Facilitating successful change in hybrid and virtual environments
Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash
So much of how we deliver change has, well, changed! With the big shift over the past 4 years to hybrid or fully virtual teams, the way we deliver change has permanently shifted. Much of the old way of delivering change relied on in-person group or 1:1 interaction, a modality that is no longer relevant in today’s environment. I’d argue that in global companies this has been the way things have worked for quite some time before the digital and remote work revolution dawned for everyone else!
Here are a few of the things I’ve learned through managing successful change in virtual, hybrid and global environments over the past few years:
1. Get used to running things virtually
Virtual workshops and interactions require additional design and planning. Where we used to walk into a room and deliver a workshop using only sticky notes and chart paper, this type of activity can’t be directly lifted and shifted into a virtual environment. Using good digital tools that match your needs will help keep your participants engaged and help keep their attention throughout the exercise. Don’t try to cram a specific activity into a tool that doesn’t fit… if you’re doing a flip-charting exercise, use a flip chart tool (I like STORMZ) or mind mapping? Use Miro or another whiteboarding app. Wanting specific answers to a question? Use a live survey tool like SLIDO, or gather input and feedback using a wordcloud app. Using AI tools is helpful in creating meeting summaries from transcripts and can cut out some of your analysis time so that you can focus on facilitation. Importantly, planning for the use of virtual facilitation tools and setting these up beforehand is a part of a successful session! Which brings me to my second point:
2. Its all in the planning
Think about how your participants will use the tool Do you need to set up an account in advance?: Do you need to go over instructions in the session while everyone walks through together? Then planning for the interactive portion. How can I like to use at least 1 or 2 different tools in one session to help drive engagement and momentum in the workshop or session.
Planning for all of this in advance of the session will make a big impression on your team, help them participate fully and give you great momentum and engagement throughout the session.
I’ve talked a lot about workshops and sessions, but, you don’t always need to use this as the main approach, which brings me to my third point:
3. You don’t need to do everything together at the same time
In my previous IRL live as a change manager I relied a lot on workshops. Collaboration tools weren’t widely used in the pre-pandemic era at the organizations that I worked with. I found that in order to “get progress on the work” that we often had to use meetings as the main tool to drive collaboration. This has completely changed (and thank goodness!) Asynchronous interaction is another great way to drive engagement. I’ve used several different platforms with pre-loaded content to drive participant engagement and input on their own time and not while we are all together in a workshop.
Again, this all takes planning, but taking a look at what can be done together in a virtual or hybrid workshop vs. what can be done by the participants on their own will make a big difference in engagement. That way when participants get back together for interactions or huddles, there are ways to stay engaged in-between and keep driving forward on the objectives.
4. Hone your facilitation skills
This is a favourite one of mine. I’ve always thought I was a great facilitator, and virtual facilitation really tested me. I learned very quickly that facilitating in a room of live people, vs. virtually was very different. When we’re thinking about how to facilitate virtually or in a hybrid environment, you need to be brushing up on facilitation skills that help you include and motivate participants to contribute. Don’t expect people to speak as their primary mode of communication in your facilitation. Thinking ahead to what you need to accomplish and how you are going to do that, blending quiet reflection with feedback through various means is going to go a long way in getting what you need to out of the interaction.
Using the chat tool, or reactions from participants in the virtual space are two of my favourites. Using visual cues (pictures, videos, animations) and audio cues (music and sounds) are a few other ways. Establishing norms about camera use is important as well – there is great value to seeing people’s faces, especially in a facilitation and participatory environment for both you as the facilitator, and for the other participants.
5. Bring energy into the virtual space
I recently attended the ACMP virtual conference and had the pleasure of attending a keynote by Change Enthusiast Cassandra Worthy. Wow. If I could get every facilitator to just emulate 1/10th of Cassandra’s energy, we would have successful change popping up all over the place! Here’s the bottom line… your approach and demeanor make a difference to the quality of interaction that you’re going to have. I think of showing up at a talk or workshop as more of a performance. Virtual platforms can make it difficult to “read the room” or generate energy and engagement from an audience. So you have to bring it 110%! You need to drive with energy and excitement, even if it feels like you’re not getting it back from your team. Trust me, they are engaged and excited, but virtual platforms can mute these responses. So you’ve got to be giving it all.
I hope that you’ve found this helpful… what have you found to be helpful in leading change in the virtual environment? What do you think of this list?
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