Workflow automation - all you need to know about workflow
Workflow automation is a created series of automated actions for the steps in a business process. It is about improving efficiency in business process.
If you want to see how workflow automation works in practice, here is how Tallyfy approaches the challenge.
Workflow Automation Software Made Easy & Simple
Summary
- Workflow automation magnifies both efficiency and inefficiency - Bill Gates observed that automation applied to efficient operations amplifies efficiency, while automation applied to inefficient operations amplifies inefficiency
- Lack of communication causes employees to leave organizations - One of the biggest turnover reasons is poor communication with management; workflow automation improves internal communication by automatically notifying the next person when tasks are ready
- Creates accountability with one person responsible for each step - Every part of the process has a designated person performing specific actions, revealing which tasks take most time and where processes get held up frequently
- Reduces costs by keeping necessary tasks from going unnoticed - No one can make the excuse that “no one told me” when automation holds everyone accountable for their role, cutting costly errors and administrative labor expenses. Automate your workflows with Tallyfy
Workflow automation is a created series of automated actions for the steps in a business process. It is used to improve everyday business processes because when your work flows, you can concentrate on getting more done and focusing on the things that matter. It allows teams to spend more time on the actual work itself and less time on the processes that support them.
The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
— Bill Gates
Businesses that create workflow automation are more efficient, save time and money, and minimize the likelihood of errors. That’s the theory, anyway. There are many benefits to implementing workflow automation, so here are the top five reasons you should begin.
The top 5 benefits of workflow automation
- Streamlines communication
One of the biggest benefits of workflow automation is that it improves internal communication. This reduces the rate of employee turnover because one of the biggest reasons employees leave an organization is a lack of communication with management. Because you are automating workflow you also automate communication, because no one has to remember to tell the next person it is their turn to do something. In our experience building workflow tools, we have heard from small agency owners who used to spend the majority of their time chasing staff for status updates rather than growing their business. After automating task handoffs, that time shifted to client-facing work.
The best way to create an automated process is to get everyone involved in that process together. Then you can begin creating a process map and visualize where the process begins and ends and what role each person in that process. Modern workflow templates can accelerate this by providing proven structures to build from.
- Creates accountability
By automating workflow you effectively create one person who is responsible for every part of the process. For each step in the process, there is one person designated to perform a specific action. By doing this you are creating a system of accountability, where everyone knows what specific tasks they are responsible for. This also reveals which tasks take the most time to complete and where the process seems to get held up the most frequently.
By creating workflow automation, everyone knows what person is responsible for what task and everyone is clear on what needs to be accomplished at any given point. And workflow automation enables you to make better future decisions to create more effective processes and divide out work accordingly.
- Reduces costs and error
Workflow automation reduces errors because it keeps necessary tasks from going unnoticed. Because every person involved in the process is held accountable for their specific role, no one can make the excuse that “no one told me!” Workflow automation also saves companies from costly expenses associated with employee errors and it can cut costs on administrative labor as well.
- Empowers employees to manage their own time
Workflow automation ensures every employee knows their expected role and what they are responsible for. Now management will know immediately if their tasks are not completed on time. Supervisors won’t have to manage every employee or spend time checking on their progress. Workflow automation allows management to look at the overall workflow process and view everything within the context of the bigger picture.
- Creates more workplace efficiency
By creating customized workflow automation, you can assign approval responsibilities to anyone within the company, no matter what current reporting hierarchy is in place. Management doesn’t have to intervene in every task. Setting up template automations handles the routing automatically.
Is manual work sustainable?
Are you hearing this at work? That's busywork
Enter between 1 and 150,000
Enter between 0.5 and 40
Enter between $10 and $1,000
Based on $30/hr x 4 hrs/wk
Your loss and waste is:
every week
What you are losing
Cash burned on busywork
per week in wasted wages
What you could have gained
160 extra hours could create:
per week in real and compounding value
Total cumulative impact over time (real cost + missed opportunities)
You are bleeding cash, annoying every employee and killing dreams.
It's a no-brainer
When should you consider workflow automation?
Workflow automation is the best way to achieve tasks in an efficient manner. It produces more consistent results every time.
Businesses should consider workflow automation when there is a repetitive series of tasks to implement. Often these tasks are managed with paper files, spreadsheets, or email. By creating workflow automation, this process becomes smoother and removes the risk of human error.
Workflow automation gives you a better picture of the different tasks and makes it easier to identify areas for improvement and increases overall productivity. Now the question becomes, what are the steps involved in implementing workflow automation?
Steps for workflow automation
Before implementing workflow automation, management must identify what areas need workflow improvement. From what I’ve seen helping organizations implement automation, the ideal way to do this is by making a visual representation of the current workflow by using flow diagrams. This will give you a better understanding of your current business workflow and help you identify repetitive tasks. For example, one finance team mapped out their monthly close process and discovered over 80 individual tasks spread across multiple people. Without visualization, they had no idea where time was actually being lost. Now you can create workflow automation that will improve and simplify the existing workflow.
After you have identified the problem, the next step is to clearly define your business goals. And then you need to explain how your business goals will be achieved by creating workflow automation and what process you will use to measure them.
Now it is important to decide on the means to the end. What process do you want to use to achieve the established business goals? This will be the step where you select what workflow automation process you will use. An ideal workflow is simple, user-friendly, and easily adaptable by all users.
The next step is to train employees on how to use the new workflow software. In any company, new changes are often met with resistance so it is important to involve employees right from the beginning and explain to them how this software will help them. By giving employees a clear path of transition from the current process to the new system and providing necessary training, the transition should go more smoothly.
Once these steps are completed, you should be up and running on your new workflow system. Continuous monitoring and assessment of your new process will be necessary to work out bottlenecks and identify areas for improvement.
Conclusion
Workflow automation is at the core of what we discuss with organizations at Tallyfy, with client onboarding alone appearing in over 860 of our customer conversations. In our experience building workflow tools, companies can reduce the number of manual tasks performed by employees through workflow automation, which frees them up to work on more important work. This allows more work to get done in a shorter amount of time and will probably boost employee morale and increase overall productivity.
Workflow automation helps companies achieve more consistent results. By automating an area, companies reduce the risk of mistakes and this allows them to create higher quality products with fewer increases in costs and time. Workflow creates processes which have the potential down the road to bring in more revenue with fewer expenses.
Want to use workflow automation for your business? Give Tallyfy’s workflow management software a go - it is free for up to 5 users. If you are having a hard time choosing the software provider, then read up our guide to workflow management systems and learn how to set them apart.
Ready-to-use workflow automation templates
About the Author
Amit is the CEO of Tallyfy. He is a workflow expert and specializes in process automation and the next generation of business process management in the post-flowchart age. He has decades of consulting experience in task and workflow automation, continuous improvement (all the flavors) and AI-driven workflows for small and large companies. Amit did a Computer Science degree at the University of Bath and moved from the UK to St. Louis, MO in 2014. He loves watching American robins and their nesting behaviors!
Follow Amit on his website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, X (Twitter) or YouTube.
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