Re-flow | Re-flow Workflow Management gets creative to show wider product benefits

When a new highways company starts using Re-flow, they can see the immediate technical benefits of a workflow management system, but another solution from the software is managing problem team members who block critical information getting to the right places across the job.

In most companies there are certain characters who, whether they mean to or not, get in the way of processes running freely through the business, hoarding information in their own littles bubbles and making work harder for everyone around them.

Re-flow software is a great way to burst those bubbles, in fact, one of the biggest benefits Re-flow’s highways clients get is a massive leap forward with their information management when they use it to go around or through the information hoarders. The idea of sharing information, trust, responsibility and accountability to make a project run smoothly is common sense, but it’s not necessarily something people want to spend hours reading about…

So the team at Re-flow devised a different way to showcase how the software can tackle some of the human barriers to effective workflow management, in the form of a game!

In Re-flow’s Top of the Pops game, each of the six key characters represent a different type of barrier, hoarding critical business information in their own little bubbles and keeping everyone else in the dark. It’s up to the players to burst their bubbles and shed some light for everyone else in the fastest time possible! Each character has their own reason for hoarding information and Re-flow has a way you can stop it.

Meet the Hoarders

Every member of the team has a role in the workflow management process of the company, but when they operate in their own little bubble, they hoard vital data and keep everyone else in the dark. In the real world, you can use Re-flow’s workflow management software to burst information bubbles and achieve first class business process management.

Information Silos come in all shapes and sizes, when a department or members of the team don’t have the opportunity or resources to share information properly. This results in a duplication of work or errors occurring. For key members of staff, the time taken to deal with failing to properly share knowledge can become a vicious cycle that ends up bringing workflows to a grinding halt.

When information is shared through specific people, there is a danger that someone in the chain can be an information bottleneck. If they don’t have a strong grip on their organisation skills, are too busy with other tasks or become overwhelmed by the amount of information/number of people they need to update, then they can stop the flow of information running smoothly.

Sometimes ego can get in the way of a team functioning properly, and when information is power, people can take the ‘need to know’ mentality a bit too far. Consequently, individuals make themselves more valuable because they become essential to the flow of information. This stops the rest of the team being able to get on with the tasks at hand without the information overlord involved.

Occasionally there are key members of a team who should take greater control of sharing information, but suffer from an allergy to responsibility. When important answers are covered with blame and excuses, the rest of the team can only function as well as its weakest link.

Things might have appeared simpler back in their day, but when you’ve got a team member who insists on maintaining their old ways of doing things, they can create a massive hinderance to the rest of the team.

It’s great when staff follow procedures properly, but when you have a member of the team who is so focused on their interpretation of certain rules and guidelines, such as new GDPR measure, it stops everyone else being able to get on with their work without the fear of a solid discipling. Overly officious colleagues can be a total log-jam to team productivity and sharing important information.

NO CODE WAS HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS PROJECT!

Re-flow’s software developers have been so busy adding new features and functions to the workflow management system,  during the lockdown they took the time to make this game as an out-of-hours side project

Lead developer on the game, Jon Pittock said:

“It was great fun working on this project during lockdown. While Re-flow uses a lot of highly technical coding in the software, there’s nothing quite like getting stuck into designing a game, which meant using my coding skills in a completely different way. I hope everyone enjoys playing it as much as I’ve enjoyed building it!”

Ollie Christophers, Re-flow’s marketing manager commented:

“We all know these characters- they’re present in almost every site, office, factory or shop. This game is designed to look at the impact we can all have on making work better for the business we work for and the colleagues we work with. Each character represents a different downfall that means they keep their piece of the puzzle locked away in their own little bubble.

“Most people in their bubbles don’t realise they’re doing it and don’t intend to be a blocker to things working better, but sometimes we all need a little helping hand to get us going in the right direction. Re-flow software can address all the issues highlighted in the Top of the Pops game without causing an upset with the key characters in your workplace.

“We think this is a great way to creatively show how Re-flow helps companies improve their business process management. We also though it was a fun way for people to experience a different, never-before-seen side of Re-flow and show that we understand the issues our clients face and how we’re always working to make things easier for them”

PLAY THE GAME