We have been sharing a series about our work with establishing and managing advisory councils. Advisory councils are a great vehicle to help your organization make informed decisions, navigate challenges, stay
abreast of industry trends and best practices, and build buy-in for supporting new changes.
First, we discussed how to structure and manage an advisory council in this blog. Once you’ve gone through all the steps of establishing and setting up your advisory council, you want to get the most out of it for both the organization and the council members.
We have probably all been appointed to or sat on an advisory council that does not seem to have purpose or value. We refer to those councils as “passive,” and they do not benefit anyone. Instead, we work to create ACTIVE Advisory Councils.
Engaging your council members takes a lot of work! It takes time to engage a diverse group of people to help inform and speak to your work. However, the results of the broad perspectives and feedback are worth the time and effort.
Below are our seven Pro Tips for increasing engagement with your advisory council.
- Consider the Types of Projects to Solicit Feedback from the Advisory Council – When engaging an advisory council for feedback on your projects or initiatives, it’s important to plan carefully. Consider the work your organization is already doing or projects getting ready to launch. It is important to choose the right time to involve the advisory group, having clear goals and timelines helps ensure useful feedback. Thinking through these questions will help you make the most of your advisory council’s input while keeping the process efficient and focused.
- What stage is the project at, and how can feedback help shape it?
- How much time does the group need to give valuable input?
- Which parts of the project would benefit most from feedback?
- How can you run the session to get practical, actionable ideas?
- How will you show the group that their feedback made an impact?
- Plan Ahead –The host organization’s leadership team involvement is key. Engaging leadership in setting the agenda, assisting with pre-work, and attending meetings helps boost member engagement. The more leaders are involved in the preparation, the more committed and active the advisory council members will be during discussions
- Share materials in advance in the form of “pre-work,” such as reading materials, reviewing information or discussion questions, or taking a pre-survey. This allows them time to reflect and come prepared to actively discuss and share their insights during the meeting. By doing so, the meeting can focus on meaningful conversations and decision-making, rather than just clarifying basic details.
- Utilize Interactive Tools & Discussion – Use interactive tools (Slido and Polls are a few of our favorite tools!) during meetings to guarantee active participation. Whether this meeting is in person or virtual, it is critical for the facilitator to use varying methods of engagement throughout the meeting to solicit feedback from all types of individuals. Meeting facilitators can utilize a variety of tools such as digital polling, breakout rooms or groups, whiteboards, along well-crafted discussion questions to drive members toward engagement. Remember that not all members are vocal or comfortable participating, so providing a variety of tools and methods to foster engagement for everyone is essential.
- Prep with Staff – Make sure the staff have packaged their materials (slides, handouts, etc.) in a way that is accessible for the Advisory Council members. Most advisory council members have other “day jobs” and may not be fluent with industry jargon, acronyms, and technical terms so staff will need to be prepared to present the information in a way that makes sense to a “lay audience.”
- Have Fun and Develop a Genuine Interest in Your Council – Create an environment where council members are warmly greeted, deeply valued, and encouraged to give honest, constructive feedback. Get to know your members and spend time 1:1 with each of them, so they feel valued and included. Host the kind of meeting YOU would want to attend.
- Provide Regular Updates on How their Feedback is being Utilized – Share with the council how their feedback has been used within the organization. This shows your council that their participation has meaning and purpose. The more accomplished they feel, the more willing they are to provide feedback and engage with you on the next topic.
- Provide Meeting Summary and Action Steps – Create meeting summaries and action steps that are shared with the staff and Council members within a short period of time following the meeting. This helps to boost the Council’s productivity and accountability. Make sure to follow a predictable cadence of communication (i.e., notes are shared within xx timeframe), and share the notes in a way that is easily accessible to members.
- Create templates for summaries, feedback, and action items that foster for engagement.
Here’s an example of our Pro Tips in action!
While gathering insight on SPARK Learning Lab’s new digital ad marketing campaign, they presented the draft campaign to the Statewide Advisory Council for their feedback to discover what resonated most with them! To catch the attention of their council members and streamline engagement, the SPARK team took the following steps:
Planning & Prep: A week before the meeting, members were given pre-work documents containing everything they needed to review (including digital ad displays and discussion questions that would be asked).
- This pre-work ensures the council has time to review before the meeting and then jump immediately into the discussion portion, making council meetings highly interactive and efficient on time.
Meeting Facilitation: During the meeting council members were shown four completely developed digital ads and asked which ad most spoke to them as early childhood professionals.
- Presenting “ready to go” materials prevents the council from becoming overwhelmed with decision fatigue, which can hinder progress and engagement. Making a final decision together on how a project will move forward at the end of the council discussion is imperative to keeping your council engaged and feeling like their voices matter. Additionally, this solidifies that the involvement of the advisory council will give forward movement and not impede progress on essential deadlines.
Post Meeting Follow-up: SPARK Learning Lab took their feedback and selected the digital ad that the council felt was most effective.
- This showed the council that their engagement and ideas regarding this topic were highly regarded and crucial to SPARK’s final decision regarding this marketing campaign.
Read more about this project here. If you need support establishing and managing an advisory council, reach out to TCG for a free consultation.
