Online Facilitation
Same trusted process, cutting-edge tools.
When should we meet online, and why? These days, we can meet with anyone, anywhere, any time at the click of a button. In the age of Zoom and Microsoft Teams, we no longer even afford ourselves the 15 minutes to walk from one meeting room to another. But should the fact that we can easily check shared calendars, and beam our faces into our colleagues’ living rooms, mean we should meet more often? No. No, it does not. Being in more meetings doesn’t bring greater productivity; it results in spending valuable time without real direction or progress. Every meeting should have a purpose and desired outcomes.
Though some people believe that meeting online doesn’t have quite the same connection as meeting in person, opting for virtual meeting facilitation certainly beats spending an entire day in an airport, juggling layovers or delays. It’s also a great option for people who need to stay close to home for family reasons or to avoid the spread of unexpected illnesses. As early adopters of online meeting technology, our experts leverage a host of virtual collaboration tools to bring our trusted process from the conference room to the home office, and everywhere in between.
We work to stay up to date with widely-used virtual collaboration tools. We will work with your organization’s preferred tools to design a meeting that suits your team. For meetings and engagements that require a more powerful platform, we use a secure, web-based electronic flipchart called FacilitatePro that allows the use of a wide range of decision-making tools, including idea sharing, ranking, sorting, and polling.

When we’re unable to meet face to face, we don’t see facilitating online meetings as “plan B.” We recognize that virtual engagements are a standard part of organizations, especially when teams are spread across different locations. It can be cost-effective and time-effective, while providing the opportunity to use innovative software unique to the online world. That’s why Intersol has developed proven processes that keep participants engaged online by making data visible, setting ground rules around cameras and chat functions, and being mindful of time spent in front of a screen. In fact, the online version of our flagship facilitation course covers both the core competencies of face-to-face facilitation and how to transfer those competencies to a virtual environment.