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When should a meeting facilitator be used?
Home » Management » Meeting Facilitation » When should a meeting facilitator be used?Using a meeting facilitator is usually a good idea if you want to keep a meeting focused and productive. Meetings can be effective without a facilitator - thousands of meetings take place every day without a person designated as the meeting facilitator. However, the risks of meeting without a facilitator are many, and often lead to a high level of frustration among participants. Drifting from the agenda, lack of participation and running overtime are just a few of the problems that occur when there is no meeting facilitation. Many organizations have found that once group members experience the benefits of well-facilitated meetings, they will never want to hold a meeting any other way. There are two main choices: using internal facilitators and hiring outside professionals.
When you are attempting to decide when to use internal people and when you should you engage a professional facilitator you need to consider the situation and goals for the particular meeting. For groups that meet regularly -- project teams, staff groups, task forces, committees, department heads, etc., consider training several people in the skills of facilitation and rotate the job. Some organizations have trained people throughout their organizations, who are available to facilitate anything from a one hour meeting to a full day work session.
For meetings that have higher stakes, you may want to engage the services of a professional meeting facilitator. Such meetings might include retreats, idea generation sessions, strategic planning and problem-solving meetings. A professional facilitator can also help your group move forward in difficult or stagnant times -- to identify and focus on key issues, make decisions and move forward. Perhaps the number one reason people hire professional facilitators is their objectivity and unbiased approach.
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