Process Excellence Coaching & Consulting

Making a group of people work together efficiently and effectively is not an easy task. Especially if it is a group created ad hoc (so not a team working together for a long time) and the time to accomplish the result is short (a matter of a few hours or days).

At the same time, such workshops are a very common way of working. Some of them have a well-established format (like Kaizen Event, Ideation Session, etc.), some of them are more “freestyle”. However, regardless of the format, here are some steps worth taking to make them efficient and effective.

Step 1: Check if the workshop format is the right one for your case

Workshops are useful when there is a need to exchange knowledge, ideas, or opinions between several people or reach conclusions and decisions among them.

If the work to be done is more about transferring subject matter expertise into specific deliverables (e.g., creating a specific document or report, piece of software or equipment, etc.) the workshop format may not be very beneficial.

Step 2: Establish goal(s) and scope of the workshop

If the workshop seems to be the right way to proceed, the crucial factor for its success are well established and realistic goals. These goals are often of two kinds: one is higher level, something that triggered the need for the workshop (for example: “We need to reduce the cost of operations”). Second is more operational, directly connected with the workshop itself (for example: “At the end of the workshop, we would like to have a list of cost savings opportunities, with agreed priority and estimated savings’).

While both types of goals are important and tightly connected, I would recommend paying special attention to the second one, as it is the most crucial for the successful workshop design. Try to make it as clear as possible, but also realistic to be achieved within the planned time and with identified participants and resources.

Goals are tightly connected with the scope of the workshop: what items (processes, areas, departments, plants, etc.) need to be taken into account, and which ones should be left out.

Step 3: Define participants

Appropriate and relevant participants is the second most important factor for a successful workshop. Actual selection is strongly driven by workshop goals but typically we are looking for:

• People with appropriate knowledge and perspectives that need to be shared, exchanged, or discussed
• People with required decision-making power – if decisions are planned to be made within the workshop
• People with influence within their functions/departments – to work as workshop “ambassadors” later on, if workshop outcomes need to be accepted by the wider community

What is the recommended number of participants? Well, as always: It depends! 🙂 On the one hand, the number is kind of dictated by the workshop’s goals and scope. On the other hand, workshops with more than 25 participants are difficult to manage successfully…

The key is to find the proper balance: Maybe it will be better to reduce scope of the workshop, to avoid having an inefficient event with too many participants? Maybe timing should be different? Maybe it is better to have two consecutive, smaller workshops instead of a single big one?

Step 4: Analyse your participants

Once we have defined who will be at the workshop, it is time to understand them better. Consider factors like:

• Titles, functions and reporting lines behind
• Own (functional, or even private) goals and expectations (Any “politics” behind?)
• Attitude or feelings about the workshop to come (Supportive? Resistant?Afraid?)
• Previous involvements and experiences in the same or similar subject (Is this maybe third time they are asked to support the topic?)
• Availability and “mode of presence” (can be on site or only virtual?)

This may help you a lot in organizing the agenda, especially from a change acceptance perspective (who should be teamed with whom, how much room for informal discussions needs to be secured, etc.).

Of course, not all of those elements would be possible to gather, but the more we know about participants and their background, the higher the chance of a successful workshop.

Step 5: Prepare the agenda

We all know that any good meeting requires an agenda, and the same rule applies to workshops. However, here I would recommend an important enhancement: an objective column. Writing down clearly what we would like to achieve as a result of any specific agenda point (Get to know each other? Get to common understanding of the situation? Make a decision? Allow time to ‘release tensions’ by longer, informal break or lunch?) – will be significant help in organizing the work to be done in the meaningful way.

Also, keep in mind that some parts of the work can be done before the workshop by asking specific participants to take specific actions. Such prework can significantly boost the effectiveness of the workshop by focusing on the most important topics during the “prime time” of working together.

Step 6: Decide how exactly specific agenda points would be executed

Let’s focus on details now! Knowing what exactly needs to be achieved at any agenda point – how to do it exactly in the most efficient way? Who should present? Who should take notes? In what form? Should we have subgroups or work as a whole group?

Of course, it all depends on the actual workshop goals, but whatever you decide, I would recommend planning and preparing all the details in advance (like layout of the files/platforms to be used, format of information to be shared, level of details required, etc.). Every confusion your participant experiences here during the workshop may significantly compromise your timing and the quality of the output.

At the same time, it is worth acknowledging that workshops are “living animals” 🙂 and a carefully planned agenda may need to be changed in the middle of the work! Nothing wrong with it, especially if this is a result of new findings or conclusions discovered on the way. If the previous steps have been well executed (e.g., we have meaningful goals and the right people in place), it will not be difficult to pivot and proceed in the new situation towards the original (or adjusted) goal.

Step 7: Organize logistics

Last but not least, ensure that logistics work smoothly. All those details that are assumed ‘obvious’ but are not happening magically overnight but require your work and attention:

• Invitations to participants
• Physical room or Teams call preparations
• Virtual tools (Mural, Teams, Shared files, etc.) with proper access rights
• Physical tools (flipcharts, post-its, pens)
• Refreshments and lunch locations
• And many more….

What are your experiences with planning and executing workshops? What would you add to the list? What would you change?
Please share your thoughts and … happy workshopping 🙂