It’s hard to create sustainable improvement when your team is heading in multiple directions. Aligning staff’s vision of future success takes planning and hard work. It can’t be done ad-hoc or in a vacuum. We can work together in person, live online or through email.
Whether you’ve already started on your own discovery process, or you’re just starting out and aren’t sure where to begin, my facilitated engagements can help to get your team thinking, talking and agreeing on a direction and solutions. Some facilitation opportunities include:
Discovery Process – gives you an opportunity to have me, a third-party and neutral facilitator, interview your staff and key customers to determine critical issues with your development services systems and obstacles for possible improvement. Often times, both staff and customer will talk to an outside, third-party individual about their frustrations with your current processing system but may not reveal obvious problems with their supervisors or managers. The important factor is that they are being heard and it is documented. Their is power in knowledge. This process involves on site interviews and discussion with appropriate groups to gather feedback. Imperative, the process is confidential which improves opportunities for honesty and bluntness. It can be painful to hear the results, but it will propel you to solutions and buy-in if properly addressed.
Management Team Goal Setting – gives you an opportunity to have me “catch the javelin”, so to speak. You need the ability to share delicate information and issues, but still have to be the leader. I can present critical issues, be a credible expert resources, and challenge resistance to change. The discovery process yields topics for discussion and facilitation.
Improvement Project Charter – gives you an opportunity to blend the discovery process and management team goal setting into a focused document to push your tailored improvement effort forward. A “charter” will involve a facilitated discussion of specific improvement directives (and authorities), roles and responsibilities for change structures, and expected results. Many times, this end product is used to brief executive management on your plan and progress.
Operational Design Process – gives you an opportunity to implement your tailored charter through an ongoing facilitated dialogue with assigned staff teams. I can provide my expertise to challenge staff to think creatively, document business process changes, and look for short-term (“low hanging fruit”) improvement ideas to gain momentum and credibility with customers.
Customer Advisory Group Facilitation – gives you an opportunity to have an objective (and creative) dialogue with your key customers. Customers know their needs and priorities, so why not ask? If set up properly, you will get honest, truthful feedback. Turn some of your most difficult (and vocal) customers into your strongest advocates with administration and your elected officials.