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For any group
planning exercise the use of an external facilitator
to drive the group processes is highly recommended
as this will leverage the time, energy and resources of
the group.
In most cases
there is considerable cost involved in bringing a group
together for planning purposes. Not only are there the
hard costs of venue, travel, accommodation and
meals but also the opportunity costs of everyone's time
to attend. The total cost can easily run to many
thousands of dollars.
Investing in
the services of a good facilitator should improve your
ROI for the workshop.
A good
facilitator will:
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ensure that the program is
designed to achieve the desired outcomes for your
organisation within the allowed timeframes
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minimise the risks of the event not
achieving the desired results
-
assist you, "the client", in
planning and designing the process and to explore
the options for what is realistically achievable
within the agreed timeframes and the workshop
context
-
plan the event to include necessary
pre-work, information packs, workbooks,
presentations and work groups to make sure that the
workshop runs smoothly
-
enable the CEO and Senior Managers
to be part of the process without dominating it
-
give all participants the
opportunity to have their say through the use of
effective group processes
-
be skilled enough to alter the
process to meet the objectives of the workshop
should there be a need to change the agenda "on the
run"
-
use tools and processes in addition
to the workshop to add value to the process. For
example: pre-workshop on-line surveys and interviews
with key stakeholders to identify key issues and
strategies prior to the workshop
-
add value to the process far in
excess of their costs - in other words "a good
facilitator is a great investment"
A wealth of experience
Russell Cummings has had in excess of 20
years working as a group facilitator and has developed a
strong reputation for driving group planning and problem
solving processes to achieve positive outcomes.
He is comfortable working with small and large
groups and has facilitated groups as large as 250
participants to develop structured outcomes. Typically
most workshops involve between 20 and 40 participants.
Recent experience has involved the
facilitation of strategic planning workshops for a
number of national and regional organisations. The
workshop process in these cases, usually involves:
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a planning session (often by phone)
with workshop organisers
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interviews with key stakeholders to
determine priority issues and to understand the
context of the workshop and its proposed outcomes
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on-line surveys of stakeholders to
determine key issues
-
preparation of workshop agenda and
tailored workshop manuals to enhance workshop
productivity
-
facilitation of the workshop to
achieve desired outcomes
-
concise reporting of the workshop
outcomes
-
validation of outcomes with
stakeholders utilising on-line technologies
For more information on engaging Russell
Cummings to facilitate your next event, please
click here.
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