Facilitation for meetings, away days and workshops

Facilitation: Using a facilitator for group meetings, away days and workshops enables everyone to participate fully and helps you achieve things that could not even be considered in a normal office meeting.

Facilitation by a professional facilitator

Facilitation for meetings, away days and workshops is designed to bring structure to the process, develop skills and generate ownership of shared beliefs, values, identity and purpose.

Facilitation by an independent facilitator, briefed by the team leader, ensures that time is well spent and all individuals are able to participate fully.

As well as managing the process, a professional facilitator can also introduce new processes and elements of training, activities to improve communication and management games, as well as specialist activities such as scenario planning.

In many organisations having annual board or corporate retreats is routine, for progress reviews, strategy and budget preparation, or for 'blue sky' thinking.

For teams with new members, or starting new projects, a team awayday or a two day residential workshop pays dividends and ensures an increase in both cohesion and performance. For teams whose members are based at different sites, the residential element is an important feature.

How can we help you achieve your outcome?

Brefi Group facilitates group meetings, away days and workshops internationally. We ensure that each event is structured to achieve a previously agreed outcome, but is flexible and responsive enough to deal with whatever arises, whether it be a business issue or inter-personal.

Using a facilitator enables everyone to participate fully and provides a safe environment in which to confront sensitive issues.

Our vision, mission & values workshops draw on learnings from NLP and the Disney Institute. Independent facilitation is particularly valuable during the budget and strategy planning season. Brefi Group has a simple and effective scenario planning model.

If you are considering a group meeting, away day or workshop, why not contact us now?

Testimonial

"Thanks for a stimulating two days, which has resulted in my senior management team reviewing the way they work, plan and implement. The biggest change has been in how they work together as a team! We are very pleased that a number of important business issues have been identified and already worked upon with the next steps clearly identified. In summary excellent."
Roger Randall, Managing director, Biomet UK.

If you are considering a group meeting, away day or workshop, why not contact us now?

Elements of successful meetings and workshops

Here are some examples of activities that a facilitator could include in a meeting, workshop or awayday: -

• Personal aspirations and outcomes for the retreat
• Personal introductions and aspirations
• Communication exercise
• Strategy development
• Vision, mission and values
• Scenario planning
• Modelling the current organisation
• Designing the future organisation
• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis
• Technology, Customers, Competition, Regulatory and Environment analysis
• Political, Environmental, Economic, Sociological and Technological environments analysis
• Brainstorming
• Setting well-formed outcomes
• Balanced business scorecard
• Psychometric profiling and feedback
• Action planning, reporting systems and contracting
• Introduction of specific ideas, exercises or publications

In addition to workshop activities, meals together and a complete break, with some outdoor activities, are excellent bonuses that allow the mind to consolidate the learning and be more creative, and board members to relax together.

If you are considering a group meeting, away day or workshop, why not contact us now?

Lots of reasons for getting away together

Whether your objective is to get to know each other better, team building to work together better, to be more innovative, to explore scenarios, or to get down to work on your strategy, business plan or budget, you will achieve much, much more if you get away, change the environment and allow time for the process – and employ a professional facilitator.

And, of course, you can let your imagination run and run, just in the planning of the event. We have facilitated activities in city hotels, country house hotels, on boats, Texas ranches, mountain lodges - and included activities such as walking in the countryside, mountain biking, horseback riding and white water rafting. And lots of thought provoking indoor activities too. And there is always golf!

These activities break the normal state, change the environment, stimulate new thoughts and relationships. More, they can be designed as metaphors for the project in hand and used as examples throughout the workshop.

Visit our exciting photo gallery and see what others have done already.

What do you get?

Brefi Group organises and facilitates group meetings, away days, workshops and conferences internationally. We have worked in North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia, often in exciting locations.

Our customer-designed packages include: -

• Venue search, negotiation and booking
• Pre-briefing and agreement of outcomes
• Design and approval of the programme
• Organisation and administration
• Preparation of materials
• Management and facilitation of main event
• Provision of keynote speakers, where required
• Workshops and breakout sessions
• Review, action planning and follow-up commitments
• Photographs and visual record
• Meeting report

We ensure that each event is structured to achieve a previously agreed outcome, but is flexible and responsive enough to deal with whatever arises, whether it be a business issue or inter-personal. We produce lots of flip chart sheets!

What to do next about facilitation

If you have an event in mind that would benefit from an independent facilitator, or would like to discuss how facilitation works, then contact us now.