STRATEGIC FACILITATION TRAINING

Facilitation Activities

SCP’s facilitators are masterful at getting to the core of the issues under discussion and capturing the essence of an individual’s or a team’s opinions, attitudes and observations. A sampling of the strategic planning activities that our facilitators adroitly execute follows: 

• Planning sessions are facilitated at various stages of our strategic planning projects: before the planning begins, mid-project to “check in” with leadership and key stakeholders to ensure schedules are being adhered to; and post-planning to monitor implementation and measure results.
• S.W.O.T. analyses are conducted by facilitators to examine a team’s or an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, in order to determine the positive aspects to build upon in furthering the organization’s mission and vision and the negative aspects that need to be improved upon.
• Innovation and thought leadership sessions provide the leadership team’s opportunity to explore new and innovative ideas for moving their organization forward.
• Key stakeholder interviews are typically conducted on an individual basis with as many stakeholders as is deemed necessary. Key stakeholders may include local and state government administrators and officials; funding sources such as private foundations and individual donors; strategic partners and advocacy groups; peer groups; and competitors.
• Focus groups are facilitated to obtain insights and feedback on current and future programs and services. Collaborating with leadership, SCP facilitators create a targeted list of questions to be covered during the sessions and determine who will be invited to participate; thereafter, they summarize their findings and recommendations to guide leadership as the organization moves forward.
• Staff Satisfaction Surveys are critical if an organization is to properly identify areas that staff members feel are lacking and the ways in which they want leadership to consider their needs and desires. SCP facilitators are adept at designing and administering questionnaires that capture the depth and breadth of on-the-job experiences.
• Board of Directors Surveys typically consist of a series of open-ended questions that are modeled in a S.W.O.T.-style format. Additional questions are also included, many of which relate to the organization’s planning objectives and its core mission, vision and values.
• Leadership and Board Retreats are extremely important because they provide an extended opportunity for participants to share their ideas and hear the ideas of others. SCP facilitators expertly lead the discussions during retreats and “read the room” to make any adjustments should the topics of conversation veer from the subjects originally intended.
• Town Hall Meetings are utilized often by local government or nonprofit entities that are interested in garnering citizen input and to provide community information. The format and structure of town hall sessions are customized to align with the objectives of the session. Panel discussions, community roundtables, and Q&A sessions are examples of town hall formats that SCP facilitators have used to garner feedback.
• Team-Building Sessions are designed to increase team effectiveness; they are customized to address the client’s specific needs. SCP is adept at facilitating complex team dynamics in which trust, conflict, accountability, and productivity may need to be addressed. Utilizing a variety of tools and assessments, SCP can identify the specific issues and design a process to address the challenge.