Facilitation

The dictionary definition of facilitation is to make something easier. In this broad definition, facilitation covers a lot of ground. But in the continuous improvement definition, facilitation has a few specific characteristics.

1. Facilitation is generally done for groups, not for individuals.
2. Facilitation is most common for discrete projects. You might see a facilitator for a kaizen event, but probably not just to help with day-to-day operations.
3. Facilitation should focus on tools, not processes. A facilitator should walk teams through the decision making about how to improve a process, not make the decisions for them.
4. Facilitation should focus on getting good results, not on implementing a particular method.

Facilitation can be done by a member of the company, or by a professional facilitator. Professional facilitators tend to be better trained than people that do it only occasionally. Practice makes perfect.

Bringing in an outsider also has the added benefit of neutrality. Hired facilitators don’t tend to have the bias that a manager or supervisor might have. Note that the outsider in this case can be someone from the company’s own Lean promotion office, or a hired consultant.