating information gathering and mapping for analysis of a team’s current conditions, strengths and areas for development. For that reason, from 1 October 2021 we are extending My GDQ Management with the Organisational Support Checklist (OSC) tool.
In her book on creating effective teams, Susan Wheelan presents a checklist for organisational support – OSC. It is a useful tool for mapping areas for development linked to a team’s organisational context. The questions included in the checklist summarise the team members’ perceptions of the organisational culture, mission clarity, task and technology, autonomy and access, feedback and recognition, training and development and training quality.
When is it appropriate to use an OSC?
As we know, most teams are part of an organisational context that often has a decisive impact on the team’s efforts. A team therefore needs to be provided with the right conditions by the organisation to enable it to be effective. An OSC is a tool that is well suited as a complement to any analysis of the team’s processes and stage assessment to enable an overall picture of the team’s core problems and their potential causes to be obtained.
What information is provided through an OSC?
The information obtained through an OSC is aimed at mapping and evaluating the support a team receives within the organisation. The section analysis included in the OSC report can serve as an aid in identifying areas with strong organisational support and areas where the organisational support needs to be improved. The results are reported at group level and the supporting documentation can also be used to plan measures.
What does the OSC report contain?
The report contains a brief theoretical description which focuses on the type of support that groups benefit from and may require within an organisation. The team’s perception of the organisational support is compiled in a section assessment and section analysis in which the areas requiring more focus, according to the group, are marked. The report also includes an intervention template that can be used as a starting point for a behavioural analysis based on selected focus areas.
What is required in order to use an OSC?
You need to be a certified GDQ consultant in order to manage the tool. You will find a guide on how to create an OSC measurement, a sample report and a manual on how to interpret the report at My GDQ Management. You can read more about our certifications here.