Corporate Forums
YOUR NEW EMPLOYEE BENEFIT
ForumWithin will change your culture by helping you continually refine how you and your colleagues think, relate and react to each other at work. ForumWithin processes create new personal and business conversations in confidential meetings to deepen relationships and collaboration. Trained forum moderators, in a leadership group themselves, become carriers of your company culture and brand.
New ForumWithin connections will directly enhance issue clearing, team commitment, recognition of toxic language, cross silo sharing, leadership and collaboration.
YPO 2020 Survey, 2472 Respondents
Expectations
Backed by a team of Certified Facilitators, your colleagues will energize their work relationships. We will help your people discover psychological safety while sharing personal and business experiences. Their personal decision to respect a colleague’s information in a confidential setting will create new bonds.
Structure and Training
We will work with you to determine the makeup and scheduling of each forum of 7-10 people. Interactive facilitation with each group requires about 8 hours over several sessions, designed for your workforce and budget. Launching forums to independence depends on member and facilitator schedules and your corporate calendar.
We will help you design the best structure and training schedule for your company culture.
Executive and employee shared experiences result in 40-50% improvement in work environment, job satisfaction, retention, and workflow.
(peer group metrics, 2020)
MEMBER SELECTION
Diagonal Forums
Diagonal Forum membership is our favorite “cross cut of the organization chart” because of the communication multiplier that occurs between different titles, levels and departments. This forum membership selection expands collaboration across silos and authority levels.
Horizontal Forums
Horizontal Forums along management or suite levels are often the PILOT forums and they expand leadership connections between units, departments, and divisions.
Vertical Forums
Vertical Forums in the same department or same office, work well to strengthen communication among colleagues who may report to one another.
Virtual Forums
Virtual Forum meetings have improved dramatically and can accommodate work at home, satellite offices, traveling employees, regional managers and diverse groups.
Combination
Also consider a Combination of Forums - a C suite horizontal forum, a District Manager virtual forum, a diagonal employee forum in the main office, or a vertical forum on the shop floor... whatever creates the best mix for your firm.
Welcome to ForumWithin !
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is the Forum time commitment worth the outcomes?
Our clients say YES. Even more so now that we often work remotely. Our surveys reveal 40-50% improvement in employee retention, connections, relationships, onboarding impact, toxic language recognition, cross silo communication and issue clearing. (Peer Group Surveys)
How will ForumWithin implement our peer groups?
Together we create your custom program with our materials, agendas, and guides, while coaching your Forum Officer. Then our Certified Facilitators train each forum virtually and live, in a biweekly cadence. Your forum design and launch dates will include participation, location, and facilitator schedules, including surveys and assessments.
Who determines the selection of people in each forum?
We work with the CEO and Forum Officer to determine the balance and influence in each forum. A team can be by executive level, within a department, a diagonal cut of your organization, virtual, live, or a combination of each.
How do you scale the launch of multiple forums?
We usually suggest a Pilot forum, letting the “buzz” spread, then starting more forums to satisfy demand. We use a combination of live and virtual training sessions to take each forum through a series of experiential agendas, practicing language and protocols, while coaching a selected moderator.
Will ForumWithin be effective when we go back to the office or continue remotely?
YES to both. Your teams can be connected live or virtually to the advantage of each forum. Some forums will decide to continue meeting remotely because of location or travel pressures, while other forums will share
in-person experiences.
Is it uncomfortable to work with people after hearing their personal stories?
Many people wonder about this, but our testimonials show the opposite. People are more comfortable with each other and more likely to communicate and collaborate after sharing their true stories with each other.
Do you continue coaching each year or do we proceed independently?
Our goal is to train your Forum Officer, each moderator, and each forum to be self-sustaining. We recommend new moderator training and health assessments each year with local off-site retreats. ForumWithin also assists with issue clearing and onboarding/exiting forum members.