5 Critical Skills for RCA Facilitators

If you are investigating an incident using Root Cause Analysis (RCA), what are
the critical skills that you should possess as an RCA facilitator? Here are five
key skills that will help to make you a more effective facilitator.
1. Value all ideas equally First of all, it is important to acknowledge all ideas
nothing is unimportant. Something that seems trivial now may hold a great deal of
value later in the process. Discourage any negative feedback from the group. This, too,
is a disincentive to proffer suggestions or ideas. The goal of information gathering is to
capture everything known about a problem, no matter where it fits into cause and effect
relationships. Just by watching you write a comment on a yellow stickie or type into
the holding area, the participants can see that you are acknowledging what they know.
Later, if it fits in the cause and effect chart then it has value; if it doesnt, then it will
naturally fall off the chart. Secondly, value each and every response, regardless of
where it comes from. First and foremost, this will encourage a positive flow of
information from participants. If the facilitator starts saying No, thats not right, then
people may think before speaking and slow the whole process down. They may even
stop contributing to the discussion, censoring the information in their own minds and
preventing it from being evaluated on its own merits. Similarly, if someone offers a
suggestion which is ignored then participants can switch off you have to be able to
work rapidly or say, Hold that thought while I finish writing this one. So remember
no put-downs allowed, from you or any other member of the group. Positive affirmation
is the mode for the facilitator to get a productive session.
2. Be dynamic As facilitator, you need to guide the direction of the group and yet still
be alert for other cause paths that may crop up. You are the prime mover, controlling
the focus of the group. Dont be a bystander to the process. You are the conduit through
which the group is interacting. Ask questions that are as precise as possible. This will
elicit better, more concise responses which make it easier to identify causes. Good
questioning will also eliminate unnecessary discussion and storytelling from the group.
Once the information has been recorded, get the group to help you organise the
information and then challenge the logic of the way that information is linked together.
Your cause and effect chart needs to make sense or it risks being challenged and
disregarded by those who look at it. Remember being dynamic may not come easy or
naturally, but its important to give it a go. In this mode, you should continually ask
why questions.
3. Keep the analysis moving Dont let the investigation get bogged down in detail
too soon. Get the first pass of the chart out and then refine it. If the first pass is a linear
connection of causes, then so be it. Remember, this is the start of the cause and effect
chart, not the finish. A timeline is often a good place to start ordering key events
according to when they happened. Such a timeline does not address the question of
why, but it could certainly initiate a more comprehensive search for causes. Do not
waste time at this point trying to judge or evaluate each cause. Simply ask why
immediately after placing the cause on the chart to keep people focused and moving
down a productive path. Try not to allow individuals to dominate the analysis. Everyone
is there for a purpose, and has information to contribute to the investigation. Ensure

that all people have the opportunity to speak. Keep redirecting and asking for other
inputs. If one group member is dominant, set some ground rules try giving each
participant a chance to say what they know in turn, working your way around the group.
Remember adding the finer detail can happen later, but then the devil is always in
the detail. The onus is therefore still on you to do this.
4. Be a good listener Attentive listening skills are critical. You need to be able to hear
more than one response at a time. Your ears should be like radar, picking up on all
signals. Dont miss a response while recording another. You need to record everything.
Being a good listener means keeping an open mind, suspending judgment, and
maintaining a positive bias. It also requires the efforts of the whole group ask the
group not to have discussions on the side, as they might come up with causes that
should be included but may not be shared with the group. This will also help you to hear
all responses more clearly. Remember delegating the recording of information could
be useful if it will help you to listen more effectively.
5. Dont profess to be an expert Dont profess to be the expert about the problem at
hand. You were appointed to be the facilitator, an independent guide, without a vested
interest in the outcome. Ask the others in the group to explain what they know so that
everyone can follow and understand it. That is why they are there. Remember you
dont hold all the answers. That isnt why you are the facilitator or it shouldnt be. A
good facilitator plays dumb whilst still directing traffic and working the cause and
effects paths to a reasonable stop point.
Conclusion Every incident comes with its own challenges. Each time you facilitate, you
will no doubt come up against a range of human behaviours, which you will have to
manage. Its a great idea to debrief the process and your role in it with some of the
people involved. They will no doubt provide valuable feedback that will help you
improve. Finally, have faith in the RCA process, and learn from each experience to build
on your skills as a facilitator.

An incident has occurred, and a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is needed to find an effective
solution. How do you ensure that the RCA delivers the best results that is to say
arriving quickly and accurately at the cause or causes of the problem?
At the start of any analysis, there are a number of simple things you can do to boost the
likelihood of a successful outcome. These tips are not rocket science; yet they are
important to get right.
Be prepared.
Make sure you do your homework before you start, and have everything ready. This
includes:

The workspace have large white boards and lots of them. In the absence of
whiteboards, use walls or windows with butchers paper. Stock up on markers and post-in

notes. In other words, make sure youve got plenty of room and the tools to write
down all ideas coming from the group.

The information collect all of the information available, and have someone
assigned as custodian so you can call on it and dont have to go looking for it.
Depending on the incident you are investigating, you should collect things like the
maintenance history, reports, photos, design specs, eye witness statements and OEM
recommendations.

The timeframe stipulate clear timeframes for the RCA, including the start
time, breaks and finish time.

The rules set expectations around usage of mobile phones and email. It is also
important to have rules around the discussion itself such as no put-downs. In short,
the less interruptions, the better. Encourage an open discussion and allow all
information to be brought forward. Dont argue about ownership of information what
matters is that it was brought to light. Focus on why, not who. This reduces the
emotion in the room and minimises conflict or argument. If blame becomes a part of the
RCA process then defensive attitudes will start to appear, and people get too afraid of
the consequences to speak up and say what really happened.

Form your group.

For an RCA to be successful, you need the right people to be present for the
investigation. In other words, people who have access to or knowledge of information
relating to the problem. You may need to invite an independent expert to assist with
your RCA.
Sometimes the people directly involved in an incident or accident may be the right
people to have in the room. But if there are other agendas or emotions at play, then
leave them out. The RCA team should be genuine seekers of effective solutions, who
share a goal of preventing similar events happening again.
Be wary of inviting senior managers into the group they could hinder open and truthful
dialogue. It may be better to give senior managers a separate review and opportunity to
challenge so that they stay engaged in the process and buy-in to the solution.
Its also important to have the right number of people in the room. The right number
is dependent upon the significance of the problem, but also upon the ability of the
facilitator to handle the group. As a general rule, it is difficult to facilitate groups greater
than 10. If the group size becomes too large, consider splitting the group and having
two sessions.
Control the group.

This may prove difficult, yet the ability to control a group is an important skill to have.
You should value all contributions from all group members. While people dont
necessarily have to agree with each other, its important to acknowledge that everyone
is entitled to their opinion.
If there is any confusion about a persons comment, ask them to explain it again. If
there is still no agreement, then capture both sides of the story and let the evidence
prove one or the other. Dont tolerate an argument or a contest of wills let the
evidence determine the merit of following a particular cause path.
Use all of your non-verbal skills to assist you in controlling the group. Use direct eye
contact and a hand gesture to indicate whom you wish to speak next. This lets everyone
know who has the floor. When you shift your focus to someone else, in conjunction with
the arm movement, you pass ownership of the right to speak to the new person.
Be the traffic cop. With a simple hand signal, you can control the person who is
impatiently wanting to say something, by showing them an open palm that says stop.
This will let the other person finish what they were saying.
Respect everyones right to be heard, and remember that everyone in the room has a
reason for being there. Ensure they all have the opportunity to speak.
Use your body as a means of directing the flow of traffic. Turn your body to face
someone in the group whom you wish to speak. When you couple this with strong eye
contact and a hand signal toward them you are effectively giving control of the floor to
them. The key here is that everyone else in the group sees these silent signals too.
Dont think youre being rude rather, you are showing control. And the better you can
control the group, the more effective your investigation will be.
Keep the group on-task.
The facilitators job is to be direct and to ask specific questions to keep people focussed.
If the focus strays, then its a good idea to go back through the chart starting at the
beginning to get everyone back on track.
The facilitator should be the prime-mover during the RCA, constantly asking questions
along the caused by or why lines to maintain focus. These questions demand
responses and keep everyone engaged, involved and on-task. Your questions will also
prevent the group going off on tangents, which lead to almost anything being added to
your cause and effect chart.
If someone is having a side conversation, then pose the next question to them. Put
them in the hot-seat. If you do this consistently, you will demand their attention and
also the groups attention.
Being animated or dynamic when you facilitate is also a great way to maintain focus.
Modulate your voice to keep peoples attention. Avoid a boring monotone. Remember, if
the facilitator is quiet then it follows that the group is also quiet. This is not what you
want.

Schedule regular breaks a few minutes on the hour and 10 -15 mins after 2 hours. This
will help to ensure that the energy levels in the room remain high and also allows
people to check emails and phone messages. This is important in maintaining the focus
of the group.
Follow the process.
Some people seem to have a natural affinity for facilitating investigations, but anyone
can become adept and successful at it. The art of facilitation is a skill that can be
learned through practice and reflection. A good facilitator knows he can walk into any
situation and find a solution. This is a very powerful and rewarding skill for both the
individual and the organisation.
As a facilitator, if you can follow these suggestions then the likelihood of a successful
outcome from your investigations will increase.
Posted in: Root Cause Analysis