The meeting and workshop facilitation service gives comprehensive support and help for customers to tackle the tough business problems they face and come up with solutions which stand a better chance of success.
Every session gets people thinking about key issues, contributing towards achievement of common goals and committing themselves to progressive action plans, which will work.
We start with understanding customers meeting requirements, business needs and desired outcome.
There are a range of facilitation tracks available, the track most relevant to customers specific needs is selected. It is modified and personalised to their meeting requirements.
Everyone's business is different and sometimes new tracks are designed and configured to customers precise requirements. An initial meeting will identify what is suitable.
Preparation
Our meetings are designed around a "track" that the facilitator follows, acting as a catalyst to get the desired results. The track is designed by working back from the meeting objectives and required deliverables. Some of the more popular tracks are
- strategic corporate planning workshops
- market planning strategy meetings
The tracks comprise a series of processes that support the attendees to:
- Achieve the result in minimum time
- Ensure decisions are made and all attendees have input and influence
- Negative conflict between people or departments are eliminated
- Complex issues simplified
- Meeting objectives are achieved
Interaction with the participants beforehand identifies individual concerns, establish realistic expectations and anticipate issues and pitfalls. The attendees roles, responsibilities, motivation and business culture are also explored.
This is usually conducted with short interviews with key influencers or decision makers who will attend the meeting. Telephone interviews are used with the rest of the team.
A sample meeting deliverable will be discussed in the preparation stage and used in the track to guide the attendees along the desired path.
The sessions
The session is started with the key principles of inform, excite, empower and involve. Preferably with input and endorsement from a key stakeholder in the business This starts the team working in the right direction and with enthusiasm and purpose.
We then use an innovative, proven method of interactive working that brings out the best in every group. Advanced tools and techniques that appeal to every culture, stimulating outstanding ideas, solutions and action plans. Imaginative planning tracks generate high levels of creativity, involvement and commitment.
We use a powerful planning and problem solving process with delivers high quality results in a fraction of the time; it focuses on key issues, breaks down barriers, stimulates creativity, gains long lasting commitment and generates productive action.
The facilitator acts as a guide, motivator, bridge builder, clairvoyant, peacemaker, taskmaster and praiser through the process.
The facilitator has strategies to keep personalities who tend to hog the floor, in check without loss of input or their interest.
People who are normally quiet or shy will be able to give idea's, influence and make decisions with neither threat nor fear.
Deliverables
The outcomes of the meeting will contain the objectives specified in the sample deliverable from the preparation stage
For example a strategic planning track might have the purpose of the meeting to "Develop the mission, broad goals, measurable objectives and specific strategies for the organisation"
The contents of the deliverable would be to include: situation analysis, mission, goals, objectives, success factors, barriers, strategies and action plans.
Usually the most important deliverables will be one or more of the following:
- Group action plan with relevant measures
- Departmental action plans with measurement criteria
- Individual action plan with objectives, methods and measurements
- Briefing agenda or other communication
