A skilled facilitator can have a dramatic impact on the effectiveness of a meeting. Studies have shown that on the average 75% of the time spent in meetings is wasted. Utilizing a facilitator is the single most important thing you can do to reduce this waste. Your first thought is likely “we cannot afford that”. My question is “can you afford to not evaluate the possibility”. Make a rough estimate of how many meetings are held in a year, the average number of people in them, their length and approximately the hourly cost per person. Then at the 75% loss rate referenced earlier you can estimate how much money you might be wasting. What would you do if you had a group of workers that routinely wasted 75% of their time? You would probable fire them.
There are two options for utilizing well trained facilitators. One is to hire a professional and the other is to develop internal resources. I would recommend the following. Find a professional that comes highly recommended and evaluate their effectiveness. If you are pleased, have them train some internal resources. The number would be determined based on the size of your organization.
Are you brave enough to calculate the potential cost savings? Are you brave enough to try a professional?
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