Efficiency Improvement Workshops

Are workshops getting a bad rep? I am inclined to think so. During a Design Sprint training session earlier this year, I encountered a very skeptical stakeholder. Throughout the session, he raised numerous questions and objections about whether the process truly works. Listening to him, I had to admit—he had a point. For context, he leads transformation at a global management consulting firm, tasked with creating and building new products for their clients, which are also large enterprises. Here’s what he told me: “John, we run workshops every week, and they don’t lead anywhere. We do all the post-it exercises, but no good ideas come of it. People come unprepared, they don’t take the time to read or do research, ideas are superficial, and sometimes they’re already being worked on by other business units.” He’s right. Unfortunately, I’ve seen many workshops run like this. I don’t have hard data, but I can confidently say that most workshops are a waste of time, which is why they get a bad reputation in many organizations. That said, as someone who runs workshops for a living, I know that workshops can be incredibly effective—if you get a few key things right: 1️⃣ Be clear on the scope. Is it a problem-solving workshop, or is it about decision-making (e.g., aligning on a problem to solve)? A common mistake is trying to mix the two, which rarely works because they require different people and processes. 2️⃣ Have the right people in the room. This ties directly to scope. If you’re making strategic decisions, you need stakeholders present. If you’re creating solutions, you need subject matter experts. Mixing the wrong participants can derail progress. 3️⃣ Bring data to inform decisions and ideation. Workshops should be anchored in product discovery, user research, business goals, and ongoing initiatives. Facilitators must take the time to gather and visualize data—customer journey maps or service blueprints work especially well. Think about the workshops you attended in the past six months? How often did you see a ‘data visualization’ in the room? 4️⃣ Don’t be the ‘clueless facilitator.’ I don’t believe in the concept of a purely neutral facilitator. Facilitators need to act more like consultants. While they don’t have to be subject matter experts, they must understand the topic and context they’re facilitating to guide teams effectively. The idea that a facilitator can walk into any room, work with any team, in any industry, and deliver results is a myth. Workshops can be a game-changer for teams—but only when they’re done right. The next time you plan one, ask yourself: Are we set up for success, or are we just adding to the post-it graveyard?

What will truly move the needle for the participants? (The most fun part of what I do: Learning Design) When designing this 3 months long Peak Performance learning journey, I started the sketch work by speaking to people it was meant for. During initial conversations, one participant’s words that were echoed by the majority stuck with me: "I know I need to focus, but I can’t figure out how to prioritize when everything feels urgent." That became my anchor. Talking to them during our discovery calls gave me a very thorough understanding of their challenges while also noticing their actual needs. The Design Process- To address challenges like this, I focused on three key areas: - Awareness: Helping participants see how busyness often masks the real work that drives results. - Practical Tools: From Walt's thinking model to self energy audits, I selected strategies participants could apply immediately. - Sustainability: I introduced micro-habits, that create big results over time. One of my favorite moments came during an energy management exercise. A senior manager realized she was doing her hardest work during her lowest-energy hours. She shifted her schedule the next week and reported a significant boost in how she perceived herself and in her productivity. Workshops aren’t about cramming in content — they’re about creating actionable breakthroughs. For me, the reward is seeing participants leave equipped with the clarity and tools to perform at their peak and while in their project phase they implemented the tools of peak productivity and witnessed actual shifts. In my next post I will also be sharing a few successful shifts that the participants created. As an L&D Associate, how do you look at the learning design? Priya Arora | LinkedIn for Learning | LinkedIn HR #PeakPerformance #WorkshopDesign #CorporateTraining #LearningThatLasts #LearningJourney #SoftSkills #ExecutivePresence #Facilitator #Session #Workshop #TeamCoaching #TeamBonding #TeamPerformance #TeamBuilding #LearningandDevelopment

Here are 5 tips to improve your workshops, so they don't end up as forgotten Post-It note garbage piles. (This also applies to digital whiteboards) Everyone gets super excited in workshops (if they are run well), however too often, after the excitement dies down, you find that nothing gets executed or worse the wrong solutions get put forward. My Tips: 1) Don’t treat your workshops as the "end all be all. The workshop is an activity to help you get diverse perspectives on your challenge, but you need to reflect, validate, and bring in evidence to be able to move your insights forward. You also need to triangulate data - and find patterns from other activities. 2) Work with a logic model and keep it close to all the activities you do. A logic model ensures you always follow a systematic flow, that logically connects your challenge (what you need to overcome) to your outcome (what you want to get) 3) Create each activity in the workshops with a purpose and think about what you want to learn from each person who is contributing. While you should make the workshops fun and engaging, the purpose is to ultimately gain insights, not to play with post-it notes. 4) Don’t get so excited with ideation that you forget who you are creating the solution for. Too often ideation is not tied to the outcome, behaviors, and drivers - so while you may come up with great solutions, they may not address what you really need to address. We are very strict in ideation (not in how, but in what) - which means we keep the participants true to the chosen behavior change strategies that were selected, and we keep the logic model present, so we always question if it still fits. 5) Don’t make decisions in the workshop with DOT voting. Instead, use scoring matrixes with more parameters that can help you think harder about what you are voting to move forward. - You need time to reflect, don't get excited and just make a choice -discuss and then decide. -Think impact, ease of change, and ease of measurement -Think spillover effects, acceptability, and equity These are just some of my tips from running many workshops - what would you like to add?

𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺: 𝗙𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 Driving efficiency and innovation begins with empowering every team member to identify and solve problems. Organizations should launch a company-wide initiative where employees can spotlight inefficiencies and propose actionable solutions. Training teams on Lean principles is a great help to eliminate waste and streamline processes, while regular Kaizen workshops can promote small, incremental changes that build up to significant long-term improvements. By embracing Design Thinking to craft customer-centric solutions, organizations can push innovation forward. To keep the momentum high, they must establish a recognition system that rewards employees for their contributions to process improvement. This comprehensive approach not only optimizes their operations but also cultivates a culture where continuous improvement is everyone's responsibility. How is your organization encouraging a culture of ongoing enhancement? Let’s share insights with Digital Transformation Strategist! #digitaltransformation #continuousimprovement #lean #kaizen #designthinking

Most workshops are a waste of your organisation’s time and money. Here’s what will change that... 👀  If you don’t have frameworks in your workshops, you’re wasting your time. Yesterday, I ran a workshop.  We used a few key frameworks.   And, surprise surprise—it made all the difference.  Here’s what we did—and what you should ask if you’re a leader running a workshop:  1️⃣ Start with engagement Forget the boardroom table.   No laptops.   We arranged chairs in a circle—like a fishbowl. 🐟   The message?   This isn’t your average meeting. This is about real conversation.  2️⃣ Use different spaces for different goals We split the session into three parts:   - Dialogue and active listening. 👂   - Group work using visual frameworks. 📝   - Wrap-up with action steps. 💡  Each part had a different vibe and energy.   Visuals + post-its = clear thinking and common ground.  3️⃣ Visual thinking drives results   Every group had a framework to guide the conversation.   Not random chat—structured dialogue with a purpose.   Seeing ideas on the board built alignment and stopped people from going off on tangents (you know who you are 😉).  4️⃣ Leverage group dynamics   We mixed groups, rotated them, and brought them back together.   This sparked fresh perspectives and new ideas. 💭  At the end, I heard:   “That was a great session.”  Why?   Because it was effective.  We didn’t waste time:   - 40% for dialogue and listening.   - 40% for actual work—pens, post-its, frameworks.   - 20% for action steps and next moves.  If you’re an executive or leader, here’s what you need to ask before your next workshop:   - How’s the space being used?   - What type of conversation are we promoting?   - What work are we expecting?   - What’s the result we’re aiming for?  Get these right, and you’ll have a workshop that’s actually worth the time (and the post-it notes).  🟨 This is how we approach every session.   Hope these tips help—whether you’re a facilitator, a leader, or someone who's tired of wasting time in workshops that go nowhere.  #WorkshopDesign #Leadership #EffectiveFacilitation #StrategicWorkshops #ExecutiveLeadership

If you want to improve your process, you first have to see it clearly. In our Value Stream Mapping workshop, we don’t just talk about theory; we walk the floor, gather real data, and build out the Current State Map together. Then we dig in: 1. Identifying where the waste is hiding. 2. Listening to the people closest to the work. 3. Layering in lean tools like 5S, SMED, Kanban, and TPM. 4. And step by step, we convert that Current State into a practical, achievable Future State. It’s not about guesswork; it’s about structured discovery, cross-functional insight, and building a roadmap everyone understands. Because when people see the problems, they start solving them.