KASL WESTON COUNTY EXTENSION REPORT BILL TAYLOR 10/11/11 THE ART OF FACILITATION (Part 9)

When facilitating a meeting, you will know well in advance whether the session is likely to conclude on time if you track the actual time for each process against the estimated times you have prepared in the detailed facilitators agenda. If you determine that the ending time will slip, it is important to get permission from the participants to continue past the agreed upon completion time. The proper process would be to: Alert the participants Conservatively estimate the additional time needed Ask for alternatives Check the impact of continuing Confirm the agreement Hold firmly to the agreement

If the decision is made not to extend the time, proceed with the closing activities.

When closing, review the activities performed during the session. Identify each of the facilitated processes performed and use the wall charts to point out the documentation that resulted and the items/alternatives/issues that were listed.

Review the purpose of the session with the participants and ask them if you have accomplished the mission. If you asked individual participants for their personal objectives at the beginning of the session, go through the list and ask them whether their objective was fulfilled. Determine with the group what should be done to meet each unfulfilled objective.

Review the Issues parking list those items placed on a parking list to be addressed later. Ask the following about each issue listed: Have we covered it? Do we need to cover it? Do we need to cover it now? If it needs to be covered before you adjourn, set a time limit and facilitate a discussion.

Review the Decisions parking list to remind participants of decisions made. And review the Actionsparking list to remind participants of actions that still need to be taken. Be sure that every action is assigned to a person who will take responsibility to see it is addressed. Ask that person to establish a date when the action will be completed. If the action needs to be completed by someone who is not present, assign it to someone of authority in the room whose responsibility it is to delegate the action to the appropriate person and to follow up on it.

Feedback is vital for facilitators, so have participants complete some sort of evaluation form on whether the session was positive or negative, how well the facilitation was done, and if any changes were needed. At a minimum, ask the following: What agenda topic was of most value to you? What topic was of least value to you? How could this session have been

improved? In one or two sentences, please comment on the overall session benefit (or lack thereof) and what caused the benefit (or lack thereof).

Thank the participants for their involvement and remind them of the next step (e.g. next session, documentation to be distributed, action check, etc.), then formally end the session.

If you are only doing a partial closure to the session because it will be reopened again later, you would not typically include a review of the participant objectives, an evaluation of the process or a debriefing session with the planning team. You would review the activities performed, the items on the parking boards, and close the session.

After the session is closed, meet with the planning team or set a time for such a meeting. It is preferable if this happens within 24 hours of the session. Cover questions like: How well were the objectives of the session met? How well did the participants respond during the session? How sufficient are the deliverables from the session? What follow-up activities are needed?

If there is a meeting sponsor, discuss with him or her the session and the results, preferably within 24 hours.

And, finally, finish and deliver any session documentation that you are required to complete. Documentation includes decisions made, actions to be taken, outstanding issues, and relevant analysis. Often a transcription of all the flip charts is appropriate. This is one reason why it is important to number flip charts in order, so they can later be transcribed in order.

Bill Taylor Weston County Extension Office The University of Wyoming is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.