What Do You Use a Whiteboard For?
The question “What do you use a whiteboard for?” seems easy enough for just about anyone to answer, however, on this page we’ll go a bit deeper into how some of the most popular industries are using a specific type of whiteboard we call “whiteboard painted walls.”
Whiteboard Painted Walls in Medical Facilities
Premium whiteboard walls can serve many useful purposes in hospitals, medical centers, and clinics. When used consistently and efficiently, whiteboard walls can help to convey important data to both patients and medical staff, such as details about patient allergies and special needs. Whiteboard walls in hospital rooms can serve as central locations for families and staff to stay informed about patient goals and timelines. Whiteboard walls may also be used to track patient schedules in clinics, emergency rooms, and operating rooms, as well as other applications; for example, an easy-to-access whiteboard wall in a patient’s room can improve communication between staff and patients, thus raising patient satisfaction because they feel their physicians and nurses are connecting with them and with one another through use of the wall.
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Improving Patient-Staff Interaction
As just discussed, a key benefit of having top-quality whiteboard walls in medical facilities is enhanced interaction among medical teams, patients, and relatives. Whiteboard walls in patients’ rooms can contain important data about treatment schedules, diets, medication times, and care team members, all of which can be easily recorded and changed on a daily basis. When used properly, this technique lets people know where patients are going for treatment and what goals or tests are to be completed during a shift; it also gives patients and family a place to record their concerns or questions. When everyone has access to a whiteboard painted wall, communication is improved because questions are less likely to be overlooked or forgotten. Family contact information is also available at a glance, and details may be updated as needed.
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Operating and emergency rooms
In operating and emergency rooms, schedules are often hectic and facts need to be conveyed rapidly. The use of a quality whiteboard wall in the OR and ER provides vital data for all members of a medical team. In the OR it can quickly inform staff about which surgeons are working which schedules, types of surgery to be performed, patients’ names, and special concerns such as additional health issues or allergies. In the ER, a whiteboard wall can display patient arrival times, types of injuries or illnesses presented on arrival, and data on safety or treatment measures taken before entrance into the ER. Brief health histories on patients may also be recorded for quick access while permanent records are being produced.
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Improving Efficiency and Patient Care Quality
Communication, patient safety, and care quality can also benefit from having whiteboard walls in a clinic. Frequently, clinics are a whirl of activity with patients being hurriedly moved from one area to another for evaluation or treatment. The information displayed on a whiteboard wall quickly conveys where patients are as well as the staff assigned to their care and treatment. Also, patient safety needs concerning allergies or help needed with walking or moving from bed to chair are easily shared. With reports on arrival and departure times and destinations written on the wall, efficiency is improved and delays avoided.
Moreover, patient safety and privacy are issues in both clinics and hospitals. While vital data presented to medical staff on whiteboard walls can greatly improve patient safety, a system for safeguarding patient privacy should also be included. Abbreviations and codes can help balance the need for patient privacy with the need for efficient use of whiteboard walls to enhance patient care in all medical settings.
Whiteboard Painted Walls in Banks
Premium whiteboard walls can be used by banking officers to give clients data on many aspects of retail banking, including current interest rates, loan packages, and facts about their financial needs. For example, a loan officer might use a whiteboard wall to present loan amounts available to specific clients as well as annual percentage rates and other information, thus helping to build positive working relationships with customers for repeat business. The walls can also be used to identify potential customers for later contact to increase a bank’s customer base. In addition, bank officers can use the walls to work with other members of management in brainstorming techniques to develop customer retention and outreach strategies.
Whiteboard Walls in Insurance Centers
Insurance agents can use whiteboard walls to present details about a client’s previous benefit plan, explain the differences between that plan and new plans being offered, and then replace the old plan with a new one that fits the client’s needs. Using the large canvas of a whiteboard painted wall can thus make understanding the intricacies of various insurance plans much easier for both agents and clients. As Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough,” and elucidating the minutiae of complex insurance policies on a whiteboard surface can make it much simpler for insurance professionals to comprehend their products and effectively explain them to clients.
In Law Firm
Through the use of whiteboard walls, attorneys can easily improve their interactions with clients and eliminate so-called “case-killing errors.” The huge surface of a whiteboard wall may greatly improve case preparation through written records that help identify the status of a case at each step along the way, with notes on steps completed, steps still to complete, and the problems that may be causing delays in the progress of the case. In addition, attorneys can document their full case workload at each stage of development so they can quickly make assignment changes where they are identified. And if multi-colored whiteboard markers are used, whiteboard surfaces can give a legal staff a full color-coded overview of what’s happening day by day in a law firm.
Most people can’t absorb information simply by listening, so when meeting with clients in the office, attorneys can make use of quality whiteboard walls to present details about a case in a large written form that’s easy for clients to see and comprehend. When interacting with clients, instead of using the small surfaces of legal pads to draw diagrams, the large canvas of a whiteboard wall offers a more easily seen and understood means of interaction. This technique eliminates the need to carry bulky whiteboards around the office to write down facts and strategies and draw diagrams pertaining to a case. Using a legal pad may be acceptable for attorney-client meetings outside of the office, but in these settings, attorney communications are constrained by the tiny surfaces of the pads. In addition, most people have not mastered the art of writing upside down, so when an attorney writes diagrams on a legal pad, it’s necessary to constantly draw and then flip the pad around so that their clients can see the diagrams. Instead, if meetings are scheduled for the office, diagramming on a large whiteboard wall is infinitely more comfortable and understandable for everyone involved.
Whiteboard Painted Walls in Real Estate Offices
Whiteboard painted walls may be used by real estate agents to help keep track of real estate transactions as well as current and potential buyers. Whiteboard walls thus offer an excellent visual means to keep both managers and team members updated on their business dealings without having to discuss these facts individually with each person in the office. One area of a wall may be used as a sellers’ board and another as a buyers’ board, where information such as customers’ names and addresses, selling prices, deals pending, and closing dates can be listed.
In Any Other Organization
For other organizations such as profit and non-profit corporations, high-quality whiteboard walls also offer an infinite variety of applications. The following are some ideal spots for their use.
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Whiteboard Painted Walls in Conference Rooms:
Any time employees gather to brainstorm, a large surface such as a premium whiteboard wall is essential. High-quality whiteboard walls allow note-takers to quickly jot down ideas being conveyed to them for all to see, thus helping to encourage the flow of new ideas, make connections, and organize a team’s thoughts.
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Whiteboard Painted Walls in Communal Areas:
Since more and more businesses and organizations are choosing to dispense with conference rooms in favor of informal meeting areas throughout the office, it makes good business sense to install whiteboard walls that can be used wherever people are sharing ideas.
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Whiteboard Painted Desks:
Converting the partitions and desks at workstations into whiteboard painted surfaces solves the common problem of sticky notes being left on computer monitors when employees are away from their desks. Instead of wasting paper in this way, team members can post notes to their colleagues on the whiteboard surfaces, thus helping a company’s bottom line and the environment as well.
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Whiteboard Painted Hallways
Some businesses such as Facebook have turned entire hallways and office walls in their corporate headquarters into whiteboard surfaces so that employees can brainstorm and share ideas anywhere they feel inspired. This approach is perfect for companies such as Facebook and Google where creativity is king.