Services
Customized, assessment-driven, interactive retreats
We are particularly skilled in helping people of diverse backgrounds, experience and professional standing communicate better with each other (e.g. physicians, nurses, clerical employees, technicians, supervisors, human resource employees, etc.). We strive to foster an environment where respectful communications can take place. Consultants do the following:
- Meet with retreat sponsor and the entire workgroup or its representatives to get input from many perspectives
- Assist in defining the purpose and goals of the retreat (related to any business need including those described in paragraphs below)
- Design an appropriate structure to achieve the purpose and goals
- Guide the group through an agenda during the retreat to accomplish the goals, and/or act as a resource during the retreat, observing and addressing organizational issues
- Pay attention to group process and dynamics and give specific feedback
- Help the group develop an action plan, indicating tasks, responsibilities and due dates
- Provide a post-retreat evaluation summary and follow-up meeting with sponsors to determine next steps
Participants give positive evaluations of their experiences and clients report measurable improvements as a result of developing and implementing their action plans. Some of their comments are available by clicking here.
Assessment Tools
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Profile- Team members participate in an online profile experience, watching video segments and tracking their own responses. Each member receives a report and individual interpretation by a GroupWyse consultant. This is followed by coaching and/or classroom instruction to deepen understanding of the results and highlight team and organizational implications. A fitness program is included, providing practices for improvement in areas of choice by participants.
- Myers-Briggs Temperament Indicator (MBTI)-To be effective, organizations often need to improve interactions among members. This can depend on the ability to understand oneself better and leverage personality differences and similarities. The MBTI provides a lens with which to understand and improve interpersonal relationships and team dynamics.
- Various team and organization assessment surveys - When indicated, depending on the issues faced by the organization and desired changes, an appropriate tool will be used in assessing the current reality. This is an effective way to diagnose problems, identify opportunities, choose effective strategies for improvement and measure results.
Change Management
We start by assessing the organization’s readiness for change, then helping leaders understand and verbalize the purpose of the transition. The following are typical Consultant actions:
- Gather input and help develop communication plan to inform stakeholders and staff
- Coach key participants in the creation of an implementation plan for the transition
- Design ways to build engagement and commitment to the change
- Help develop a plan to train staff on the change process
- Sustain the change with specific activities
Strategic Planning
Lack of goal clarity is one of the most common complaints we hear from organizational members. Here are some ways we can help:
- Design a systematic process for analyzing and planning for the future
- Review and develop vision, values and mission
- Assess strengths and weaknesses
- Facilitate meetings and other activities to develop involvement and input
- Coach and guide the design and implementation of a strategic plan
- Lead a group through a process to solve problems and/or find better ways of doing their work or meeting customers’ needs to meet strategic plan objectives.
Team Development
Not all work groups are teams and the first step is determining whether people are interdependent in accomplishing their work. If so, and if the group is the right size, here are some of the steps we take:
- Collect data on team issues and synthesize the data into themes
- Feedback data gathered to the team
- Select a process for enhancing team engagement, commitment and effectiveness while increasing trust and respect among group members
- Involve significant stakeholders in the process and gain commitment from leaders and members for change
- Coach leaders and guide team through an implementation plan, to include ways of encouraging and motivating team members
Communications and Interaction Skills
There are both formal and informal communication channels within organizations and these can either promote or hinder effectiveness. Additionally, conflict and personality differences can cause problems among coworkers. GroupWyse Consultants can help in many ways; here are some examples:
- Assess and diagnose current communication strengths and roadblocks
- Gather perspectives from members of the organization at all levels through in-depth interviews or assessment tools
- Determine ways of improving communication patterns, both formal and informal
- If indicated by the assessment, conduct a retreat or workshop to increase awareness of one’s own and others’ communication styles and personalities. Some helpful tools for this step are MBTI and EQ Profile.
