a successful Works Council training: the effect of the room

The success of a Works Council training depends on many factors. The wishes of the Works Council members and the selection of the coach/trainer are the most important. But the impact of the meeting room is often underestimated.

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You have finally synchronized all calendars and have set a date for the Works Council training. The coach/trainer has been selected. And the 'meeting room'… ah well, as long as there is easy access, that's all that matters, right?

Based on conversations with colleagues, but mainly based on years of experience as a Works Council trainer/coach, I want to give you some tips and mention some points of interest. Each of these points contributes to the success of the Works Council training.

The room where the Works Council training takes place has a significant impact on the success of your Works Council meeting.

Works Council training or Works Council coaching?

It has been years since I actually 'trained' a Works Council; what I do nowadays can't really be called training. Training is learning skills. Coaching is becoming aware of the existing knowledge and skills and applying them differently.

We still call it Works Council training because everyone uses this common term. But in most cases, what is actually meant is Works Council coaching. Or better still: Works Council off-site team days. Read more about this in the article Works Council training or Works Council coaching: is there a difference?.

Although there is a clear difference between training sessions and coaching sessions/off-site team days, this makes little difference for the room where the meeting takes place. For both variants, the following points significantly impact the final result.

external meeting room or at your own office building?

Office buildings often have lovely meeting rooms. After all, we are known for our 'meeting culture' in this country. So why would you want to rent an off-site location and spend money when there is a nice, cheap room available at your own site? Remember, a meeting is not the same as a training or coaching session. And a meeting room in the office building is not always suitable for training or coaching sessions. The benefits of an external meeting room, compared to the organisation's own office building, are:

• you have more flexibility in the room layout
• there are no colleagues who quickly need to ask you something
• you can see things objectively, and from a distance
• you work together more intensively because you are more dependent on each other as a group