Organisational Development

What does a facilitator do?

The process of facilitation is to provide leadership to a group in a meeting or development session without taking control. The facilitator is responsible for designing and carrying out the processes which will help people work together effectively to achieve the aims of the event. Effective facilitation can make the difference between a session being successful or not.

The person who facilitates a team building event has two main areas to consider:

What

Deciding what subjects are to be addressed and what goals and outcomes are to be achieved.

How

How will the group achieve the desired aims and outcomes will be through a process designed by the facilitator. The facilitator  will:

• design or select the activities and exercises to be included in the event
• manage the running of the event
• ensure all individuals engage in the process and gets the opportunity to participate 

Ideas for tools which can be used in the design of an event can be found in Facilitator Tools

The facilitator is responsible for the preparation, conducting, concluding and following-up of an effective event.

• be familiar with and understand the needs of the team
• design the content and structure of the event
• plan the activity
• create agenda
• book and set up room
• invite participants
• communicate agenda in advance

• introduces the event
• manages how the meeting runs
• sets the scene for the event and explaining the background
• establishes the ground rules
• talks through the aims and outcomes.
• guides and manages the process objectively, remaining neutral, not getting involved
• manages discussions and interactions
• summarises when necessary and ensures that all team members are involved in the process. 

• summarises the outcomes of the event
• record decisions reached by team during event
• captures action plan with next steps from team
• follows up with team after the event

When running a group session it is important to consider the issues to be discussed and the outcomes to be achieved when deciding how the event should be facilitated. There are pros and cons to using both external and internal facilitators. To ensure a successful outcome it is important to decide whether an internal or external facilitator would be the more appropriate person to use. 

Internal facilitators:

• have a detailed knowledge of the organisation
• often have knowledge of the context and issues to be discussed
• are skilled in facilitation techniques but this is not their sole role
• know many of the participants and stakeholders involved in the group process
• can assist groups in making process related decisions
• may be more cost effective than hiring an external facilitator.
• may have assumptions and biases about the content / issues
• may be perceived as biased
• can inhibit group output
• may be reluctant to challenge those in authority

External facilitators:

• neutral and impartial
• willing to ask difficult questions
• do not participate in content related discussions/decisions
• helpful when topic is controversial/challenging/likely to raise strong opinions
• provide an objective point of view
• will take time to become familiar with the issues/context/those involved
• need to build trust
• require a fee for their service
• do not want to risk an unsuccessful group/process
• selection process needs to take place to ensure an effective facilitator is employed for the process which may involve testimonials/references

There are numerous instruments, activities and tools which a facilitator can use to stimulate discussion in a group and which can help make the team building process an interesting and effective event, examples of activities and tools available can be found in Facilitator Tools