You’re trying to teach a new skill to your team. How do you know if you should be a facilitator or a trainer?

1 Facilitation vs Training

Facilitation is a process of guiding a group of people through a learning experience, without imposing a specific agenda or solution. A facilitator helps the group define their goals, explore their options, and reach their own conclusions. Facilitation is useful when the group needs to collaborate, solve problems, or generate ideas. Training is a process of delivering a predefined content or skill to a group of people, with the aim of improving their performance or knowledge. A trainer sets the learning objectives, designs the curriculum, and evaluates the results. Training is useful when the group needs to acquire a standard or consistent skill or knowledge.

2 When to Facilitate

Facilitation is an important tool for your team to learn from each other, share perspectives, and create something new. It encourages active participation, creativity, and ownership of the learning process. Facilitation is appropriate in situations such as developing a vision or strategy for a project or organization, brainstorming or innovating a new product or service, and resolving conflicts or improving communication.

3 When to Train

Training is essential when your team needs to acquire a particular skill or knowledge that you or someone else can provide. This ensures that your team receives consistent and accurate information, feedback, and assessment. For instance, you may want to train your team on the usage of a new software, tool, or system. You may also want them to learn a new technique, method, procedure, regulation, policy, or standard. Training is the best way to ensure that all these are properly acquired.

4 How to Facilitate

If you decide to facilitate, it's important to prepare yourself and your team for a successful learning experience. You should begin by defining the purpose and scope of the facilitation session, including goals and expectations, as well as the amount of time and resources available. You should also consider the appropriate facilitation methods and techniques to engage the group, stimulate discussion, and manage conflicts. Additionally, it's important to create a safe and comfortable learning environment by establishing ground rules, norms, and roles that promote diversity, inclusion, and respect. Lastly, you should monitor and adjust the facilitation process by checking progress and feedback from the group, as well as dealing with any challenges or changes that arise.

5 How to Train

If you decide to train, it is essential to design and deliver a effective learning program for your team. To do this, you should conduct a training needs analysis to identify any gaps or opportunities in your team’s skill or knowledge. Then, develop a training plan and curriculum that outlines the structure, sequence, and delivery of the content or skill. Additionally, consider the appropriate training methods and media that will best present, demonstrate, and explain the content or skill. Finally, evaluate and improve the training program by measuring its impact and satisfaction, as well as collecting feedback and data.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?