Ensuring a successful relationship and outcomes
Facilitated events and sessions often involve significant investment of resources: above all the investment of people’s time away from their ‘day’ jobs. We believe that there are key stages in planning and delivery that are essential to ensure maximum return on this investment.
At an early stage, we feel it is essential to talk through in detail with a client:
• Who needs to be included in a session or an event? For example, have we included:
those with authority and influence that can make necessary changes happen and put proposals into practice?
those whose buy in and support is essential for success?
those at the sharp end who can identify the practical challenges ahead and act as reality checkers?
those who will act as devils’ advocates and, by doing so, really sharpen up our thinking? And last but certainly not least,
those who will be directly affected by the proposals that emerge from discussions?
We believe that the make up of who is included in an event is as important as its content.
• The focus for discussions: where we want to get to and how we can get there.
• The number of people who should be involved in a facilitated session or an event and the length of session (half-day, away day, 24 hour overnight event) that is needed to yield the outcomes that we're looking for.
As a rule of thumb, if relationship building is a key factor in achieving a successful outcome, time needs to be given to allow this to happen.
• What needs to happen following the event, or between coaching or mentoring sessions, to maintain momentum and take ideas and proposals forward?
At least one week before an event we circulate to all participants a background paper that includes an agenda, the goals we want to achieve and the issues we need to consider, and a brief description of the way in which we want handle our discussions.
We have a team of professional facilitators each of whom draws on a wide range of techniques and experiences of working with very different types of large and small groups.
We also have a team of consultants who can provide in-depth expertise and relevant up to date experience in many areas of education, skills, employment, and inclusion policy and practice. We involve them in events as ‘experts’ when appropriate.
We are continually developing the facilitation approaches and techniques we use and, as part of our quality assurance model, encourage participants to give verbal and written feedback on how fit for purpose they feel our approach has been in achieving the outcomes we were aiming for.
Within 10 working days of an event we produce for a client a draft report of the key outcomes that have emerged from discussions. We guarantee that within 2 days of having feedback on the draft report, we will make any necessary amendments and circulate it to all participants. If desired, we are also happy to publish reports on the Open Agenda website and/or circulate the report more widely to selected audiences.
We are asked frequently to provide different types of support following events to help clients maintain momentum and put ideas developed into practice. We are happy to do this and, wherever possible, ensure that the team involved in the facilitation continue to work with client to provide continuity.
For example, we provide change management mentoring, coaching and reality checking services that clients find especially helpful when faced with the challenge of taking forward and managing significant changes to both business focus and roles and responsibilities within their organisations.