Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

 

1.       Why was NFDB.com formed?

q       We like to speak of NFDB.com as the “intelligent source for facilitated solutions.”  There are lists of facilitators available today.  However, they are limited in scope.  They do not provide the information that a potential client would need to make intelligent choices about the quality of the facilitators or fit for the client’s particular situation.  NFDB.com is the first comprehensive source intended to contain all the information a potential client would need to intelligently select facilitators.  NFDB.com includes a facilitator’s areas of service, industry experience, sample clients, projects, self-ratings, and client feedback from prior engagements.  Facilitators also have an opportunity to indicate their facilitation style to give clients an even better understanding of their skills.

2.       How does a person make best use NFDB.com?

q       Facilitators can make best use of NFDB.com by ensuring that all their information, especially their most recent experiences, are in the database.  A facilitator who shows expertise in 25 service areas is more likely to be included in more searches than a facilitator with just 5.

q       A client can make better use of NFDB.com by having a clear idea of what they need.  Vicki our Virtual Facilitator is designed to help clients determine their needs and create a specification sheet that serves as a guide for selecting a facilitator and ensuring that the job gets done well.  Once clients have defined their need, they are ready to use our selection tool based on the criteria most important to them.  Some clients will be most concerned about an area of expertise.  Others, most focused on geography, billing rate, or certification level.  

3.       Speaking of certification, how do you ensure quality of the facilitators?

q       First, let me say that early in the design stage, we made the decision that we want NFDB.com to be available to any facilitator who wants to be listed.  We recognize that many clients have limited budgets and top quality facilitators might be out of the price range of some organizations. 

q       On the other hand, we wanted to design NFDB.com so that potential clients would know the skill level and quality level they could anticipate.  Therefore we have included rating systems for expertise and have provided a mechanism for maintaining client feedback.

q       Perhaps the most important quality check, however, is the certifications.  With every selection, facilitators are sorted by the level of certification they have achieved.  Certified Master Facilitators are listed first, followed in order by Associate Master Facilitators, Certified Professional Facilitators, those who have received training in a certified training class, then everyone else.

4.       How do the Certified Master and Associate Master designations differ from the Certified Professional Facilitator program?

q       The Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) program, developed by the International Association of Facilitators, was the first national certification available in the U.S.  Through the CPF, the IAF has established a credible process for certifying facilitators to provide a consistent standard of performance.

q       The Certified Master Facilitator was designed to raise a higher standard for facilitators.  The designation requires more than eight times the amount of facilitation experience; the level of expertise that must be demonstrated is significantly increased; and the standard for passing has been raised as well. 

q       The Associate Master Facilitator requires four times the level of facilitation experience of the CPF and has a higher standard for passing as well, but slightly lower than for the CMF.

5.       How will the CMF and AMF designations impact the International Association of Facilitators

q       The CMF and AMF designations have been developed by the National Institute for Facilitation (NIFAC).  NIFAC is a newly formed non-profit organization whose sole focus has been developing and promoting the CMF and AMF designations.  NIFAC has drafted a written agreement with the IAF to turn the CMF/AMF certification process over to the IAF at an agreed upon time in the future once the process has been fully incubated.

6.       This sounds a lot like the FAS relationship that has proved troublesome for the IAF.  How will this be different?

q       While I can’t speak for the IAF, I suspect the biggest difference will be the up front, written agreement on how, when and under what conditions the CMF/AMF programs will be transferred to the IAF.  A written agreement up front was missing from the prior process and this may have been the source of significant misunderstanding later.

7.       What approach will be taken to market the database?

q       Based on anticipated projections and returns, we intend to invest over $100K over the next two years in marketing NFDB.com to potential clients.  We will be utilizing national marketing campaigns including the use of web marketing and email.  We will also have more targeted programs for specific client communities such as the Society for Human Resource Management.

8.       If I am a facilitator how do I help ensure I get work?

q       As always, the best way to help yourself get work is to do a great job with every client.  It also doesn’t hurt to ask for referrals from your happy clients.  When we receive repeat business from clients or referrals, they often name the facilitator with whom they want to work.

q       In addition, you can raise your search rankings by getting certified.  Remember, the higher your certification, the higher you will appear on resulting searches.

9.       What happens if a facilitator gets many bad reviews?

q       We expect that market forces will naturally take care of facilitators who consistently receive bad reviews.  Clients will tend to shy away.  However, if we find a facilitator consistently provides a negative experience for clients, we will remove that facilitator from NFDB.com.

10.   Why is the guarantee just on Certified Master Facilitators?

q       Frankly, there are two reasons for this.  First, we want to encourage clients to select the higher quality facilitators.  We believe CMFs increase the probability that the client will have a favorable experience and it increases the strength of the NFDB.com brand.

q       Second, and more selfishly, we don’t want to lose our shirts!  We believe in the CMF standard, but can’t be sure about the other standards.

11.   While the Finders Fee is somewhat reasonable, if the client chooses partial or full support, the facilitator receives considerably less.  Why is that?

q       We agree that the finder’s fee is basically reasonable for the “client direct” option in which the client contracts with the facilitator directly.  We also agree that, in the “partial support” and “full support” options, the facilitator receives considerably less.

q       At the same time, the development and marketing of NFDB.com has required a significant up front investment.  We are making that investment on the belief that a reasonable return will be achieved.  Early on, we have had to set the return to the organization higher to ensure that the venture rapidly reaches a break-even point.  Over time we expect to increase the return to facilitators, especially in the partial and full support options.  We don’t expect an adjustment in the return to occur until sometime after the first 18-24 months of operation.

12.   The Finder’s Fee option is based on the honor system.  What will keep facilitators from pocketing the full amount?

q       We are banking that facilitators are honorable and will honor the system they sign-up for.  Each time they receive an email from NFDB.com about potential work, we hope that serves as a reminder of our value and their agreement to compensate for work they receive and any follow-up work for one year.

q       If we find a facilitator abuses the honor system, we will have to remove that facilitator from NFDB.com.

13.   What’s up next for NFDB.com? 

q       We will be investigating other means of getting close to the customer.  We will be examining the addition of images and video tape extracts to the database record.

14.   How will you know if NFDB.com has been a success?

q       I think the biggest measures of success will be the buzz in the client and facilitator communities.  Is NFDB.com being used, is it being talked about?  We have established a goal of a minimum of 100 facilitators from a minimum of 25 different cities by December 31, 2003.  By June 30, 2004, we would like NFDB.com to be generating $100K in revenues monthly.

q       We are excited about this and are looking forward to a great twelve months!