What do you do if your employee development program lacks effective facilitation techniques?

Every job can use facilitation skills. Determine how extensive the skills need to be, e.g., a Facilitator needs extensive skills to facilitate a variety of topics, an analyst needs somewhat less extensive skills to facilitate some topics related to analysis, others may need better meeting skills (facilitation skills). Avoid over-training or under-training.

Facilitation is an absolute essential part of any leadership role and should therefore be a natural part of an employee development program. Weaving it wisely into the program let employees explore naturally techniques and its effect and meet them on their specific need for further development. Learning by doing is the key to make it work.

It is crucial to measure the results before and after development to understand the impact of the development activities. Delivering training for the sake of it will rarely deliver the desired results.

First what we need to discuss and understand with the team is wether the employees are considering “ Career Breathe “ ( expanding their scope in many fields) or “ Career Depth “ ( they are trying to become experts in one particular area in the current work) or a career progression. Depending on their attitude we should change the training methods, delivery not forgetting to communicate how the training will align their personal aspirations.

1. Identify the specific areas where facilitation is lacking: Review feedback from participants, analyze performance data, and observe training sessions to determine which aspects of facilitation need improvement. 2. Provide training for facilitators: Offer training sessions or workshops to improve facilitation skills, such as active listening, group leadership, and conflict resolution. 3. Encourage feedback and reflection: Create opportunities for facilitators to receive feedback from participants and peers, and to reflect on their own performance to identify areas for growth.

Training facilitators is critical. The International Association of Facilitators (IAF) lists the core competencies of a facilitator and lists training programs endorsed by them to cover all the competencies and provide practice. These relate to group facilitation. Facilitators and trainers are different.

Keep in mind it's unlikely you will have a facilitator ready to go, you'll either have subject matter expert who doesn't have much experience facilitating that knowledge to others with different learning abilities, or you will have an experienced facilitator who needs to spend time getting up to speed on the material. Provide the support they need where you can, and realise that both kinds of facilitators will need time and work to get to where they can add value. If you find someone who is a great facilitator and an expert, hold onto them!

Building competencies and capabilities for facilitators can happen through formal education and mentoring, but providing a feedback mechanism is also critical for their continued growth. The challenge is clearly articulating where the gaps exist in the performance of the facilitators. There are a large number of core competencies for facilitation listed by some different groups. Still, it comes down to the outcomes your organization hopes to achieve in a facilitated session. Once you understand the outcome, you can develop a training plan that will make the facilitator more successful and your organization's programs more effective.

Essential to equip people managers with facilitation skills. At the same time, to review and re-design management program with enhanced impact for the learners.

Based on my experience as a facilitator, it is imperative to acquire a fundamental skill, which I refer to as 'Open Senses' : Listen, Observe, Perceive, Connect. Something that can be learned! It is essential to broaden our perceptions by actively listening, keenly observing, and deeply perceiving. Establishing genuine connections with participants fosters trust and engagement, creating an environment conducive to learning and growth. During accompanied sessions, for instance, facilitators can enhance their active listening skills, pay attention to non-verbal cues for participant involvement, and establish personal connections to enhance rapport and cooperation.

In my experience, incorporating interactive and engaging activities can enhance the effectiveness of a development program. Encourage facilitators to use a variety of instructional methods, such as group discussions, case studies, role-playing, and experiential learning exercises, to stimulate participation and promote active learning. By creating dynamic and interactive sessions, facilitators can capture participants' interest and facilitate deeper learning and skill development.

Here are some of the techniques I use when creating learning environments to engage the group and foster open communication: - I organize walking discussions, where the group can engage in candid conversations while enjoying a change of scenery. - I facilitate decoding activities, where we analyze the meanings of words and phrases and explore how they can be interpreted differently by each individual. This often leads to insightful discussions about communication breakdowns and moments of tension.

LMS modules will not help facilitation techniques by themselves, however if you know the module back to front and then follow them up with debriefs and discussion, it can be a good way to naturally start a collaborative environment. When people are about to engage with the LMS, make them aware that you will be having a debrief and that they should note down any questions they have during the module and also some of the things they thought were interesting or stood out. For other technology, such as a platform to deliver facilitation virtually, take time to actually use it to put it through its paces and learn how to efficiently do what you need it to do so it appears effortless by the time you need it.

Using news technologies is for sure essential today (saving time / money - easy to deploy in a large perimeter ...) However you must monitor the results if you want a ROI, check how employees use it after and be sure that : - they are all trained to use the technologie easily - they have an easy access to the technologie A mix between technology and real interaction is maybe a good compromise !

Distinguish Program Needs, Employee Needs, and Facilitator Needs: Understanding the distinct needs of the program, employees, and facilitators is paramount for tailored interventions. Program needs may involve aligning development objectives with organizational goals, while employee needs could range from skill enhancement to career advancement opportunities. Furthermore, facilitators require support tailored to their capacities and challenges when guiding program implementation. Interventions can be precisely addressed for the best results by discerning these needs.

One thing I've found helpful is to establish a culture of feedback and continuous improvement within the development program. Encourage participants to provide feedback on facilitators' performance, instructional methods, and overall program effectiveness. Use this feedback to identify areas for improvement and implement changes to enhance facilitation techniques. Additionally, conduct regular evaluations and assessments of the development program to measure its impact and identify areas where facilitation techniques can be further refined. By soliciting feedback and continuously striving for improvement, you can ensure that the development program meets the needs of participants and achieves its intended objectives effectively.

I totally get it. Some feedback is greatly insightful but there are some things that those bringing that feedback to the table just aren’t a part of some conversations. BUT that doesn’t mean you cannot engage with them on solutions. I believe honesty is the most important element you are in a feedback conversation. Honesty with yourself as the facilitator and honesty with the employee.

Feedback not only from participants but from other facilitators. This doesn't need to be formal either. As a facilitator I've found immense value in co-teaching and co-facilitation because through observation and self refelection their is mutual learning that occurs. With co-facilitation, the best models alternate who is a lead facilitator and who is a support facilitator. The lead facilitator presents and discusses and the support facilitator may record on a whiteboard or pepper in their own supportive examples and anecdotes.

1. Go for "around the room" technique. It is a method of the facilitator walking around the room and ask the group for their opinions. It helps in bringing fresh perspectives. 2. Ask "open ended " questions to create maximum engagement with the group. It brings in more insight and discoveries. 3. Create " energisers" moments to elevate the energy by engaging in fun activities. This shakes the stagnancy and brings in more vitality.

Get outside help! I always tell people, "It's hard to read the label from inside of the jar." In other words, if it's not working, get some expert guidance on training your folks. There's no shame in bringing in the experts. In fact, it shows a great deal of professional maturity.

If you can’t find options in your current development environment, switch it up. Find mentorship or a Community of Practice. Give Toastmasters a chance. When a plant doesn’t grow in the environment, change the environment.

What's my role? If I am an attendee, supervisor or co-facilitator, my follow up will vary. If I have rapport or a relationship, before offering feedback, I would ask, check to see if feedback is wanted. If permission is granted, I would begin by asking their impressions on what went well and what they think should be change. From there, we'll discuss areas they want to improve and take ut from there.

Depends on my role :) If I am responsible for the program (or lobby for it) then I either find a way to add or offer a stand-alone facilitation workshop. If you have credibility in the area, design a killer program, sell the program well, emphasize the difference it can make in participants' lives in the future, people will show up wanting to learn. If it is not a priority for them or do not understand the value of it, they will not show up.