1. Reduce Waiting & No-Shows  Increase Admissions & Continuation
Valuable
Tool
Flowcharting
Reduce Waiting & No-Shows  Increase Admissions & Continuation

2. Why Flowchart? Flowcharts force an organizational focus on process.
People who navigate toward social services don’t always think this way (engineer speak).
It’s a visual of the steps in your process. If this isn’t your strong suit, find someone on the team who might be able to lead this.
The process as it really is. The walk-through gives you a good start on this.

3. Why Flowchart? Flowcharting is useful for:
Providing a starting point to understand the process as it is today.
Identifying key problems/bottlenecks
Showing where to test ideas for most impact
Adding interactivity & fun - gets the team together
Creating a simple & succinct visual process overview
Make sure people who do the work are there to tell you what is happening.
Be able to say they DO this.
Fabulour for focusing
Getting understanding among all players.

4. Setting up a flowchart Where does the process begin? process end?
Customer’s 1st phone
call to intake appointment.
Where does the
process begin?
process end?
START
Customer
calls
office
Intake
appt.
completed
Title the process
you are
flowcharting.
Start and stop where you can actaully complete the process in a one hour meeting.
Sometimes that only what it takes to get to an appointment, nothing past that.
Don’t problem solve. Just tell it like it is today.
The flow chart again helps to focus “just on this today.”
END

5. Key Symbols for Flowcharts
Post-It Notes are great for flowcharting.
A square identifies a step in the process
Action
Yes ?
Simply two symbols.
Is the phone rings really a square? If it’s a yes or no question it’s a diamond.
A diamond is a decision point in the process and asks a “yes or no” question or offers a choice of direction in the process. No

6. Sample Flowchart START END
Process name: Customer 1st Contact (phone call) to Agency Response
START
1 person to answer phone
Receptionist
answers
phone?
Receptionist
able to help
customer?
Customer
phones agency
Receptionist “thanks” customer
Yes
Yes
Website No No
Customer routed to voic
Transfer customer to qualified staff person
Hang up phone
Walk-in
How did Amy get from this full chart to the interactive one that show’s in step by step?
Sample flowchart.
This is showing ONLY how they get into us via phone.
Referral
Other 1st Contact Options
Checked 1x per day
Staff not available
END

7. Change Team Assignment
Before You Start
1. Identify a Change Leader to lead the flowchart
discussion.
2. Choose one, simple process and complete a flow chart.
Set up eisles here.

8. Change Team Assignment
Flowchart the process of the walk-through.
Remember the steps to follow:
Define where the process begins and ends
Give your flowchart a title: e.g., “First Contact to First Appointment”
Define process steps
Review/refine flowchart
Identify problems and bottlenecks
Leave this up during work.

9. Large Group Discussion
1. While flowcharting, what did you learn
about the steps you took while
conducting your walk-through?
2. How could you use your flowchart to
help engage your organization in the
change process?
Was this a natural for you?
Observations? What did you learn?
Had to make assumptions.
Needed other people with us.
What about the scope?
We slipped into problem solving.
Develops empathy for client.
As a team, how long do you think this process takes? You may decide you want to time some of the steps.
You may discover steps that require further flow-charting, or determine they are not important to the aim and you can ignore those.