A useful session begins before anyone enters the room. Use this checklist with the person who can authorise time and the person who will host. It is a planning tool, not a wellbeing assessment. Keep your notes with your organisation; nothing needs to be submitted to use it.
Start with the decision
Complete this sentence: “After this session, we want to be able to decide _____.” Choose one practical issue, such as meeting overload, access to breaks or how new colleagues find support. Avoid setting a goal that requires staff to reveal personal difficulties.
Check seven conditions
- Time: Is attendance compatible with shifts, customer service and paid working arrangements? Identify who might otherwise be excluded.
- Authority: Who can change the work practice being discussed? Invite their contribution without making them the judge of personal accounts.
- Host: Does the host understand the purpose, the right to pass and the boundaries of the role?
- Choice: Can participants contribute through a fictional example, a general observation or silent reflection?
- Support: What existing, appropriate support route can be named accurately?
- Action: Is there room for one affordable change within the team's control?
- Review: Who will report what happened, and when?
Write a one-line plan
Team or shift: _____. Topic: _____. Host: _____. Decision owner: _____. Session time: _____. Support contact: _____. Review date: _____.
Act on gaps
If authority is missing, use the hour to prepare a proposal rather than promise a change. If a support route is unclear, resolve it before inviting sensitive discussion. If only one shift can attend, prepare an equivalent opportunity for the others. An organiser's enthusiasm does not remove these constraints.
Your next step is a calendar entry with a named owner and a realistic purpose. For coordinated materials or facilitation, take this completed brief into a scope discussion. Delivery, costs and availability must be agreed separately.