Case Study

Facilitation

InFocus helps facilitate important discussions by getting to the core of the conversation and creating space to bring everyone along. Understand how we can help by hearing the story of the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce.

Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce

Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business in the city of Abbotsford and exists to represent, serve and connect members in order to build and sustain a thriving business community.

InFocus worked with the board, membership, and staff to design and facilitate a process that gave members the opportunity to be heard and influence the future direction of the chamber.

Discovering Needs

The Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce exists to serve their members. As a member-driven organization, they needed to identify the issues and ideas that are important to those they serve. This feedback would be the foundation for setting direction, attracting new members, and planing for a successful future.

The Process

InFocus designed and facilitated a series of focus groups with key members of the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce. By asking well-crafted questions, valuable insight and information was gathered that would inform the Chamber's future planning and leadership.

Analyzing Feedback

A high percentage of the Chamber's members participated in the process. InFocus synthesized and analyzed the feedback collected and compiled a report on the data. The collected info was formatted by topic to provide accessible key insights to the board.

Facilitation Results

The Results

Following the listening and reporting process, the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce board was able to use the gathered feedback to work through recommendations for implementation. The result of the process was several new initiatives and adjustments to current operations that are helping to make the Chamber more effective in the community for its members.

 

Find Your Way Forward with InFocus

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When the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and I realized we needed to listen carefully to our membership in order to chart a path for the future, we went looking for a skilled facilitator to lead the process. We found Cam at InFocus who brought attentive listening, group facilitation skills, and report writing ability to the project. Our goal was to have a clear, concise, actionable report to help guide our future planning and leadership. We were extremely pleased with the report we received.

Cam and his team prepared and facilitated twelve focus groups, conducted an online survey, gathered and collated the data, and wrote a report with clear recommendations for the board. Cam was easy to work with, flexible, creative, focused, well-organized, and effective. I highly recommend him for your facilitation needs.

– Allan Asaph, Executive Director, Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce