Why Hire a Professional Facilitator?
When it comes to hiring a professional facilitator, people typically think of large, landmark events like global forums, annual strategy meetings, or executive retreats. Companies feel “justified” in hiring a professional group facilitator for these high-profile events because of the heightened visibility. But these companies are missing an opportunity to utilize group facilitation and the results it can produce on a regular basis.
And indeed, the data shows that using a professional facilitator is smart business. According to MGR Consulting, using a professional facilitator can:
Save time – a professional facilitator can reduce the time to complete a project by ¾.
Save money – save 75% of typical spending on employee hours.
Get more done – a facilitated workshop can produce up to 8 weeks of project requirements in 3 days.
Increase quality – fewer mistakes and changes are made down the road because the facilitation process leads to consensus-based and thoroughly thought-through ideas.
Increase innovation – additional new ideas may be of broader organizational value.
Enhance communication between all stakeholders involved.
Improve morale by including participants in discussion and decision-making.
Although facilitators can be helpful for any team or project, there are three key scenarios that signal to an organization it’s time to bring in a facilitator.
Sometimes just one scenario may be at play within a project. In other circumstances, you may find that all three are happening due to one project and the absolute best investment you can make is to bring in a professional facilitator.
Read or watch the video below for each scenario to learn how a professional facilitator could ease stress, create group cohesion, improve problem-solving, and unlock new pathways to results.
Scenario One
When you have diverse stakeholders and need to create an egalitarian space for contribution, collaboration, and alignment.
In this scenario, a professional facilitator adds an element of objectivity and distance from the politics, emotions, and personalities that may be attached to a project. The facilitator’s role is to create a safe, non-judgmental space for conversation and collaboration.
In this role, the facilitator acts as a negotiator or a referee, helping all voices hear each other, and offering compromises that set the project on a path of mutual alignment and agreement about the way forward.
Scenario Two
When you are too close to a problem or stuck.
This often happens when teams are working on complex, messy challenges or are launching new initiatives, campaigns, products, or services. In these circumstances, there are typically high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity and it can be difficult to navigate the many variables and lack of direction.
In this case, your facilitator, with their outsider's perspective can reveal blind spots, ask the right questions and maybe even redefine the problem. In some cases, the facilitator can help teams have difficult conversations about what is not working and provide a path forward.
Scenario Three
When you don’t have the time and/or resources to prepare a session that will lead to a productive outcome.
Many times, we know that facilitated sessions are the right next steps for a project or a team, but we just don’t have the time needed to design a session that will lead to the right outcomes. The truth of the matter is that just because a facilitated session is the right tool, doesn't mean that it will lead to the outcome you want. What makes or breaks a facilitation is the design and execution of the session.
Gathering a team together around a virtual or in-person whiteboard in no way guarantees quality outcomes, and in some instances, a poorly designed or executed facilitation actually wastes time and discourages attendees.
What matters is …
1) the design and participant experience of the session.
Were participants surveyed in advance about their preferences?
How many introverts vs. extroverts are there?
Women vs. men?
Minorities?
How is the facilitator setting the stage for the session (tone, mindset, narrative)?
How is the facilitator preparing the participants to change from cerebral mode (working on tasks) to limbic mode (mind-wandering, exploration, blue-sky thinking)?
How were exercises chosen?
Are you following a framework?
How does each exercise flow into the next and create a comprehensive experience for the participants?
How does each exercise account for different learning styles? Common learning styles include group, solo, visual, auditory, tactile, etc.
If the workshop is virtual, what platform(s) are you using and what does this mean for the user experience?
2) the execution of the session.
How is the facilitator ensuring all voices are heard?
How is the facilitator monitoring time?
What techniques is the facilitator using to make people feel safe?
How does the facilitator re-direct and handle conflict?
Have you ever thought, why would I hire a professional facilitator for this internal meeting? The facilitator couldn’t understand the intimate details and idiosyncrasies of our project. Perhaps we get overwhelmed by the idea of searching for a “unicorn facilitator” who is both a facilitator and a technical expert on the project topic.
But an excellent facilitator can produce outstanding results because of those reasons. Great professional facilitators are content agnostic, their focus is asking you the right questions to develop a process that unlocks new value. Their goal isn’t to solve the problem for you (though oftentimes facilitators do contribute unexpected new ideas), it’s to create a reflective and exploratory path and guide you to answer the questions for yourself.
The facilitator is responsible for getting you where you need to be by revealing obstacles, designing the right process, and adapting along the sense-making journey to set you on a course to success. Additionally, personal growth, team growth, and group cohesion are often byproducts of an excellent facilitation experience.