Every company has grunt work. It’s the type of tasks that just about anyone can handle; it just requires the time and effort.
And well, no one really likes doing that. Your highly-skilled employees aren’t too happy about having to do menial work – and as it’s widely known, the happier your employees, the more productive they’ll be.
Grunt work could be, for example, taking all of the leads captured through MailChimp and transferring them to your CRM platform.
Or, you might be copy-pasting a new hire’s personal information from their application to your internal HRM platform.
If you’re doing this manually, this can be very time-consuming, especially if you’re thinking long-term. Doing this a couple of hours a week adds up, ultimately wasting a lot of your team’s time.
Today, those, you really don’t have to be doing a big chunk of menial work.
There are a lot of task automation tools that do your job for you by making your different systems communicate with each other. And you know what the best part is? You won’t even need to write a single line of code for this – all you have to do is pick the right tool
3 Must-Have Task Automation Tools
These task automation tools play the middle-man between all of your different software.
While most of them offer the same general functionality, there are certain features that put them apart from each other.
Zapier
Chances are, you’ve probably already heard of Zapier. It’s only one of the most popular task automation tools out there.
It allows you to “zap” together different software, carrying over data from one tool to another.
Zapier’s main advantage is that the tool offers integrations with most of the apps you’ll find online. To learn about all the potential combinations, you can check out this guide here.
Flow
Flow is Microsoft’s very own task automation tool.
While it doesn’t offer nearly as many software integrations as Zapier, its main benefit is that it works in combination with Office 365.
So, if your organization works mostly with Microsoft products, Flow would be your go-to.
Tallyfy
Let’s say you have a set of different tasks that need to be completed. Once each task is done (either manually or automated), you need to communicate to the next task owner that they have new work to do.
Tallyfy helps with just that – setting up communication between different tasks.
While it doesn’t exactly automate the task, it removes the managerial overhead needed to make sure everything gets done.
And as a given, it can be integrated with all the other tools we’ve mentioned here.
Task Automation Tools: 2 Practical Examples
Depending on what your company does, the tasks you’d automate would be very specific to your own niche.
To get you started, though, we’re going to cover 2 examples of automation in business functions that are present in just about every organization.
Customer Support
It’s pretty common knowledge that your customers are the core of your business.
So, it’s important to make sure that their concerns are taken care of ASAP. Unless you have a dedicated support team, though, customer support turns more into an after-thought.
In a lot of cases, you’re focusing on other tasks, and only occasionally checking your email or customer support tool.
To make sure you’re getting back to your customers in time, you can use a combination between Zapier, Intercom (if you’re using customer support software) / Gmail (if it’s email-based) and Slack.
So now, whenever you get a customer ticket on either Intercom or Gmail, you can set up a direct message to be sent to you on Slack, letting you know that there’s someone waiting for a reply ASAP.
Client Onboarding
Taking on a new client can be a very long process.
You’d need to gather all the right information (company information + their needs), carry out the client onboarding process, and finally kick-start your work with them.
All this is done through different platforms.
- The interaction starts on the website, where the lead leaves their email.
- The salesman has to get in touch with them and get their data through Typeform.
- Based on the information from the Typeform, you start the onboarding process using Tallyfy.
- Once the process is complete, you copy + paste information from Typeform into your favorite project management software and start working with the client.
Yep, you guessed it. That’s a lot of different steps that need manual intervention.
Instead, you can use Zapier to tie all the different apps together. Once someone signs up on the website, they automatically receive the Typeform email. Then, the data is automatically transferred through all the different software tools.
Starting off with Task Automation
Now that you know how task automation works, you can start coming up with your own uses for it.
While the example we provided work for a lot of organizations, they’re not the only task automation uses.
The sky’s the limit! Dive into the different tools & find out yourself how much of your work can be automated.
Related Questions
What is an example of task automation?
Think of a common office task like sending welcome emails to new customers. Instead of typing each email manually, task automation tools can detect when a new customer signs up and instantly send them a personalized welcome message. Other everyday examples include automatically backing up files, sorting incoming support tickets by priority, or having expense reports filled out by scanning receipts.
How can I automate my tasks?
Start by listing tasks you do repeatedly and look for patterns. Choose a user-friendly automation tool like Tallyfy that matches your needs. Begin with simple automations – like turning emails into tasks or auto-filling forms. Then gradually build up to more complex workflows. The key is to start small and focus on tasks that eat up lots of time but don’t need much human thinking.
What are the benefits of task automation?
Task automation saves more than just time – it reduces human error, keeps work consistent, and lets people focus on creative and strategic work instead of repetitive tasks. Workers report feeling more satisfied when robots handle the boring stuff. Companies typically see faster turnaround times, lower costs, and happier customers. Plus, automated tasks run 24/7 without taking breaks or making mistakes from fatigue.
How can I use AI in task automation?
AI takes automation to the next level by handling tasks that need some decision-making. For example, AI can read incoming customer emails, understand the mood and urgency, then route them to the right team. It can extract key details from documents, transcribe meetings, or even write basic reports. The trick is combining AI with human oversight – let AI handle the heavy lifting while humans make the final calls.
Which tasks should I automate first?
Look for tasks that are repetitive, rule-based, and time-consuming. Data entry, report generation, and email responses are great starting points. Also target tasks prone to human error, like calculations or compliance checks. Avoid automating tasks that need human creativity, emotional intelligence, or complex decision-making right away.
What are the common challenges in implementing task automation?
Many teams struggle with picking the right tasks to automate and choosing tools that work well together. Employee resistance can pop up if people fear job loss. Technical hiccups during setup and the need to maintain automated systems can also cause headaches. Success comes from careful planning, clear communication, and starting with quick wins to build confidence.
How much can task automation save in costs?
While savings vary, companies typically report cutting task time by 40-70% with automation. Beyond direct time savings, there’s less money spent fixing human errors, faster delivery to customers, and better use of talented staff. Many teams see positive returns within months, especially when automating high-volume tasks like invoice processing or customer service responses.
How do I measure the success of task automation?
Track metrics like time saved, error rates, customer satisfaction, and employee productivity. Compare before-and-after numbers for specific workflows. Look at both hard numbers (like processing times) and soft benefits (like worker satisfaction). Regular check-ins with users can reveal ways to fine-tune the automation for better results.
Can small businesses benefit from task automation?
Absolutely! Small businesses often gain the most from automation since they need to do more with less. Modern tools are affordable and easy to use without IT experts. Starting small with basic automation can free up time for growth activities, improve customer service, and help small teams compete with bigger players.
How does task automation affect employee jobs?
Rather than replacing jobs, task automation usually transforms them. Workers shift from doing repetitive tasks to managing automated processes, solving complex problems, and focusing on customer relationships. Most employees welcome automation when they see how it removes boring work and helps them be more valuable. The key is involving teams in the automation process from the start.
