What is team facilitation and how does it work?

Team facilitation is using a team facilitator as a guide through problem solving, training, workshops, etc to be the guide for company decisions and break thru.

A team facilitator is a tool a company will often use to help bring their teams together under several difficult circumstances. Team facilitators work with several different teams of professionals.

Sometimes teams need to work together on their process of working, or need to collectively agree a way forward when things are not working well. Having an experienced facilitator to help with the process provides a structure and an environment, which is more conducive to the team reaching a satisfactory outcome.

A variety of methods for running a facilitation session can be used; with a little research, you will be able to find the right choice for you. Facilitation sessions are usually half-day or one whole day.

Here is a list of some of the types of companies that use team facilitators.

- Physician teams
- Board of directors
- Executive teams
- Cross-function teams
- Whole departments
- Entire company meetings

The tools that are often times used with the team facilitators are:

- Executive retreats
- Planning sessions
- Problem solving sessions
- Focus groups
- Communicating, gathering input on major initiatives

Here is an example of how facilitation can work.

After a merger, a large hospital operating room with more than 150 nurses and technicians had a divided culture, both geographically and philosophically.Authority broke down, along with high standards and mutual respect. New recruits were hard to come by and tough to keep.

Through our collaborative change process, trust was rebuilt, effective responsibility and authority levels were established, the structure was modified and the work procedures were successfully standardized.

The result from these actions was.Turnover is drastically reduced, the quality of patient care has soared and this healthy OR is now a magnet for new graduates.

Facilitation is the process of making something easier. That is the main goal in any situation, make the situation work with the highest level of efficiency and do this with as much ease as possible.

The facilitation companies are rapidly becoming a national leader in providing dynamic, professional facilitator meetings, strategic planning and overall team success.

A team facilitators will make sure that the notes are kept accurately through meetings, help resolve issues with barriers, create innovation to obtain new and successful ideas, will help find new forms of tools to help resolve problems, will explain concerns or cautions, and will cover policies and procedures.

A team facilitator is expected to have a strong sense of leadership. They are people who can get other people to think out of the box. They will have to solicit participation from all members of the groups. These facilitators will have to keep the team on task, help the team synthesize individual responses, shift conversations away from unproductive areas, and keep the overall team focus.

When working with people, the team facilitator will improve the effectiveness of meetings, navigate the path and journey toward creating a more cohesive group that will be more productive, and bring about better results.

Skilled facilitation will neutrally manage with structure and methodology that will help the company accomplish their goals.

The facilitation will be an opportunity for growth, questions and answers, organization and overall team building. Using all the tools available will help increase the success of the company.