There’s arguably no greater example of teamwork than the emergency medical services. The workplace ‘green flags’ of communication, coordination, collaboration, and trust aren’t just nice to have; they’re essential when responding to major incidents and ensuring patient safety and well-being.

At a time when one too many businesses are making inflated claims about their culture, it can be hard to know who’s talking the talk and walking the walk.

Working with a facilitator is a good litmus test. If an organisation is taking active steps to create a collaborative and positive company culture, that’s a big green flag.

A shining example is Fairtrade. Here’s what happened.

It’s 2019 and I’ve got a sizable project on my hands: to facilitate a large group of multi-industry, multi-lingual, multi-location participants, comprising companies, NGOs, governments, unions, civic groups and media. But there was an additional challenge to contend with. The event in question had to be hosted online, across two different time zones, with global participants, during a pandemic. Challenge accepted.

Many organisations have mastered the art of unnecessary interactions, thanks to a plethora of apps, instant messaging platforms, and video conferencing tools. But genuine, productive, we’re all-on-the-same-page collaboration? That’s arguably harder than ever.

That’s what effective facilitation is all about. Learning to Achieve became a key puzzle piece in helping to drive great communication between WWF and a wide range of external stakeholders.