Why Hire a Consultant to Improve Performance in Your Manufacturing Company?

Facilitation in the improvement world is not for the faint at heart, it is a continuous challenge to remain neutral, keep a team focused on task, remain positive and energetic and do all of this in a room full of your colleagues and managers.  Please do not let that scare you, because it is also one of the most rewarding roles you can have in your company as you help to align everyone to a common purpose that is going to make your company better and more prepared for the future. 

Let me reiterate that the key role of a facilitator is to remain neutral. This is so that you can focus on ensuring that everyone else in the room feels comfortable to share their thoughts, opinions and personal experiences as they relate to the improvement topic. The facilitator’s role becomes one of providing structure and process to the group, enabling them to make the required high-quality decisions as a collective team and this will only happen if everyone feels supported.

The neutral facilitator is:

  1. Comforting like a cup of hot chocolate
  2. Multitasking with a variety of tools in your toolkit, regularly sharpening, adding and refining
  3. Precise and able to practice good time management and inflict it across a group
  4. Safe in action as well as a safe place for teams, like the bank – low risk and private
  5. Humble and a little bit cheesy too, show others that it is ok.  Remember it may be work but it should still be fun

As you look at embarking on your improvement journey, what better way to start then to bring in an external resource who is competent in the process to guide your team. If you are looking to become a facilitator within your organization, having a guiding hand to help you through it is a sure path to success.

Then, when you are lucky enough to get your first or 100th opportunity to facilitate, take some time to reflect on a neutral image for yourself and go out there and bring one home for the team!

Posted in

Roberta Rose

I’m your data driven, on-demand productivity consultant. I’ve been a Six Sigma Black Belt since 2001. As an ENFJ, I’ve been told I’m tenacious and strategic. I’ve always been driven to find the best ways to do quality and safety better, faster, and easier. I see possibilities where others see roadblocks. My passion, optimism, and high expectations means I’m ready to help your company leverage its time, money, and resources. We’ll create a coordinated effort to move the needle on the metrics that will drive results and improve your bottom line.

Leave a Comment