Meeting Facilitators: Why You Want to Hire One

Make Meetings Count: Meeting Facilitators and Why You Want to Hire One

“Successful organizations do not treat meetings as a necessary evil. Instead, they view them as a strategic resource and seek out ways to get the most from them.” – The Science and Fiction of Meetings

Have you had enough stale meeting pastries and bad coffee to last you the rest of your life? Are the big annual meetings starting to feel like scenes from “Ground Hog Day” (same stuff different day). You’re not alone. If your teams are spending too much time in meetings and getting too little done, a meeting facilitator may be the answer.

What is a meeting facilitator?  Meeting facilitators are outside resources that are used in a variety of capacities to help important meetings (typically ones on a grander scale) result in fantastic outcomes. If you don’t have enough time to prepare for these critical meetings, if you’re having difficulty keeping the participants on track, or if you’re feeling more like a facilitator when you need to be a participator, a new pair of eyes and ears can help. We help with meetings such as:

• Strategic Planning Meetings

• Board Meetings

• Change Management Meetings

• Council Advisory Meetings

• Board Retreats

• Company Retreats

• Committee Meetings

• Annual Company Conferences

• Association Council Meetings

Meeting facilitators can do everything from create your meeting agenda, develop the meeting content, write speeches and, ultimately, run all or parts of the meeting. The job of the facilitator is to lend an experienced and non-biased perspective and offer expertise on all aspects of the meeting. We keep the meeting open, creative, engaging and on-track.

How it works: Before your meeting, facilitators help you to design the agenda, find high quality (value-added) speakers, design the meeting space, create the activities, develop the supply list and assist with creating the “run of show” (the minute by minute time/logistics plan). During the meeting, the facilitator functions as the Director of Communications. We explain the ground rules for behavior, keep the time, make sure everyone participates and that no one gets left out or “over-talks.” We help generate and clarify ideas and then often drill-down to get additional details or information. When issues are tough, there are competing values or there are difficult conversations, facilitators work their magic to help produce results.

Getting Results: A great facilitator has a strong sense of business in general and is willing to learn about your organization and industry. Fruitful, impressive, productive and efficient meetings are a result of the creativity and strong communication and organizational skills a facilitator brings to the event.If you think you might benefit from hiring a facilitator and want to learn more, contact me via email at Kimberly@KimberlyPutmanCoaching.com.