How To Onboard Attendees Of Your Collaboration Session
Imagine yourself starting a new position at a new company. You had a successful interview but it was conducted remote only. You were given very little information about what to expect when you arrived in person at the offices and no indication of who your point of contact was.
Wanting to make a good first impression you dressed in your best for your first day at work. As you walked into the reception area, though, you noticed that you were clearly overdressed. Seemingly surprised to see you, the receptionist scrambles to gather some new hire booklets for you and to figure out which team you’re to work with in order to call and have someone take you to your desk. Perhaps you have not had such an experience but if you have gone through any aspect of it, your onboarding left much to be desired.
As a facilitator you are responsible for the onboarding of your attendees and it’s important to do this properly. You want each one of them to have the best experience possible during your workshop or collaboration session and to feel comfortable putting themselves and their precious time in your hands for the duration of it. Some of them may have never attended a workshop and others may have extensive experience. You’ll find out their level of experience in your call with the person who requests the session. Ultimately, no one may be familiar with how you personally run yours so the onboarding process is going to give them the opportunity to do so. Below are some tips to help you onboard like a pro.
The following onboarding tips are for the prior to the session.
Set up a call. If your collaboration sessions incorporate limited conversation, now is the time to let them speak to their heart is content within reason of course. You will likely become aware of their expectations and begin the process of setting expectations for them providing them with a brief outline of how you plan to get them to the desired outcome.
Make sure they are familiar with the tools that you will use. This is especially important when you are planning to do a remote or hybrid workshop. The attendees will need to be sure that they can access the virtual whiteboard and type in the sticky notes and even copy information they may need to transfer for example.
The following onboarding tips are for the start of the session.
Choose an appropriate icebreaker. Part of a good onboarding program for a job involves activities to help the new hire get to know their teammates and vice versa. You’ll likely have gotten an understanding of the team’s level of cohesiveness during the calls. This will allow you to know which icebreaker would be best used to help them let down their guards and start to bond.
Set and get expectations. Some of the attendees may have forgotten what you spoke about in the previous call therefore clearly restating the objectives and making sure that everyone agrees that they are what you are to be working to address is imperative. Helping them to understand that at times they will feel less energetic and that this is perfectly normal will also keep them feeling comfortable with the process.
Hopefully these suggestions will be of good use to you as you prepare for next workshop or collaboration session. In the meantime, happy collaboration!