How to Organize and Run a Workshop

Transcription

1 SPECIAL NOTES: Running A Brand Management Workshop Why a workshop? Quite simply, a workshop is a great way of working. Properly organized and run, a workshop has all of the following benefits: A break from the normal routine of work: allowing participants to step outside their usual roles and perspectives and to take a fresh look at the issue on hand. The dynamics of a workshop help to build consensus, understanding and commitment to a plan of action for the issue being discussed. A workshop is highly participative: everyone has a chance to contribute, and have their say. One of the consequences of this is that people are drawn together into a stronger and more cohesive team (in addition to achieving the specific objectives of the workshop). Workshops are also time effective. Although people may claim that they cannot afford a day out the office, in reality it will be some of their most productive time. The group interaction and hot-house atmosphere create sparks of creativity that can highlight new options, new alternatives, that wouldn t be uncovered by a more sedate or solitary approach. Because of all these benefits, when properly run, a workshop can be very productive time, and enjoyable and rewarding for the participants too. When to use workshops Because of the benefits outlined above, workshops are best used when: 1. The issue demands new and creative thinking 2. A team of people are involved 3. Rapid consensus is required Within the brand management process there are three occasions when this is particularly useful: Understanding your current brand Defining your desired brand Exploring the behavior required to live the desired brand In your own brand management work you may well find other occasions too when it is worth getting your team together for a half-day, or a day, to workshop an issue. These SPECIAL NOTES will help make your workshops a success. BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 104

2 Who should participate? If a workshop is being undertaken as part of a brand management process it makes sense that the key team members involved in the whole process should attend the workshop. However, there are three points to note when selecting participants: 1. The ideal number is 6-8 participants. Less than 6, and the momentum and buzz is difficult to build. Beyond 8 and each new participant seems to make it doubly difficult to reach a consensus! 2. In a company that has an open and egalitarian culture the participants can be drawn from any level in the company. However, if your company is hierarchical in nature you will need to give thought to the impact of this on who should be selected for the workshop. Involving a senior manager, his direct reports, and their direct reports, may not work well if the more junior members of the team feel unable to play a full role. (If it s unavoidable, there is guidance on how to deal with this, in the facilitation notes, below). 3. If you have third-parties involved in the brand management process (from outside the company) careful thought needs to be given to including them in the workshop. If they are trusted partners they can play an important role, but if not their presence could inhibit an honest and frank discussion. It is also worth considering a third-party in the role of facilitator (see notes below on this role). Getting the right mix of participants is a critical factor in the success of the workshop, and so these points are worth careful consideration. Preparatory work / schedule Workshops are most effective when there is plenty of stimulus for the participants. This includes material to get them thinking in advance of the workshop, as well as many different types of material that can be used during the workshop. Here are examples of the types of stimulus you might consider for the three types of workshops mentioned earlier: Existing published materials on the desired brand Notes from senior management interviews Results of employee focus groups or surveys Competitive analysis Technology and consumer trends analysis Desired brand statement Recordings of actual customer service calls Best in category analysis Anecdotes and illustrations of relevant (and aspirational) brand behavior from your own and other categories Video of retail outlets Preparing these types of stimulus can be a time consuming and resource intensive exercise, but can also have a significant impact on the quality of the workshop output. BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 105

3 The stimulus you can make available will depend on your own particular situation, the progress that you have made through the brand management process, the resources that you have available, and your creativity in identifying thought-provoking material. Setting up / managing the day As well as stimulus materials the preparation for a successful workshop needs to address the following points: Choice of venue It often tempting, for reasons of cost savings and convenience, to run the workshop in the office. In some cases this is the only option, but it is not ideal. It is much more likely that participants will sneak out to check s or make calls, and be distracted by colleagues poking their heads round the corner of the door with just a quick question It is much better to run the workshop at a new and convenient location out of the office. This minimizes the chance of distraction and encourages the attitude that the day will be a different way of working. Ideally the venue should be just large enough to accommodate: A workshop table, around which everyone can sit comfortably and where most of the action will take place. There should also be space enough around this table for groups to work at flipcharts. A separate comfy area with sofa and armchairs, where people can relax and have a change of focus. A refreshments corner with water, coffee, tea, etc available whenever required. The venue should feel airy and comfortable (plenty of natural light is good), but be no larger than is needed to accommodate the points above. Too large and participants may feel a little lost. In addition, it is useful to be able to stick up flipcharts all around the room (the output from a workshop can often be enormous, and the best place for it during the day is up around the room). Preparing the venue If you are responsible for preparing the venue the key points to check are that: refreshments are constantly available. the workshop table has plenty of pens, paper and water. there are 2-3 flipcharts with plenty of paper and pens, and the means to stick up completed flipcharts around the walls of the room. you know how to control the room, (for example: in terms of any lighting, heating, air conditioning, etc). BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 106

4 A typical agenda A typical workshop schedule would run for one day, but this can be adapted to suit the situation: for example, if you are combining the workshop with other activities, or perhaps dealing with more than one issue, and running it over 2 days. The workshop should, naturally enough, start with a brief welcome session and finish with a wrap-up. The other components of the day that you will use to build up your own agenda will be: Participant presentations Brainstorming sessions Break-out groups Evaluation sessions The overall flow of the day can be thought of as a diamond: FOCUS on the workshop objective EXPLORATION of ideas and options FOCUS on evaluation & selection In addition to managing these activities, which will form the core of the day, an experienced facilitator will have some appropriate warm-up activities and creative thinking tasks to energize and re-energize the group if necessary. The role of the facilitator The role of the facilitator is critical to the success of the workshop, and in some ways it is similar to the role of a moderator in a focus group. (See our SPECIAL NOTES: Conducting Your Own Brand Management Research.) BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 107

5 The facilitator must have the authority to be able to control the participant group and manage the day. This does not mean that the facilitator has to be the most senior person in the room, far from it, (most participants understand that they are playing a role, and should defer to the facilitator) but the facilitator does need the personal qualities required to manage the situation. It is NOT the role of the facilitator to take a side or to push for a particular solution. The facilitator should not contribute ideas or suggestions, except in order to encourage discussion. The reason this is so important is because the facilitator controls the day, if they are seen to be trying to control the outcomes as well, there is a real danger that participants will feel cheated, and simply stop participating. The dictionary definition of a facilitator is someone who makes progress easier and this is a good principle to keep in mind when preparing as a facilitator for a workshop. The approach of the facilitator should be: Informal: equality of participants and creative energy are difficult to cultivate in a very formal, hierarchical environment. Enthusiastic: energy is essential to create the forward momentum of a successful workshop. Controlled: there is a need to keep control, more on this below in Managing the activities of the day. Sensitive (to the group dynamics): ensuring that everyone is happy and contributing. Setting the ground rules At the start of the day it is the role of the facilitator to bring everyone to order (unless there is a host who does this) and to set out the ground rules for the day. The basics that need to be covered are: Phones off: This can be a difficult point, and may be worth communicating in advance of the workshop. If phones are ringing regularly, and people are constantly popping out the workshop can fall apart all together. Depending on the culture of the company it may be necessary for people to keep phones on, but this is far from ideal and should be resisted. (At the very least phones should be on silent and participants should be asked to leave the room to take calls.) Everyone is equal: this is one of the absolute essentials (and can be one of the things that make workshops so much fun). Everyone needs to understand that everyone is equal, everyone s ideas are equally important. If this isn t the case the workshop can decline into a farce where big chief speaks, everyone agrees. Think it / Say it: every idea is welcome: Participants should be encouraged to remove any self-censorship of their ideas. This is the starting point for an enthusiastic and creative day. When setting these ground rules it is also worth running through the logistics for the day, in terms of timing, lunch arrangements, etc, to put everyone at ease. Overall, managing the day In addition to bringing everyone to order, and laying the ground rules, the facilitator manages the day as a whole and the activities at each point. To do this well requires a great deal of energy and enthusiasm it is an exhausting task! BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 108

6 Some of the key tasks are: Introducing each activity, and getting it started. Recording the discussion, and key outcomes. Controlling the pace of the day deciding when activities are exhausted, when to move on to the next topic, when it may be necessary to divert from the agenda, (for example, if falling energy levels indicate that a break or change of focus is needed, even if one is not scheduled). Summarizing and gaining consensus on points of discussion. There will be times when every single point needs to be written up on the flipcharts (during an idea generation session for example) and when the role is really to help the group come to a consensus, and record that consensus, together with the main threads of thinking that led up to it. Managing the different activities of the day It is also important to note that depending on the type of activity, the facilitator needs to emphasize different points: Participant presentations: it is often useful to have participants make short presentations. These can be prepared in advance as a stimulus to a group activity (bringing the issues front of mind) or they may be the result of a group break out session. In either case they should not be detailed. They should hit the key issues and conclusions, and should last no more than 10 minutes. At these times the facilitator s focus needs to be on maintaining control. You are giving up the floor to the presenter, but they need to understand that they have a limited time period and task. If they divert from the task, or run over the time period they need to be brought back to the agenda, (in a polite and friendly manner of course). Where a participant is preparing a presentation in advance it is ideal, if possible, to get a copy to review and comment on before the workshop, to ensure it meets these needs in terms of length and style. Brainstorming: the objective of any brainstorming is to generate as many ideas as possible, in as short a period of time as possible. Evaluation comes later. In setting up a brainstorming the facilitator should emphasize that everyone is equal, all ideas are welcome, think it / say it, and that there should be no criticism or negative views expressed, until the evaluation stage. The initial brainstorming question should be written up clearly for all to see, as a focus for the activity. In running the session it is enthusiasm, energy and dynamism which are most important. (Moving around the room, suggesting wild answers to encourage participation, tearing off flipcharts and getting them up on the walls can all be part of the role.) Break-out groups: dividing the workshop into 2 or 3 smaller groups for a particular task has a number of advantages: 1. It energizes everyone, (each participant realized that, as a member of a very small group, they must focus and work to produce a result). 2. It can help overcome the problems of poor group dynamics (breaking particular groups up, or bringing them together, as a result of what you have observed in the main sessions). 3. It is an effective way of changing the focus, breaking-up the activities, and creating new roles for the participants, which contributes to the overall success of the day. BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 109

7 In setting up break-out groups, the facilitator must focus on being absolutely clear in explaining the task, how to tackle it, and how much time is available. The groups can either be formed around the main table, or in separate rooms, if they are available. Once the task has been set up the facilitator s role is to encourage people into groups, make sure that they have the materials that they need (flipcharts and pens for their feedback presentation) and work around the groups to make sure again that everyone is clear about the task, to offer encouragement and ideas, and to make sure that each group is getting its ideas down on paper. Evaluation sessions: there will be times during the day which are more reflective, and where the objective is to narrow down alternatives, to start reaching towards a consensus. It is often a good idea to have a brief break before these sessions, especially if they are preceded by a very boisterous and noisy brainstorming session. One of the techniques for achieving group consensus is called red dotting or power dotting. It works like this: All the options / alternatives should be up around the walls on flipchart paper (if you ve had a good brainstorming session there should be dozens, or hundreds of options!) Each participant is given 5 red dots (stationary stores stock these little sticky-backed markers, or post-it notes will work too, or simply give every participant a marker pen, and tell them they have 5 votes ). All participants are given 5-10 minutes to get up on their feet, wander around the room and place their stickers or votes on the 5 alternatives they think are best. This is a great way of starting towards a group consensus. It gets everyone up and around the room, it s very egalitarian (ever body s dot is equal) and once completed it creates a very clear visual record of the group s collective view, as the basis for further discussion. Encouraging participation & creativity Encouraging participation and creativity is central to the facilitator s role. This requires a balance of enthusiasm, the ability to put people at ease and at the same time to maintain the authority to keep control of the day. Here are some key behaviors that will help achieve this: Start each activity with plenty of open-ended questions. (An open-ended question is one you cannot answer yes or no ). o DON T ASK: Do you like this? o DO ASK: What do you think of this? Why? What are the implications of what you re saying? If one person is dominating, say: Thank you, now I d like to hear from the rest of the group If one person is not contributing say: John, we haven t heard from you yet on this topic, what are your thoughts? DO use eye contact and body language (a raised hand perhaps) when someone has spoken enough, or you want more from someone else. DON T be rude or show that you are irritated in any way. BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 110

8 DO be aware of the energy levels of the group. If they are dropping then either move on to another topic, take a break, or find some other way of getting the energy levels back up. DO record as much as possible on flip charts, and record points word-for-word as they are spoken (quick and clear writing is important). Putting them up around the room creates additional stimulus and a record of the progress made through the day. Use of stimulus materials Preparing, and effectively using, a range of stimulus materials can be the difference between a good workshop and an absolutely fantastic workshop. Stimulus materials come in all forms, and can include short presentations, wall displays, short audio/video clips and materials that can be placed in the middle of the table (brochures, advertising tear sheets, products, etc). Outputs and follow-up At the end of the day everyone should be exhausted, the room should be a mess and the walls should be thick with flipcharts. It is important, as the last task of the day, that the facilitator (or in some cases the host ) briefly summarize the day and explain the next steps. This should take about 5-10 minutes: including thanks for everyone s participation, a brief outline of the outcomes and an explanation of the next steps. The next steps usually involve the following: 1. Write up and circulation of the outcomes of the workshop, in the form of a workshop report 2. Further input from the group on the workshop report, with any suggested amendments or refinements 3. Production of the final report and the plan of action required to take the initiatives forward. In the workshop report it is worth having a section, usually an appendix, where the text from the flipcharts is reproduced exactly word-for-word as it was produced on the day. The text can look very broken and bitty (because that is how it was noted down) however it is often a valuable reference to the participants, reminding them of the thinking that was produced. This Appendix should also include the results of the red dot exercises (using asterisks is one simple way of doing this). This is also demonstration, should you need one, that the summary and conclusions in the body of the report are based solidly on the raw output from the day itself. It is usually the team leader that takes on these follow-up activities and drives them forward (allocating individual responsibilities as necessary) with the team moving back into the conventional way of working with individual responsibilities, objectives and timelines to their work. BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 111

9 This is an illustration of a workshop, and how it might run, based on experience of facilitating many workshops CASE STUDY: Benevolent Bank defines its current brand Frank is a rising star at the Benevolent Bank. He went through the management development program, and is now working as an assistant to the CEO. In this role he has been asked to organize a brand management workshop to help us understand our brand. Who should participate? The CEO has invited the senior management team, eight people in all, plus the CEO and Frank as the facilitator. Preparatory work Frank has set the date for the workshop four weeks in advance, so there is time to do some preparatory work. He prepares a list of tasks that looks like this: 1. Gather up all the existing written material about the brand (there are bits in the annual report, the company website and some old internal memos that talk about our brand ). 2. Gather up any existing research that expresses the attitudes and values that any stakeholders have about the brand. 3. Set up some kind of brand framework, that will help structure the workshop thinking about their brand. 4. Undertake 1-to-1 interviews with some of the senior management. 5. Undertake 1-to-1 interviews with customers as they leave a bank branch, which he plans to video (he ll take a colleague along with a hand-held digital camera, and explain to the customers that it is just for internal use, most people are happy to share their opinions!) 6. Film a short video of one of the bank branches, taken during a busy lunch-time 7. Record a call to the bank s telephone hotline making an enquiry about one of their investment products. 8. Undertake some initial research on key competitor, consumer and technology trends facing the banking industry. He produces a short report that he circulates 10 days in advance of the workshop. It includes a summary of the existing written materials, the existing research, and a short introduction to brands as a collection of perceptions. Finally, it outlines the objective of the workshop, which he agrees with his CEO is: to get a better understanding of the strength of our current brand, in the context of the trends facing the industry. Frank saves the other material - the result of his own interviews and other research - to use on the workshop day. Some of it is pretty powerful stuff, with some fairly blunt opinions expressed. BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 112

10 He thinks it is probably best not to put it in the report now, and feels it will make a strong impact on the day. Setting up / managing the day This is the agenda that Frank sets up for the workshop, in agreement with his CEO. It s a 9.30am start, with lunch scheduled for 1.00pm and a finish at 4.30pm (to give everyone a chance to get back to their desks for an hour): Morning activities Welcome & objectives Ground rules, and schedule for the day Presentation: The next 10 years of banking key trends Brainstorming Session: Banking trends, opportunities & threats Red Dotting : to prioritize key trends for the bank Presentation: Understanding brands, and their value Brainstorming Session: Identify / prioritize stakeholder groups Presentation: Quotes from 1-to-1 interviews (managers & Customers) Brainstorming Session: The truth about our current brand, for customers Red Dotting : to prioritize and rank the output Morning wrap up Duration 30 mins 15 mins 90 mins 5 mins Lunch Afternoon activities Review of the morning Breakout Groups: The truth about our current brand (for other stakeholders) Group 1 Presentation & discussion: employee perceptions Group 2 Presentation & discussion: media perceptions Red Dotting : to prioritize and rank the output Break Review of banking trends Evaluation Session: Our current brand strengths and weaknesses Discussion Session: Next steps & roles (towards defining the desired brand) Wrap Up 30 mins 15 mins 15 mins 5 mins 25 mins 20 mins Before the day starts Frank puts the existing brand documents up on one wall, near the coffee table, so that as participants arrive and get themselves a drink they have a chance to look at the existing documentation, and the conversation starts from there. BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 113

11 The CEO gathers everyone together, welcomes everyone and sets the objective for the day (he says that we are in Frank s hands for the day thereby giving Frank his blessing and added authority to manage the day). The CEO explains that there will be some short presentations, as stimulus to the thinking, but that the success of the day really depends on the collective experience and expertise in the room, and everyone participating fully. Frank takes a few minutes to lay out the ground-rules. He then introduces the COO, to make a 10 minute presentation on banking trends. The presentation is not designed to cover everything in detail just to provide food for thought and the COO quickly hits the main points, using quotes from industry figures and publications to give added credibility. The brainstorming session on this first topic carries on from the presentation. Frank s role now is to encourage as many ideas as possible (minimizing the debate around each idea) and to capture all the ideas on flipcharts. He writes furiously, rips of the flipcharts and gets them up on the wall, and carries on writing. (An assistant would have been a great idea at this point!) At the end of the session he explains red dotting and there is a quieter time, as people reflect on all the flipcharts around the walls, walk around the room looking at the material, and each decide how to vote using their dots. This dotting session has brought the adrenalin levels down in the room, and once it is done the group opinion is clear for all to see on the walls (one of the main benefits of red dotting!) There is a short discussion of the implications, the CEO says a few words to summarize, and Frank is on to the next presentation. The message of this 15 minute presentation is we all know brands are valuable, but how do we think and talk about brands? Here s a framework to do just that. It sets up a quick brainstorm (actually this one is more like a simple group discussion) on the key stakeholders, and how to prioritize them. There is some discussion about whether they should be segmenting up the customer-base, to create separate stakeholder groups (current account holders, private banking clients, credit card holders, etc) but in the end they decide the simplest thing to do is group all customers together, and they also identity several other stakeholder groups, with employees and the media identified as the most important. First a quick break, then they are into the presentation on the results of the 1-to-1 interviews. Frank keeps it quick, but doesn t hold back. He s selected the best quotes from both the managers and customers, and there are some blunt messages about their experience of Benevolent Bank and the feelings and emotions that creates. (Frank made it clear to the interviewees that everything was confidential before they spoke, so there are no names mentioned). He also plays back his call to the bank s hotline including the time spent on hold and he can see the frustration on the faces of the team. This is all stimulus to the next brainstorming session: The truth about our current brand, for customers. The team brainstorms each element of the brand framework, with all the ideas going up on the wall as before (Frank has to remind them occasionally that it is current not desired brand that they are talking about!). Soon the walls are covered with the team s thoughts on the perceptions of customers: about the heritage of the company, its attitudes and values, and the quality of its services. There are a lot of very honest opinions, and it is not all pretty reading! Finally they red dot what they think are the most truthful to the current brand, as it exists in consumers minds, and the CEO wraps up a successful morning session. BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 114

12 The lunch is set up in a side room, buffet style. Around the walls of the room Frank has stuck up a variety of quotes and brief book extracts on the value of brands, the role of corporate branding, and what makes a strong brand. They keep everyone interested, and generate plenty of discussion. After lunch Frank introduces a slightly different format: breakout groups. These are ideal right now, as everyone is a little tired and breaking into smaller groups ensures that everyone has to perk up, there is nowhere to hide! The break-out groups work at either end of the workshop table, each group stood around a flipchart as they brainstorm the ideas. Frank bounces back and forth between the two groups, as one group brainstorms media perceptions and one group brainstorms employee perceptions. At the end of the session each group briefly presents their findings to the other. After a quick break, and with the workshop running towards its conclusion, they work again as a large group to reflect on the current brand s strengths and weaknesses. They do this after a quick review of the banking trends covered earlier. They review all the material they have produced in the day (which is now laid out over the floor too, as they ran out of wall space) and do a final dotting exercise, this time with red dots for weaknesses and green dots for strengths. There is some further discussion of these results, which flows into next steps (and roles) to take the team towards defining their desired brand. These notes are the final section of Managing Your Total Brand, our comprehensive brand management Manual. For more details visit BuildingBrands Ltd 2003 PAGE 115