What is meant by ‘evidence from the organization’?

When referring to evidence from the organization we mean evidence such as organizational data, facts and figures, business analytics, management information systems, benchmarking, branch information, but also organizational culture and characteristics.

A manager or consultant who uses evidence, must take into account the facts of the situation in order to identify what kind of evidence from the organization is likely to be useful. When exit interviews are used to figure out what’s causing recent turnover, leavers who report a high incidence of job stress can direct the practitioner’s attention to evidence connecting stress with turnover. Knowing the facts of the situation make it easier to seek and use appropriate evidence to identify plausible explanations for a problem, useful interventions, and implementation requirements. Such organizational facts can involve relatively ‘soft’ elements such as organizational culture, employees’ educational level, labor skills, and management style, but can also include ‘harder’ figures such as turnover rates across various groups and departments, workload, and productivity trends.