“We were a little nervous about undertaking such an important piece of work ‘remotely’…”
Now that we’re all experts with Zoom, Teams, Skype etc, surely we don’t need facilitated sessions? Hmmm. If you’ve sat through as many clunky meetings and passive, non-participatory event as most of us now have, you’ll appreciate the value and skill of independent facilitation!
Rather than cancelling a planned strategy day with stakeholders, Shared Care Scotland worked with us to adapt the event, transforming what would have been a full-day’s participation into a shorter online session. As with a face-to-face event, preparation was everything.
Case study: Shared Care Scotland
We began by checking people’s appetite and availability for this way of working, then provided the key questions in advance via a short survey. This let us work out which topics mattered most to staff, trustees and stakeholders, helping to focus the session. Next we gave participants the chance to explore the online platform in advance. Making the ‘meeting room’ available for a week beforehand and giving clear explanations and guidance ‘gave people confidence’, says Chief Executive Don Williamson.
‘There was a nice pace and good use of the platforms tools to check mood and pace. There was great multi-tasking from the facilitator – listening and building on points whilst also keeping an eye on the chat log, raised hands etc.
‘We were a little nervous about undertaking such an important piece of work ‘remotely’, but we felt it delivered what was needed and has generated some helpful questions and themes for us to explore over the coming months.’
We’ve learned a lot about delivering online courses in the last two years, but it’s been heartening to know we can offer the usual Lasting Difference experience virtually. Since lockdown began, we’ve facilitated meetings, network events, workshops, reflective practice sessions, socials – the full range of normal services. Feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with the most common comments noting the importance of:
- Replicating every aspect of in-person delivery as far as possible
- Full participation: not feeling talked at – or spoken down to
- Choice of participation methods: polls, chat boxes and breakout rooms help introverts to be heard
- Variety: mixing it up and keeping it interesting
- Generous time allocation: for small group sessions, screen breaks etc
- Showing up and following through: being there to help with IT issues in advance and during the session
At first we were almost hesitant to say we learned something new with each online session – like everyone, we want to look competent with newer delivery methods! But each one of us has more than 20 years post-qualification experience of running face-to-face training and facilitation, and we still learn something new each time. Online is no different, and the day we stop learning and improving is the day we retire. Meantime, we’re loving every opportunity to use our skills and resources to support the sector during such challenging times. How can we help you?