GUIDE FOR CLIENTS

in-person LABS

AFTER DESIGNING AND DELIVERING MANY LABS FOR OUR CLIENTS OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE DEVELOPED SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO SHARE WITH YOU TO MAXIMIZE THE INVESTMENT YOU ARE MAKING IN YOUR PEOPLE AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT.

PROMOTE RATHER THAN MANDATE

Having your Senior Leadership and HR promote learning opportunities and how they link to your companies overall goals tends to be the best way to encourage full participation in the Labs. Research shows that when learning and particularly when DEI training is mandated that impact can actually be quite negative and take away quite significantly from the outcomes you are looking to achieve.

PLAN TIME FOR PROCESSING

We ask that our clients allow at least 15 mins after each lab for participants to decompress and reflect on discussions, insights and learnings before heading back into the work again. This also gives participants the option of taking up the opportunity to ask a question 1:1 with our facilitators who will stay after the lab for 5 mins to give time for this. Some clients will also plan to regroup after the lab to hold time to discuss the learnings further and talk through any learnings gained through implementing the learnings.

SHARE OUR PDF INVITE POSTER

Our design team will create a PDF Invite Poster for your Lab or series of Labs explaining what we will cover, who will be facilitating the session and what to expect. We encourage our clients to send this on to all participants in an email prior to the lab and to attached the PDF to the cal invite too.

PHONES AWAY

Where ever possible please be clear that these labs are immersive, that we will be in conversations with each other, sharing stories and working through challenges. This kind of work is best done when we can look each other in the eye, read body language and truly connect with our co-workers. We will ask participants to put phones and computers away and be free from distractions to support this.

u-shape over square

In support of creating an inclusive and open environment in our labs we have found that setting up the room with chairs in a U-shape and removing all obstacle like large tables helps connect the group and encourage input from everyone. This shouldn’t feel like a ‘normal’ meeting.

CONTEXT IS KEY

We ask that a representative from the client joins the labs and does a quick (1 min) intro at the beginning of the Lab to contextualize the learning in how the specific topic will support the vision and values of the company. This way of beginning each lab can have a powerful shift in how the group engage with the content and how quickly our facilitators can support impactful leanings.

For your first Tosha Lab the intro could cover:

  • Why this work is important to your company i.e. how does it relate to your overall vision or values

  • Why partner with Tosha i.e. creative/media industry experience, immersive approach, highly experienced facilitators from diverse backgrounds

  • What to expect e.g. what is the companies commitment to this work long-term, beyond this session

  • Clear hand over i.e. please welcome the [facilitator/s] from Tosha

  • For further Tosha Labs you may simply talk about the importance of the topic to your companies goals and then hand over to the facilitators.

FEEDBACK IS QUEEN!

We will provide a feedback link at the end of every lab we facilitate and we will also provide this link to our main Client Contact to circulate after the Lab too. Encouraging people to complete this very quick survey can have a huge impact on our ability to maximize the impact of the program we are designing for you and your people. Every client has particular learning needs and we love to tailor and continue to improve our labs for each of our clients on the back of the feedback we receive. At the end of larger programs we will also provide a feedback summary to share with Senior Leadership and/ or the company to show the impact of the investment you are making.

HANDOUTS + RESOURCES

We will provide a link to a PDF version of the handouts to the main client contact prior to the lab for printing. Please make sure enough copies of the handouts are available in the room for the lab participants ready to give out prior to the start of the session.

A link to the Tosha Resources page will also be shared at the end of the lab and as a follow up with our main client contact so that those who are interested in learning more can explore our recommended books, articles, podcasts and more.

MAKE IT LIGHT

Choose a room that has natural light where possible and if providing snacks choose healthy and light options to support keeping energy levels high.

TECH SETUP

We ask that there is a tech support person available 20 mins before the lab begins to help the facilitators set up their laptop and that a screen with connection to Mac/ other computers is provided for displaying slides.

ACCESS

Please make sure the room is ready 30mins before the lab is due to begin and someone is available to greet and direct our facilitators. They will help ensure that everything is set up in an optimal way for the session.

BREAK OUT SPACE

We often break people into groups so please think about how the room you book can accommodate this movement and/or adjacent spaces can provide for this.

paper + pens

Large Chart paper that sticks on walls for group work, thicker marker pens as well as pen and paper for note taking are all needed for our labs. Please arrange for these to be made available in the room prior to the lab beginning.