The flow chart is a tried and true business management tool. It takes hours of research data, dumping it into a program, and then inserting certain key phrases – and outcomes a really pretty picture! Yup, the artwork itself may be beautiful, but what you’re looking at is extremely helpful in getting your company where it needs to go. Let’s explore ten popular uses for the flow chart.
1) Making a Flow Chart Tells You Where You Need To Go
Having a clear vision of your future success is essential to creating an actionable map to get you there. What steps do you need to take? Are there right turns and wrong turns that may send you in the opposite direction of your goal? The flow chart can help you visualize all of this, so when it comes time for action, everyone involved in the project knows what’s going on.
2) The Flow Chart Teaches Your Team
As your organization grows, communicating key business changes, ideas, and updates to the team might get a little more complicated. A flow chart is a great tool for training new hires or putting a new system in place. A visual guide of what’s going on makes it easy for everyone to be “on the same page.” And if they can follow the flow chart symbols on their own, they are more likely to remember what they’ve learned.
3) The Flow Chart Helps Your Team Save Time
Let’s face it – time is money! If you can streamline communication and document decisions in one clear flow chart, everyone involved will save hours every week. This will free up valuable brain space and give people a little more time to focus on what they do best.
4) The Flow Chart Helps Your Team Save Money
Time isn’t the only expensive thing – money is, too! If you’re able to find holes in your company’s process and correct them, it can save thousands of dollars down the line. The flow chart can help anyone involved to see where in the process flow diagram there may be necessary modifications to save money.
5) The Flow Chart Is A Great Communication Tool
Whether you’re using a flowchart maker for training or for explaining a new business practice, they are a great way to get everyone on the same page about changes within your company. This will help to eliminate confusion, misunderstandings, and breakdowns in communication among your team members.
6) The Flow Chart Is A Great Problem Solver
If you can document problems within your organization’s flow chart, you’ll be better able to solve the issue by mapping out all of the steps necessary for getting it fixed. Taking the time to do this from a flow chart template can save you even more money and hours of frustration. You can also view a flow chart example on Venngage.
7) The Flow Chart Is A Great Career Builder
Okay, so maybe “great” isn’t the right word… but it’s a tool that can help your team members’ careers! Knowing what they need to know means employees are empowered with information that will make them better at their job. This will help to boost employee morale, which is always a great thing.
8) The Flow Chart Is A Great Employee Motivator
The company’s success is the team’s success, right? If everyone on your team can see how his or her contributions are making an impact on what happens next, they will feel more motivated and able to produce the best possible work product. And isn’t that what success is all about?
9) The Flow Chart Is A Great Leadership Tool
The flow chart itself may not be a great motivator, but it can be an extremely helpful tool for motivating your team members. Once you get them involved in the process, you can guide them towards the outcome you want to see.
10) The Flow Chart Is A Great Marketing Tool
Last, but not least… let’s get technical! If your company is looking to hire new talent or further develop existing employees, it makes sense to market yourself as a company that prides its team on education and empowerment. A visual representation of your business practices can help to communicate this in a way that makes sense to the team member who is looking for new opportunities. It may even be enough to convert an employee into a customer!
Conclusion
A flow chart can help your organization in many ways. It is a useful way to present information, especially if you are trying to convey procedures that need to be followed step-by-step. A flow chart can also act as an organizational tool by helping employees understand the structure of their company and where they fit into the big picture, and it will make your life easier by helping you find solutions quickly and making sure everyone knows what’s going on!
