Professional Facilitation

How many ineffective meetings have you sat through in your career?

The cost of time lost after ineffective meetings amounts to $800,000 per year for every 1,000 employees, according to Harold Reimer. And when you consider there are over 11 million meetings held every day in the United States the lost value to a business is quite staggering.

What makes a meeting ineffective?

According to an “Expert Insight” article in the June 2000 issue of Inc. magazine authored by Interaction Associates, “…when a meeting leader is accountable for the meeting’s results, has a stake in its outcome, and is a key decision-maker, he or she can become so focused on the subject matter that the meeting process derails. The result? Nothing is accomplished, and both leader and participants leave feeling frustrated.” Another reason why a meeting is not effective is when the group does not take ownership of the meeting’s success starting with each individual taking ownership of their unique contribution to the meeting’s success. So what does all this have to do with facilitation? And, how can it help your bottom line?

What is facilitation?

90% of meeting problems are process problems. That means it is not about the content but how the content is presented, discussed and acted upon. I think a lot of us take for granted how we, or others run a meeting. However, taking for granted the meeting process does not make it work. A facilitator’s role is to build a process where people can be heard. A good facilitator is a person who makes it easier for people to understand each other, build agreement and take concerted action. And it’s extremely beneficial to have a neutral facilitator whose only vested interest is in the success of the group, especially in high conflict situations where it is critical to not have any vested interest in either position.

What does a facilitator do exactly?

A trained facilitator:

Guides groups towards their objectives
Assists people in building understanding and agreement
Brings out the best in all group members

When do you need to facilitate?

According to the Interaction Associates article mentioned above, “…a quick rule of thumb is when the content of the meeting takes more than 20% of the leader’s attention, it’s time for the leader to ask other members of the team or a neutral facilitator to step in.”

How do you measure the success of a meeting?

The success of a meeting is measured in results, process and relationships. By using the Interaction Method, the divisions of some organizations have been able to increase their overall productivity by 15%. And when you put that within the context of how many meetings are held every day, the costs savings are significant!

As Certified Facilitators, Convivium Partners LLC can help increase the value of your business:

Meeting Facilitation – For collaborative partnering, boards, executive and leadership teams, off-site retreats, all types of project kick-offs and work groups.

MVP Discoveries – Facilitated values based discovery workshops leading to a specific focus and an alignment of business goals.

Strategic Thinking and Planning – Strategic agility though understanding, “What does the future look like and what do we need to get there?”