4 Dec 2020
The idea of sharing information, trust, responsibility and accountability to make a project run smoothly is common sense, but it's also not something people want to spend hours reading about. So a different way for Re-flow to highlight this is our Top of the Pops game, where each of the six key characters are hoarding critical business information in their own little bubbles and keeping everyone else in the dark. It's up to you to burst their bubbles and shed some light on the situation for everyone else in the fastest time possible!
Our devs are far too busy adding new features and functions to the Re-flow software, so during the lockdown we took the time to make this game as an out-of-hours side project
'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!"
"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"
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, which 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.
