|
How did this trial compare with our requirements of successful accelerated business growth programs for small business?
|
|
|
|
|
|
In this section we evaluate how the Synergy Groups measured up against our list of 'musts' for effective small business development programs.
|
|
|
|
Finding an effective way of identifying and recruiting appropriate participants.
|
|
Use of both a broad-based survey targeting known small businesses and an open free seminar on a topic known to be of interest to this group is a valuable way of identifying participants. The two approaches reached slightly different groups, providing an opportunity to build enthusiasm for more learning and create an initiate network of people from which to build a business development group. The low level of participant drop out throughout the program indicates that the participants were well chosen for the type of learning that the synergy group provided.
|
|
|
|
Creating opportunities for development of networks within business communities in which participants are able to share knowledge, take risks and provide each other with support.
|
|
Certainly in this case the seminars and survey raised interest and provided a context from which a development group could emerge. Having some funding with which to provide a facilitator was the key to being able to move on to establishing the synergy groups. Bringing groups of business people together may facilitate interaction or loose networking but to establish a development group which can provide the level and quality of development support we envisage requires active facilitation. Offering a series of free development events helped overcome the inertia which would inhibit groups of business people from establishing really effective learning network independently. The short series of organised events set in place a structure within which a business support network could be established.
|
|
|
|
Nurturing the participants' capacity to identify individual and group learning needs.
|
|
The survey provided some very locally focused information for the group, which acted as a useful starting point for this process by identifying a series of headline skills development needs. But one of the strengths of the synergy groups was their capacity to change direction to suit the needs of participants. The program that was set out for facilitators was a guide, but only a guide. The rapid shift in one group's look at financial management was a typical example. The session outline was pitched too low, and participants rapidly moved from basic record keeping (which they felt they already knew well) to measuring their performance against suitable industry benchmarks.
|
|
|
|
Having knowledge of local resources to support the process by which participants resource their individual and group learning needs.
|
|
As experienced, local business facilitators, the synergy group facilitators were able to suggest a wide range of sources of further help. But it was participants themselves who drove this process as well, passing on contacts, information and hints. In most groups there was at least one participant who had tackled and overcome each of the challenges being analysed, and this personal experience, with the trust and credibility it embodied, was a powerful way of passing on learning resources.
|
|
|
|
Encouraging reflective learning.
|
|
The program was too concentrated to encourage and allow and reflection during the sessions. And the program's flexible structure did not encourage reflection and 'homework' out of session. But feedback on discussions suggests that many participants appreciated learning via the stories that other participants told of dealing with the particular challenges being analysed. These practical 'case studies' were easily applied to other participants' own experiences, encouraging reflection and adaptation.
|
|
|
|
Creating structures, which will live on beyond the life of the development event.
|
|
Participants expressed a desire for the contact and networking that had flourished through the synergy groups to continue. But we are unsure at this stage as to whether or not these desires have turned into ongoing contact, formal or informal. Our feeling is that this is an important part of the synergy group process and deserves more attention than it was given in this trial.
|
|
|
|
|
