By Steve Bather and Héctor Villarreal L.

When was the last time you used technology for your work? Was it this morning writing a proposal or an e-mail to a client? Maybe fifteen minutes ago printing a handout? Would you go back to sending a telegram (although that was also a disruptive technology back in the day)?

Technology has and continues to have an impact in our daily lives. But really, when was the last time you actually considered the use of technology to innovate your facilitation practice? And we don’t mean simply replacing a flipchart instruction chart with a projector slide.

Think about it:  Every aspect of life has been radically changed by technology beyond recognition except when it comes to meetings and related events, where we still rely heavily on flipcharts, post-its and scabbling together inaccurate meeting reports after the event! Well, maybe now you are taking photos of them instead of bringing them home.

For several months now, brought together by a fortuitous connection (thanks Trevor!) we have been discussing how to shift this paradigm, and how to encourage our diverse and experienced colleagues to look more seriously at what digital tools can do for the groups they work with and them!

One thing to keep in mind is that many traditional processes to engage people collaboratively can be severely flawed.  If you are like us, you spend most of your emotional and intellectual energy whilst facilitating, trying to encourage the reflectors to speak up and willing the activists to shut up and listen.

Sometimes, the real value participants get are the chats, connections and networking that happens during the in-between time: breaks, lunches and evening functions.  Let’s bring those impactful discussions back into the main room! 

First of all, when we consider ways to innovate in facilitation, the focus has to be on what is possible and not simply emulating what we do with post-its and flips on sexy interactive screens. We have to learn, reinvent, innovate and create from what is now possible with Digital Tools.

Exploring this possibility, firstly, we acknowledge there are a huge range of tools out there, and they will all claim radical improvements in productivity, engagement, collaboration, etc.; just remember, those claims are written by the creative folks in marketing. And some might even be true, depending on the users and the group.

Secondly, we need some form of decision-making criteria based on what the group needs and not what the digital tool can do! Do you need to evaluate lots of ideas in a short amount of time? Do you have a big group? Are flipcharts and markers slowing the pace of the group? How familiar are the group members with technology?

The chart below outlines some of the tools known to us (it does not try to be the most comprehensive list, it’s just some of the one we’ve tried and tested in one way or another), arranged against two criteria: 

1. Type of group-processs requirements: Meaning the degree to which they support specific to generic group requirements, for example if it allows a specific use, or multiple different uses. For example, video-conference systems might have a voting system in place, but it usually is not their strong feature.
2. Decision support flexibility: as the ability the technology has to support high quality decisions through a refined process of inquiry, discussion, sharing, consensus-building and decision making. Some of them can be quite flexible (requiring high levels of competence) while others might be low level tools that are great for stimulating input, basic ideation and keeping participants awake!

So how do we decide which digital tool adds value to our session?

First, as a professional facilitator you need to understand the needs of your client and the group the engagement serves. In certain situations using technology can be a great enabler, for example when time is in short supply, the group is big, or they simply are located across vast distances (by the way, sometimes just living in the same city can be considered a great distance because of travel time).

As with any collaborative session many factors need to be considered in the design: expected outcomes, group composition, individual expectations, meeting place logistics and resources, all of this (and some more) needs to be considered so you can do a great process design.

When considering how you can innovate in your practice, we’d like you to take a look at the chart above. It can help you explore the options you have for using a collaborative tool in your next session.The chart shows five orbs representing the types of collaboration the tools are aimed at (the backgrounds in green, orange, blue, etc.).  Some of the tools you will probably have heard, some you might use them in a regular basis. As we stated before, we don’t have anything like a conclusive list here, but these are the tools we know, have used and can place on this chart with confidence.

Here are the five types of digital tools:

1. Corporate social networks:  allow chat, presence, file share, calls, video. They operate inside firewalls and effectively add a new channel of communication over and above email.  Most organisations deploy these tools extremely badly and few people use them effectively, most hardly at all. They tend to basically be a replacement to e-mail, missing the opportunity to create a whole communication and collaborative ecosystem. Examples: Yammer, Slack, Hub, etc.
2. Video and Conference call tools: Audio, video, chat, screen share, presence, polls, file share.  Again, widely deployed in organisations, poorly used and seen as a poor substitute for a face to face meeting but at least you can carry on ploughing through email with impunity! (in truth how long does it usually take you to get everyone on-line, in the call with audio and video?). If you can spare 4 minutes, take a look at this hilarious video we relate far too well. Examples: Zoom, GoToMeeting, Webex, etc.
3. Event Management and Conference tools: Audience registration, agenda management,
   polls, Q & A, presence.  These have grown prolifically during the last few years, they are great for pre-event engagement and management of participants at events, but they don’t offer a great deal of help to the specific session facilitator trying to engage participants, collate ideas or perspectives in the decision-making process. Examples: Whova, EventMobi, Aventri, etc.
4. Team and Project Management tools: Chat, file share, boards/team spaces,
   task management, presence. These tools have also blossomed over the last few years and for those teams who really use them, (beyond the obvious 20% functionality) they do get real value for longer term asynchronous project work. Examples: Basecamp, Trello, Samepage, etc.
5. Decision Support/Meeting & Workshop tools: brainstorm using anonymous & simultaneous
   participation, rating/voting, consensus measurement, instant/accurate reporting, attachment management.  These have been around for 30 years and were an early technological breakthrough from academic studies specifically focused on how to improve participation, collaboration and engagement and decision quality in groups.  Used all over the world but held firmly in the tight grip of specialist facilitators. We think its now time for these, really easy to use tools, to be unleashed for use by everyone.  We’d like to recommend a longer reading from a blog from Elise Keith from LucidMeetings that explores and specifically reviews 28 tools (2019 updated article). https://blog.lucidmeetings.com/blog/25-tools-for-online-brainstorming-and-decision-making-in-meetings Examples: MeetingSphere, Stormz, PowerNoodle, Mural, etc. 
6. Visual Collaboration tools: These tools combine video/audio connections with shared whiteboards.  Participants can share ideas, content, videos, other material through the shared whiteboard.  Great for creative sessions but often emulate what is possible with Post-It’s virtually and most don’t have convergence tools to support decision making and buy-in.  

So, what can you do to take the plunge into digital facilitation tools? As we outlined before, first define your purpose and goals for the intervention and then define where the session can be really improved with the Digital tools. For example, in an engagement Héctor had at the beginning of the year, a client needed to identify their corporate values at the annual retreat. 40+ participants from 10 countries with a varied range of experience using technology had to reach an agreement, in a 2.5-hour session. And, the room had limited space, so people moving around continuously was not really feasible. Technology enabled the exchange of ideas and priorities from across the room, allowing for engaging conversations as well.

Make sure you start playing and using the technology in a safe environment (facilitator communities are always keen to use new stuff and methods, so volunteer a session in your local IAF Chapter or Meetup). Clients seldom like to feel like the guinea pigs of your learning curve, so take little steps and feel confident enough with the new technology.

If you can, get yourself a facilitation tech mentor/coach, someone who can support your learning journey; help you select the right tools, ensure you create the right context and design for what you are trying to achieve. Pick someone who is knowledgeable in the Digital World and can support the transition of your techniques and specialisms.

We’d like to challenge you to go above and beyond your previous experience, so you can better serve the groups you interact with.

If you are interested in facilitation technology, all IAF Members can join the Virtual Facilitation SIG (Special Interest Group) which hold regular discussions and online meetings on the topic.

For more information please feel free to message Steve and Héctor, they will be both very keen to exchange ideas with you. 

Steve Bather has run over 3000 workshops using digital tools, (since 1992!)  As a facilitator he works with Gov departments, Police, corporates and SME’s.  Bringing the best digital techniques and processes Steve focuses on divergent and convergent processes to ensure high quality decision making.  Delighted to speak on digitising your practice; Steve coaches dozens of new converts to the Digital facilitation World and knows how hard the transition can be……

Héctor Villarreal L. is a group facilitator and teamwork consultant originally from northern Mexico now living in the Caribbean and working throughout Latin America (remotely and via airplanes). A technophile at heart, he aims to transform the world, one group at a time enabling the development of collaborative cultures. He has lived in half a dozen-countries in the last decade and speaks cat fluently (he’s owned by 4).