Keep Strategic Planning meetings on track and effectively work toward common objectives with Facilitation
Partner with us to improve communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making, while building stronger relationships and trust among team members.
As a small business owner, you are faced with many challenges that require effective decision-making, problem-solving, and strategic planning. To ensure your business grows and achieves its goals, it's important to have regular meetings where you can review your progress and make decisions about your future. That's where facilitation services come in.
Facilitation is a process that helps you and your team focus on your goals, identify opportunities and challenges, and make effective decisions. By partnering with a facilitator for your quarterly and annual strategic planning meetings, you can benefit from:
​
-
Improved communication and collaboration - A facilitator can help you and your team have open and honest discussions, encouraging everyone to share their thoughts and opinions in a constructive and non-judgmental environment.
-
Enhanced decision-making - A facilitator can help you and your team make informed decisions by providing structure and guiding you through a structured decision-making process.
-
Increased productivity - With a facilitator, you can focus on the content of your meetings and be confident that the meeting process is well managed, allowing you to achieve more in less time.
-
Objectivity and impartiality - A facilitator brings an impartial perspective to your meetings, allowing you to make decisions based on the facts, rather than personal opinions.
-
Achieving your goals - By partnering with a facilitator, you and your team can focus on your shared goals, ensure you are working effectively together, and make decisions that will help you achieve your desired outcomes.
By working with a Facilitator for your quarterly and annual strategic planning meetings, you can take your business to the next level, and ensure you are making the most of your time and resources. With a facilitator's help, you can make decisions that will drive your business forward, and achieve the success you deserve.
​
"A great servant is not one who merely carries out orders, but one who anticipates the needs of their group and helps guide them to a shared destination, leading by example and fostering collaboration along the way.”
-original quote created by OpenAI's GPT-3 language model
About this Service
​
Our Facilitation services are designed to help your Strategic Planning team work together effectively. This means improving communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making, while building stronger relationships and trust among team members. Our Facilitator will serve as a neutral third party and help move the meeting forward when the discussion is going off track.
​
Using our Combined Energy Approach™, we'll guide your leadership team through discussions for how to address your unique organization's most impactful and urgent objectives to make your vision a reality. Our experience will help boost productivity through the harnessing of improved teamwork, communication, effectiveness, and alignment.
​
If you already have a strategic plan, and just want someone to come in to run the meeting so all your top people can focus on the issues at hand, great! We're at your service, leave the meeting's organization and administrative duties to us.
What our In-person Facilitation services entail:
-
Meeting Prep Checklist​​
-
Daily Team Building Activity
-
Segue Activities
-
Full-Day Meeting Agenda
-
Review Previous Period​
-
Review Strategic Plan
-
Establish Objectives for Next Period
-
Group Discussion: Solutions for Key Obstacles and Barriers
-
Actionable Tasks
-
Conclusion
-
-
Meeting Notes​
-
Optional After-work Team Event
*For organizations that have yet to implement Strategic Planning, we recommend instead, to take a look at our Strategic Planning services. Click here for more details
FAQs
​
How do you grow your company and still provide meaningful solutions to your customers, without sacrificing quality?
​
Partner with Doxazo to Facilitate your organization's Strategic Planning sessions. We'll keep your leadership team on track while they quickly identify the most impactful goals and lay them out so your company can drive sustainable growth. For more information on Strategic Planning, check out our Strategic Planning service page.
​
...even if you have a busy schedule?
There's no better time to implement Facilitation if things are hectic. Taking advantage of Facilitation services can take some of the load off of your shoulders. If you're underwater but need to conduct your upcoming Strategic Planning meeting anyway, it doesn't make sense to forego this powerful solution that will so greatly help you and your stakeholders.
​
...even if there doesn't seem to be any money in the budget?
​
It is estimated that unproductive meetings cost companies nearly $40 billion each year across the globe. Strategic Planning meetings are the last kind of meetings you want to be unproductive. These meetings set the course for the company's future. Holding unproductive meetings costs the organization money because of employee time, but it costs a whole lot more than that if the Strategic Planning is unsuccessful. We offer this premium service for a reasonable price, and without productive Strategic Planning sessions, the costs could be astronomical; maybe not now, but one year, three years, or ten years down the road.
​
...even if your company is unique from all other companies?
​
Facilitation with Doxazo has a great deal of flexibility. Our goal is to work with you to meet your company's needs. We will modify our structure, offering, and even prices to accomplish this. In the end, our services need to meet both our standards, regardless of how unique our organizations might be.
​
...even if you have tried in the past and were unsuccessful?
​
Doxazo's Facilitators are more than just presenters and time-keepers. We specialize in Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, Process Improvement, and Risk Management (to name a few). We are highly-competent in these areas and are familiar with integrating all the major functions of business. Whatever the issues being discussed, whatever the solutions being proposed, we can help get everyone involved, keep it cordial, and push towards a consensus. If you've had a poor experience in the past, you are not alone. The reason we added this service to our offerings is to assist organizations that want to ensure successful Strategic Planning and secure their company's future.
​
...even if you don't think it's possible?
​
If you're not already holding Strategic Planning meetings on a quarterly basis, you should start because you could be scaling your organization rapidly while reducing your business-related frustrations. If you’re choosing not to engage in Strategic Planning, it’s only a matter of time before you are left behind by your competition (see our Strategic Planning service page for more details). However, if your company is conducting Strategic Planning sessions and you're not seeing the results you'd hoped for, Facilitation may be the answer.
​
...even if you think it would be better suited for down the road?
​
There's no better time to implement Facilitation if things are hectic. Taking advantage of Facilitation services can take some of the load off of your shoulders. If you're underwater but need to conduct your upcoming Strategic Planning meeting anyway, it doesn't make sense to forego this powerful solution that will so greatly help you and your stakeholders.
​
​
​
Why Doxazo
Like many other firms, we utilize best practices for Strategic Planning meeting Facilitation. This involves time management, active listening, conflict management, ensuring active participation, and pushing for consensus.
​
With that said, not all Facilitators are created equal. While we utilize similar practices as the competition, we must emphasize that we are not all cut from the same cloth. We believe in "striking while the iron is hot". If you're interested in pulling the trigger, you shouldn't have to wait. We're committed to getting you rolling within 2 weeks of initial contact (if you so desire).
​
We leverage tools and methods for improving Teamwork, Communication, Effectiveness, and Alignment (called the Combined Energy Approach™ ) to maximize productivity for a living. Although Facilitation only requires a short engagement between our organizations, your team will benefit from tips and tools to which they are exposed in the short time. We have found productivity is substantially amplified when everyone has the same goal, they're working together, information is flowing, and the root causes of issues are being solved.
At Doxazo, we care about delivering positive results. If you're not happy, we're not happy. It doesn’t cost you anything if you don’t feel value was received. Our guarantee states: “If when the work is done, the client does not feel that the full value was received, then the client decides how much it was worth and how much to pay (if anything).” That is how confident we are that we can deliver positive results.
.png)
About Facilitation
​
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):
-
Facilitation is a valuable tool for organizations and teams because Facilitators play an important role in helping them achieve their shared goals, leading to better outcomes and improved results.
-
A Facilitator can bring a fresh perspective, provide structure, and facilitate decision-making processes.
-
The benefits of partnering with a Facilitator include improved communication, increased productivity, enhanced collaboration, and better decision-making.
-
A Facilitator should possess skills such as effective communication, conflict resolution, active listening, and impartiality.
-
The frequency of use, duration, and lifetime of a Facilitator engagement can vary depending on the needs and goals of the team or organization.
-
Facilitation can be used in a variety of contexts, including team building, decision-making, problem-solving, and strategic planning.
-
Organizations and teams that would benefit from the use of a Facilitator include those facing communication breakdowns, conflicts, lack of progress, or difficulty making decisions.
Contact us today to hold more effective Strategic Planning meetings using our Facilitation services!
​
In This Article
What is meant by Facilitation?
Facilitation in business refers to the process of assisting a group in achieving its objectives by helping it to work together effectively. This can be achieved through facilitating communication, decision-making, problem-solving, and team-building among the group members.
A Facilitator acts as a neutral third party who helps the group to overcome obstacles, establish clear goals, and achieve its desired outcomes. The goal of facilitation is to support the group to work effectively towards a common objective while ensuring that all members are heard and engaged in the process.
An effective and successful Facilitator should possess the following skills, traits, and beliefs:
Skills:
-
Active listening: A Facilitator must be able to fully understand what group members are saying and respond in a meaningful way.
-
Communication: A Facilitator must have strong verbal and nonverbal communication skills.
-
Conflict resolution: A Facilitator should have the ability to mediate conflicts and find mutually acceptable solutions.
-
Organization: A Facilitator must be able to keep the group on track and ensure that all necessary steps are taken.
-
Adaptability: A Facilitator should be able to adapt to the needs of the group and modify the facilitation process as necessary.
Traits:
-
Empathy: A Facilitator must be able to understand and appreciate the perspectives and experiences of others.
-
Patience: A Facilitator must have the ability to remain calm and patient in stressful situations.
-
Creativity: A Facilitator should be able to think outside the box and find innovative solutions to complex problems.
-
Flexibility: A Facilitator must be able to adjust to changes and unexpected events.
-
Positive attitude: A Facilitator should have a positive and optimistic approach, even in challenging situations.
Beliefs:
-
Neutrality: A Facilitator must remain neutral and not take sides in group discussions.
-
Inclusiveness: A Facilitator must ensure that all group members have an equal opportunity to participate and contribute.
-
Collaboration: A Facilitator must believe in the power of collaboration and the ability of a group to achieve more together than alone.
-
Empowerment: A Facilitator must believe in empowering group members and helping them to take ownership of the process and outcomes.
-
Continuous learning: A Facilitator should have a growth mindset and believe in the importance of continuous learning and improvement.
Why would you partner with a Facilitator?
Partnering with a Facilitator can bring numerous benefits to a group or organization by improving communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making, and by building stronger relationships and trust among team members.
Let’s take a deeper look:
-
A Facilitator can help to improve communication within a group by creating an environment that encourages active listening, clear expression of ideas, and respectful discussion of differing opinions.
-
A Facilitator can help a group to be more productive by keeping discussions on track, identifying and addressing roadblocks, and facilitating decision-making processes.
-
A Facilitator can help to foster collaboration by encouraging all members to participate, promoting inclusiveness, and creating a positive and supportive environment.
-
A Facilitator can assist in resolving conflicts by mediating discussions, facilitating negotiations, and helping to find mutually acceptable solutions.
-
A Facilitator can help a group to be more effective in problem-solving by providing structure, guiding discussions, and promoting creative thinking.
-
A Facilitator can encourage creativity by fostering an environment that values new ideas and encourages experimentation.
-
A Facilitator can help promote effective decision-making by ensuring that decisions are made in a fair, transparent, and inclusive manner, leading to better buy-in and implementation.
-
A Facilitator can help to build stronger relationships and trust among team members by promoting open communication, shared goals, and a positive team dynamic.
-
A Facilitator can help to build the confidence of individual team members by empowering them to take ownership of the process and outcomes, and by promoting inclusiveness and equal participation.
Who needs a Facilitator?
Companies and groups of any size, industry, or type can benefit from the use of a Facilitator. The role of a Facilitator is to assist groups in working together effectively, overcoming challenges, and achieving their shared objectives. Some examples of teams that benefit from the use of a Facilitator include:
-
Teams within large organizations: A Facilitator helps them work together more effectively and efficiently, overcome communication barriers, and achieve shared goals.
-
Cross-functional teams: Teams that involve employees from different departments or areas of expertise can benefit from a Facilitator to help them work together effectively and achieve their shared goals.
-
Project teams: Teams that are working on complex or high-stakes projects can benefit from a Facilitator to help them stay on track, resolve conflicts, and make effective decisions.
-
Teams undergoing change: Teams undergoing significant changes, such as restructuring, reorganization, or a merger, can benefit from a Facilitator to help them navigate the transition and work together effectively.
-
Teams in a virtual environment: Teams that are working remotely or in a virtual environment can benefit from a Facilitator to help them overcome communication barriers and work together effectively, despite being geographically dispersed.
-
Community groups: Community groups and non-profit organizations can benefit from a Facilitator to help them achieve their goals, resolve conflicts, and engage all members in the process.
When is it time to partner with a Facilitator?
There are several signs that it might be time to partner with a Facilitator:
-
Communication breakdowns: If team members are having difficulty communicating effectively with one another, a Facilitator can help to improve communication and build stronger relationships among team members.
-
Lack of progress: If a team is struggling to make progress toward their goals, a Facilitator can help to identify roadblocks, provide structure, and facilitate decision-making processes.
-
Conflicts among team members: If conflicts are preventing a team from working together effectively, a Facilitator can assist in resolving conflicts and building stronger relationships among team members.
-
Difficulty in making decisions: If a team is having difficulty making decisions, a Facilitator can help to ensure that decisions are made in a fair, transparent, and inclusive manner.
-
Need for increased creativity: If a team wants to stimulate creative thinking and innovation, a Facilitator can help to create an environment that encourages and supports creative thinking.
-
Remote or virtual work: If a team is working remotely or in a virtual environment, a Facilitator can help to overcome communication barriers and build stronger relationships among team members.
-
Change management: If a team is undergoing significant changes, such as restructuring, reorganization, or a merger, a Facilitator can help to navigate the transition and ensure that all team members are engaged and working effectively together.
These are some of the signs that it might be time to partner with a Facilitator. A Facilitator can bring numerous benefits to a team or organization, including improved communication, increased productivity, enhanced collaboration, and better decision-making.
How partnering with a Facilitator works
Once a Facilitator has been hired, their role is to work with the team or organization to help them achieve their shared goals, resolve challenges, and build stronger relationships. This might involve conducting workshops, facilitating discussions, providing coaching and mentoring, and assisting with decision-making processes.
The steps for partnering with a Facilitator are as follows:
-
Choose the right Facilitator: Once the need for a Facilitator has been identified, the right Facilitator must be chosen for the job. This might involve considering factors such as experience, expertise, references, and cost.
-
Define the scope of work: The scope of work should be defined in advance, including the goals, objectives, and expectations for the engagement. This will ensure that everyone is clear on what the Facilitator is expected to do and what outcomes are desired.
-
Schedule and plan the engagement: The Facilitator and the team or organization should work together to schedule and plan the engagement, including determining the timeline, location, and logistics.
-
Facilitation engagement: The Facilitator will then engage with the team or organization to help them achieve their shared goals. This might involve conducting workshops, leading team-building exercises, facilitating discussions, or providing coaching and mentoring.
-
Follow-up and review: Once the engagement is complete, the Facilitator should follow up with the team or organization to ensure that the desired outcomes have been achieved and to provide feedback and recommendations for future work.
How often should a Facilitator be used?
The frequency of use for a Facilitator can vary depending on the needs and goals of the team or organization. Some organizations might only use a Facilitator once or twice a year for specific projects or initiatives, while others might engage a Facilitator on a more ongoing basis.
The duration of each engagement can also vary, ranging from a half-day workshop to several days of facilitated sessions, depending on the complexity of the issue and the size of the team.
The lifetime of a Facilitator's engagement can also vary. In some cases, a Facilitator might be engaged for a one-time project or initiative, while in others, the engagement might be ongoing, with regular check-ins and follow-up sessions to ensure that the desired outcomes are being achieved.
Conclusion
Facilitation is a valuable tool for organizations and teams seeking to improve communication, resolve challenges, and achieve their shared goals. A Facilitator can bring a fresh perspective, provide structure, and facilitate decision-making processes, helping teams and organizations to work more effectively together.
The benefits of partnering with a Facilitator are numerous, including improved communication, increased productivity, enhanced collaboration, and better decision-making. The steps for partnering with a Facilitator include choosing the right Facilitator, defining the scope of work, scheduling and planning the engagement, and following up and reviewing the outcomes.
The frequency of use, duration, and lifetime of a Facilitator engagement can vary depending on the needs and goals of the team or organization. Some organizations might use a Facilitator once or twice a year for specific projects, while others might engage a Facilitator on an ongoing basis for multiple projects or initiatives.
In summary, facilitation is a valuable tool for organizations and teams, and Facilitators play an important role in helping teams and organizations achieve their shared goals. By partnering with a Facilitator, organizations, and teams can improve communication, resolve challenges, and enhance collaboration, leading to better outcomes and improved results.
Contact us today to hold more effective Strategic Planning meetings using our Facilitation services!
