The key questions you need to ask your client before you proceed˳
Picture this scenario – the cold call
“Hi, I’m from Limestone Coast Environmental Authority˳ I’ve been given your name˳ We’re after a facilitator for our corporate planning day˳ Are you available?”
OR:
“Hi this is the Director of IT˳ I’ve been told you facilitate meetings˳ We need to get agreement for our divisional contribution to the Corporate Strategic Plan˳ Can you help us?”
These calls always arrive when you’re wrapped in a towel, calming yourself before a conflict resolution workshop or in the dentist waiting room˳ If you can’t focus, arrange a time to call back˳ The scouts were right when they said, “be prepared!”
Starting off
Most clients don’t call if they have the skills in their work team to solve the problem˳ They are often under pressure and maybe haven’t had the opportunity to talk through the issue with anyone˳ Listen well, reflect back and be generous!
Right from the start you’re building a relationship˳ If you don’t win this job, the client will remember that you were engaged and interested˳
Develop a reliable contracting process which will support you to ask the right questions and uncover what’s going on˳
A core set of questions to ask should include the following:
- What’s prompting the decision to do this workshop now? (Listen for the answer˳ Is there a strategic need; a desire by the client to solve an outstanding problem or perhaps a requirement of funding a body˳ It’s important to know what’s driving the issue˳)
- Who will be involved? (Are there decision makers, key stakeholders and/or participants with a contested view of the issue?)
- Has this group discussed these issues before? How long ago? What were the outcomes? (Ask for reports from past workshops)
- What are your expectations about a report? (How much detail will be required? Who’s the target audience?)
- What’s the budget? (If the client asks you about your fees -offer to send a quote once you’ve worked out how much work is involved˳)
- What would a successful outcome look like? (Listen well˳ This will help frame the Purpose, Outcome and Process)
- Is there anything else you need to let me know about this issue? (Such as the political situation, group of stakeholders, conflict between participants etc˳ )
Before you start the workshop
Clients who regularly work with facilitators give straight forward answers to these questions˳ Others may need to explore the issues with you˳ They may not know how to get there, but they usually know what they want˳
Resist the temptation to agree to a process before you’re clear about the purpose and outcome˳
Your client will also have questions˳ They’ll want to know that you have the skill and confidence to do this work˳ Explain how you’ve tackled similar issues; ask if they’d like a project brief with examples of previous work and the name and contact of a previous client˳
If the scope of the project is beyond you, consider co-facilitating with a colleague who has worked in the field˳ If you need support to talk through your process design, use the FIC on-line forum˳
Clarify
If alarm bells are sounding and you’re feeling queasy, it’s time to test your assumptions!
This is where you need all your facilitator awareness˳ If you feel there may be some disconnect between the client and the participants, ask if you can meet with some key participants and test your assumptions˳
When there isn’t a client/facilitator match, you may suggest you’re not the best person for the job˳
I do this when…
- I feel my core values don’t match with those of the client;
- It’s a one-off job that requires days of preparation at my expense;
- It has the potential to stress me out to the point where I’m unable to deliver for my regular clients˳
Trust your gut feeling, it works for you as a facilitator and it will work for you with clients˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Seven-Critical-Questions-to-Ask-Before-Agreeing-to-Facilitate-a-Workshop&id=8618484
