Recently, a long-time client created a presentation to explain the value of Visual Management to everyone in the organization. The main question they addressed was, “Why is Visual Management important?”
And you know what? They articulated it very well. Inspired by their story, we’ve decided to write a good old practical blog post to help you reap the benefits of a great information sharing strategy. Without further ado, here are three tips for effective Visual Management!
1. Operational awareness: actionable macro-level insights
‘What’s the status quo for the organization in its entirety?’ That’s a question all employees should know the answer to at all times, regardless of their location. To make well-informed decisions, they need to balance out the overarching goals and their current reality. After all, every individual is part of the bigger whole. An employee can only take proper action at the micro-level if you provide them with actionable insights into the macro picture.
2. Situational awareness: contextual real-time information
Knowledge of the overarching situation is crucial, but employees can’t do without situational awareness. Contextual information differs per department, and every team should be presented with data highly relevant to them. The front office and the network operation center, for example, each require specific actionable, real-time information to make the right decisions.
3. Operational management: bird’s-eye view to meet company goals
Whereas employees need a combination of operational and situational data, the management team is like a ship’s captain who ensures everyone is headed in the right direction. Operational management means you adopt a bird’s-eye view to distill deviations and make adjustments where necessary, keeping an eye on organizational objectives. Only then, you can make self-management on the work floor work.
In a nutshell: you should provide employees with the right macro-level and micro-level data (which is actionable and topical!), keep track of the results at the organizational and departmental level, and intervene if needed. If you embrace this approach, you’re on the right track to achieving your company goals!
Want to explore your Visual Management opportunities? Please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are happy to perform a Quick Scan and discuss your information sharing strategy.