VIRTUAL COLLABORATION

We are in era of radical, rapid change. Teams, departments, and whole organizations are responding by working virtually.

Leaders are embracing cloud apps like Zoom, GoToMeeting, and Microsoft Teams at ever-higher rates. 

These cloud apps come up short, however, for collaborative creative thinking among leaders, action teams, or cross-functional groups.  

GEO offers a turnkey online service to bridge the gap in cloud apps: facilitated VIRTUAL COLLABORATION

The firm’s past strategic planning had used the traditional approach ─ the executive team worked off-site for a couple of days with a facilitator. They returned to the office with a plan, but it usually ended up in a binder on the shelf.

So, the firm tried something new: GEO Facilitated Virtual Collaboration. The 28-member co-located group ― counselors and professional staff ― collaborated online. Each week a GEO Advisor facilitated a one-hour online session. Over 90-days, the group shaped a strategy to transform their business. To execute it, they continued to collaborate virtually for the next nine months.

All the online sessions were designed and facilitated remotely by a GEO Advisor following the process of Weekly Cycles illustrated below.

Rather than send a survey to members across the country as they had done in the past, the board of directors decided to conduct facilitated virtual collaboration sessions. 

Fifty stakeholders logged into the GEO Collaboration System™ for each session. The GEO Advisor facilitated a discussion of key strategic issues and then posed simply stated questions. The stakeholders then simultaneously entered their answers via online feedback tools. It was fast, precise, and everyone’s thoughts were captured.

Following each session, the GEO Advisor synthesized all the responses and prepared a “Theme Analysis” for the stakeholders to review prior to the next collaboration session.

Over three weeks, divergent viewpoints converged. Following the third session, the GEO Advisor prepared a deliverable draft that the board used to make key strategic decisions.

The process was large scale. It included 250 leaders across levels, functions, and locations. The leaders were organized into 25 virtual teams that met online each week for strategic thinking and planning. Each one-hour session was designed and co-facilitated by a GEO Advisor and an HR Director.

The client identified two significant benefits of this approach. First, it simplified the meeting logistics and reduced costs because the leaders were not gathering physically in one location. Second, the collaboration tools allowed a broad spectrum of diverse thinking to be quickly captured, synthesized, and translated into a strategic plan.

GEO’s Virtual Collaboration service is a Force Multiplier. It delivers faster, better outcomes with less time and effort.

Leaders use this Force Multplier to:

• Make more-informed decisions
• Shape and execute strategic plans
• Pivot and re-align when circumstances change
• Tap Collective IQ to solve complex problems
• Build trust by demonstrating transparency

The unique attributes of Virtual Collaboration process include:  

• Balanced Participation – Everyone can ‘say their piece’ simultaneously
• Focused Conversations – Virtual Advisor keeps discussions on point
• Achieving Consensus – Viewpoints converge as decisions are deliberated
• Decision Commitment – Group decisions tend to be strongly supported
• Efficiency – Spending less time in meetings with better outcomes

Success During A Downturn

Outstanding ROI Results

$60 Million Growth in 6 Months