Navigate the Complexities of HR Facilitation

HR professionals need to be strategic in how they use facilitation skills to understand the needs of leaders and participants, pose effective probing questions, and elevate conversation to achieve session objectives. However, there is often a breakdown in communication between HR and cross-functional collaborators, which can lead to facilitated sessions that fall flat or even cause conflict. This negatively affects HR’s ability to deliver facilitated sessions that meet intended objectives or help achieve broader organizational goals, resulting in reduced buy-in, participant disengagement, and wasted resources.

When it comes to developing and delivering facilitated sessions, HR needs to find opportunities tailor content, ask effective questions, and plan to proactively combat session challenges. But how can this be accomplished?

HR professionals can elevate their facilitation skills by shifting their mindset from being “answer providers” to guides that facilitate insight generation. Through advanced planning and preparation with key parties, guiding in-session collaboration through effective probing questions, and managing challenging dynamics or obstacles, HR professionals can lead training, workshops, focus groups, or other forms of facilitation that achieve session objectives. Moreover, through business acumen and strategic discussions with other cross-functional leaders, they can better meet organizational goals and underscore the timely, relevant, and vital insights of the session and advance HR’s position as a trusted thought partner.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Elevate HR facilitation by preparing in advance, guiding collaboration by inspiring shared insight generation, and managing challenging dynamics to achieve session objectives.

Impact and Result

• Use this learning resource to plan and prepare for facilitation.
• Assess organizational, leadership, and participant needs and tailor your facilitation to the audience.
• Achieve key objectives and outcomes for facilitated sessions.
• Establish credibility and build trust during sessions.
• Inspire insight generation through effective probing questions.
• Manage challenging participant dynamics.