Group Discussion and Workshops

In large organizations, where individual interviews are not possible, group discussions and workshops are conducted for diagnosis and evaluation of various aspects of HR.

In some cases the individual and group interviews are substituted by large-scale workshops. In the workshop a large number of participants ranging from 30 to about 300 could be gathered in a room and could be asked to do the HRD audit. Normally in the workshop the participants work in small groups either around various sub-systems of HRD or around different dimensions of HRD, do a SWOT analysis and make a presentation. The workshops also can be used focusing specifically on individual HRD systems like performance appraisal.

The HRD audit if conducted through participatory methods in itself may initiate the change process. Even if it does not, it is a potential diagnostic tool and can provide a lot of information to the top management on human processes and help them plan further interventions.

Some people hate going to workshops. Done wrong, they can be a huge waste of time and money. However, if they’re planned well, they can be incredibly valuable for everyone involved.  orkshops are great for brainstorming, interactive learning, building relationships, and problem-solving. This is why advance planning is critical.

Follow these steps to make sure your workshop is a valuable experience for everyone:

Define the Goals – Every workshop must have a goal. Do you need to improve your company’s hiring procedures? Do you want to teach managers how to be better organizers? Do you need to do some team building with a newly formed team?

Many workshops are a waste of time because there’s no clear goal kept at the center of the discussion. Without this clear goal, there’s really no point in getting people together.

Decide Who Will Attend – Knowing who will attend directly relates to your objective. For example, if your workshop’s goal is to develop a detailed solution to a problem, then you probably want 10 or fewer key attendees. If your goal is centered on education, then you might be happy with a much larger group, which divides into smaller groups for discussion.

Make a list of who needs to be there. Try to be as specific as possible, but leave a few openings for last-minute additions.

Choose the Right Location – If you have 10 attendees, then the conference room down the hall will probably be just fine. But if you have 50 people, you may have to find an outside location that’s large enough.

Think about the logistics and practical details of your workshop when you choose the location. Will everyone be able to see your visual aids? If you need a certain technology, like teleconferencing, will the location support it? Are there appropriate facilities for breakout sessions? Will everyone be able to reach the venue? Will you need to organize accommodation for people who are coming from a long way away? And what catering facilities does the venue provide?

Create an Agenda – Now that you know your primary objective and who will attend, you can start to develop an outline of how you’ll achieve the workshop’s goal.

• Main points – Create a list of main points to discuss, and then break down each larger point into details that you want to communicate to your audience.
• Visual aids – List the visual aids, if any, you’ll use for each point. If you need technical support, this helps the people providing it to determine where they need to focus their efforts.
• Discussions and activities – Take time to list exactly which group discussions and activities you’ll have at which point in the workshop. How much time will you allow for each exercise? Make sure your activities are appropriate for the size of the group, and ensure that your venue has the resources (for example, seminar rooms) needed to run sessions.

Develop a Follow-up Plan – The only way to find out if your workshop was a success is to have an effective follow-up plan. Create a questionnaire to give to all participants at the end of the event, and give them plenty of opportunities to share their opinions on how well it went. Although this can be a bit scary, it’s the only way to learn – and improve – for the next time.

It’s also important to have a plan to communicate the decisions that were reached during the workshop. Will you send out a mass email to everyone with the details? Will you put it on your company’s intranet? People need to know that their hard work actually resulted in a decision or action, so keep them informed about what’s happening after the workshop has ended.

During the Workshop – Getting People Involved. Once you have a solid advance plan, figure out how to bring some excitement into your event. You know the topics that you want to cover, but how will you make the information fun and memorable for your team?

Getting everyone involved is key to a successful workshop. If you stand up and talk for three hours, you’re just giving a lecture – not facilitating a workshop. Everyone needs to participate.