Workshop It:
A Collaborative Approach
to Strategic Problem Solving
Workshops are core to Olio’s Human-Centered Design practice. They create unique opportunities for diverse groups of stakeholders to inform and contribute to the evolution of social impact. When we collaborate in this capacity, we lay the groundwork for solutions that truly represent voices from your community. How do we do it? Let's take a look.
Step 1: Ground in Your Purpose
Understand the Role of Your Workshop
The first step in planning an effective workshop is to ensure everyone understands the purpose and how it will contribute to day-to-day operations. Your workshop should serve as a framework for making consistent, compelling decisions that ultimately help:
People understand the value of your offerings.
Internal teams effectively communicate and deliver services.
Audiences find value and trust in your brand beyond a single entity.
Your organization maintains its sense of purpose and identity while growing.
Align on goals and objectives
After aligning on the role of the workshop, get clear on the outcomes you're looking to achieve. This allows you to develop a clear plan of action and go into the workshop with confidence that the inputs you collect will fuel the rest of your work.
Your workshop's goal is to explore what does and doesn't resonate with your stakeholders. It takes vulnerability and courage to invite open conversation around what your work can and should stand for. So, we ask our clients to venture into this moment with the intent to listen, learn, and enjoy the ride as much as possible.
Workshop objectives help further clarify your mission, and often include:
Building off existing organizational strategy, testing new ideas, and/or validating assumptions.
Gaining an understanding of internal and external audience needs and wants.
Bringing project stakeholders up to speed and along for the ride.
Inviting and teasing out open, honest feedback.
Step 2: Lock in the Logistics
invite participants
Next, turn your attention to convening the right people, in the right space, at the right time. Start with people. Because your work is experienced by everyone from program participants, to funders, to volunteers, to staff, strive for participant lists to be as diverse and cross-functional as possible. This is a rare moment where you actually want (and need) at least a few people with limited experience in a specific discipline. Think of the people who attend your workshop as the first champions of your new work. When launch time rolls around, who do you want standing by your side, advocating for your organization? These are the people you want at your workshop.
decide on a full-day or half-day format
A productive, intentional workshop takes at least four hours. Anything less and participants will struggle to build rapport, get in a creative flow, or provide meaningful input and ideas. Ideally, carve out a full day to host your workshop. Don't worry, the agenda will be thoughtfully paced with ample time to take breaks and refuel.
Full-Day Sample Scheudle
| Workshop Grounding | 30 Minutes |
| Journey Mapping (Empathy) | 90 Minutes |
| Break | 15 Minutes |
| Empathy Mapping (Empathy) | 90 minutes |
| Lunch | 60 minutes |
| What’s the Big Idea? (Ethos) | 30 minutes |
| Headlines for the Future (Ethos) | 30 minutes |
| Break | 15 Minutes |
| Brand Attributes and Guardrails (Expression) | 60 minutes |
| Wrap Up and Reflect | 30 minutes |
| 8 Hours |
(Includes 30 minutes of overflow time)
This option takes you deeper into the areas of your brand that need extra attention, and includes ample time for large group sharing and digestion at the end of each activity.
Half-Day Sample Scheudle
| Workshop Grounding | 30 Minutes |
| Empathy Mapping (Empathy) | 60 minutes |
| Break | 15 Minutes |
| What’s the Big Idea? (Ethos) | 30 minutes |
| Brand Attributes and Guardrails (Expression) | 60 minutes |
| Wrap Up and Reflect | 30 minutes |
| 4 Hours |
(Includes 15 minutes of overflow time)
This option allows you to explore a little bit of everything in small doses.
choose a location
Although virtual workshops have become more commonplace, nothing compares to the dynamic of sharing physical space together. So much comes out of an in-person experience. It's truly worth the effort and investment to gather people in the same space, even if it requires making special arrangements. However, if your organization must host its workshop online, having the right tools and know-how can make it happen.
Tips for selecting an in-person workshop space:
Strive to orient somewhere outside of your typical place of work.
Visit the space ahead of time to assess the vibe and energy.
Choose an environment that aligns with your organization's mission and values.
Based on the size of your group, ensure there's enough room to spread out and move around.
Secure access to whiteboards or vertical surfaces where large pieces of paper can be hung.
Consider accessibility needs, both for getting to and around the location.
The more natural light, the better.
Tips for setting the stage virtually:
Establish clear rules about cameras and microphones, and share them in advance.
Build in breaks for people to walk away from their screens.
Choose a technology platform that your participant pool can navigate with ease.
Double-check your organization's IT security requirements.
Step 3: Design the Experience
plan the Agenda
To get the most out of your workshop, nothing is more important than flow. Dedicated time should be given to participant grounding, engaging activities, and group reflection. We use our time wisely, strategically breaking up the time between curated design thinking exercises and well-timed breaks. Olio's workshops include exercises that fall into three categories:
Empathize: These exercises encourage organizational insiders to step outside their personal experiences and understand what people who engage with their organization need and want. We also create space for community members and program participants to tap into and share their lived experiences.
Ideate: Exercises guide participants through prompts that explore different ways to articulate what your organization stands for, in ways that are meaningful and impactful.
Prototype: These exercises identify and define your organization's personality, so your work is able to show up in a way that's both distinct and authentic. Activities center around identifying and defining attributes, discussing visual styles, and putting guardrails around what is and isn't appropriate for your organization.
introduce Housekeeping rules
The other essential component in setting the tone for your workshop is establishing some ground rules that foster curiosity and collaboration. Don’t worry, you’re going to like them. Some of our favorites include:
Don’t think it. Post it!
Yes, and…
Every voice is heard.
Step 4: Collect Inputs and Share Insights
This component is all about what happens after everyone leaves the room. During the workshop, we collect loads of raw material, but we never plan to settle on anything on the spot. Once the dust settles, we survey what's been contributed and begin to make sense of it all. We share out these findings with workshop stakeholders for a quick gut check, and then we're off to the next phase of work with a heightened level of inspiration and alignment.
Ready to plan your next workshop?
Now that you know more about how to design a Human-Centered Design workshop, let's generate some momentum for your organization's initiatives. Whether you're looking to define a strategy for the first time or evolve an existing one, Olio is ready to lead you through a thoughtful process with meaningful outcomes.