Facilitators: Types of Facilitation Services Offered

Facilitation services use a broad set of methods, measurement tools, and training programs to build individuals, teams and corporations for their competitive advantage and enhancement. A facilitator’s job is to ‘support everyone to do their best thinking and practice’ - offer support from a neutral point of view. He or she guides a meeting, its tone and content to achieve maximum efficacy of time spent and results achieved.

They guide conversations, track the key points made, and defuse tension when it arises. They do not allow individual agenda to get in the way of the group’s progress.

There are many applications of facilitation services; indeed it seems the whole world could do with their help sometime.

Some of the broad classifications of facilitation services offered are:

• Business Facilitators : they work in formal organizations and in groups and communities and must navigate between management and employees usually on issues of empowerment. The cardinal rule among facilitators is that they cannot suggest the remedy to any situation, even though it may be obvious to them. They must help the parties come to their own decision and future course of action, though they may not agree with it.

• Conflict Resolution Facilitators : their function is to enable a democratic and constructive dialogue between two parties of diametrically opposite viewpoints. They must help each recognize and respect another’s point of view and help them create a shared vision for the future.

• Educational Facilitators : are well versed in the subject matter taught at schools as well as the important aspects of education. But their role is to encourage students to develop a lifelong interest in learning and own sole responsibility for it.

• Small group Facilitators : There are certain groups like prayer groups, men’s groups, writing groups, which would like to function in a certain way, with an agenda. A small group facilitator is appointed as the head or chairperson of such a group and follows the set agenda.

• Training Facilitators : facilitate adult education. Though they have no teaching capability, they can identify gaps and direct the participants to the relevant authority.

• Wraparound facilitators are those that serve a group of children and their needs.

Facilitators are also finding a new vocation – that of a family coach. Facilitator training now goes hand in hand with family coach training where the training will foster mentors and people in leadership roles to help bring new ideas and insights in the areas of parenting and relationships. Unlike counseling, mentoring helps you to realize the goals you have set for your family. Such family coach mentoring can take place one on one, through Skype or through email?