From Chaos to Order: The Transformative Benefits of Workflow Automation
In any organization, an operational process is not executed in isolation. It involves a series of steps, each performed by an individual employee and approved (wherever approval is required) by a designated approver. This series or sequence of actions forms a workflow.
Workflows that are manually executed are prone to bottlenecks as there are complex dependencies on individuals completing their part in the process. Any delay in performing a step (or even informing the next person that the previous step is complete) will lead to a delay in subsequent steps.
Once the flow of work is broken, the process starts to derail, and it takes both time and effort to get things back on track. In business, time lost is money lost! And a lost opportunity can mean even more bad news.
Digitizing tasks and using workflow automation software to manage sequential tasks can be a game-changer.
In this article, we discuss the benefits of workflow automation and understand how automating sequential tasks can revolutionize how your organization operates and transform chaotic operational processes into streamlined and smooth automated workflows.
RDS offers ECM Toolbox for AppEnhancer, a powerful solution that helps streamline workflows and add value to the document management modules in AppEnhancer.
Understanding the Chaos
Do you find yourself spending more time managing your tasks rather than doing those tasks?
Are files piling up on your desk with your colleagues waiting on you to approve requisitions, sign forms or verify critical tasks?
When you find yourself spending more time signing approvals or verifying documents your time has manually created, it's probably time to rope in automation to control the chaos that manual processes unleash!
Exploring manual workflows
As your organization grows, manual processes start to break down. Manual workflows have clear limitations in terms of scalability and efficiency. For example, tasks such as converting handwritten forms or notes into digital formats by manually entering data entry. Let's look at some complexities of manual processes:
Manual tasks are time-consuming and inefficient. They are not inherently scalable. So when there is a spike in workload, manual workflows just can't handle it!
Mundane and repetitive tasks can leave your teams feeling jaded and uninspired. Worse still, they can cause them to lose focus, increasing the risk of errors.
Manual processes are more difficult to track, analyze and optimize. They lack traceability, so it's difficult to tell where the process is breaking down or what's causing delays.
Lastly, not all employees are good at setting priorities for themselves. Manual processes leave room for individual employees to decide when and how to execute specific tasks - (which may affect the next steps in the process).
The Power of Automation
If you are grappling with the limitations of manual processes and paper-based workflows, it's time to turn to technology and leverage the power of automation.
Workflow automation streamlines operational processes by eliminating manual steps in a workflow. It improves efficiencies across the board in your organization, directly impacting the business's bottom line.
According to a study by Gartner, up to 30% of a typical Accounts department employee is avoidable, manual work. Automating tasks can save up to 25,000 hours per year at a cost of $878,000 for an organization with 40 full-time accounting staff.
Efficiency and accuracy
Automating repetitive tasks saves valuable time and effort and minimizes human errors that typically occur with repetitive manual tasks.
When you use a workflow automation tool, every process is mapped to a digital workflow - a sequence of actions listed step-by-step, with each step assigned to an individual. As soon as one person completes a step and marks it done in their system, the workflow automatically moves to the next action in the workflow and sends out an alert to the individual who needs to initiate the next step. Since this step-by-step flow is automated, it does not allow delays due to administrative blocks or miscommunication.
Designated approvers get an alert reminding them that documents are waiting for their attention. Approvers can then clear up the pending approvals with a single click from a mobile device no matter where they are - whether at work, at home, or in transit at an airport!
Standardization
Once you deploy a workflow automation software, each step is set down simply to be followed by every individual assigned to each step. It does not leave any step to the individual's choice, thus standardizing how tasks are approached and executed. Standardization leads to better outcomes and higher quality of work.
Benefits of Workflow Automation
Workflow automation tools bring many strategic and tactical benefits to your daily operations. Let's look at some of the main ones:
Streamlined communication
Once you set an automated sequence, every individual involved in that flow can see the status of subtasks before and after their own step in the sequence. Automatic routing sends documents to the concerned individual with a real-time alert or notification. The system enhances communication by alerting the next individual in the flow when each step is completed and informing all team members of the progress and estimated deadlines.
Enhanced accountability
An automated workflow designates responsibility for completing a task to a specific individual. This assignment is visible to individuals who play a role in that process or workflow. It gives the team complete transparency to see where work is held up or when they can expect their step to be triggered by the system. It empowers each individual in the process and makes them feel more responsible for completing their step within the deadline associated with their step, as they can clearly see how their action will affect the entire process.
Faster turnaround
Workflow automation software gives you valuable insights from aggregated data and trends over time. These insights are crucial in making improvements to processes and enhancing productivity. When you can get precise data about where a workflow suffers breakdown or delays, you can change timelines or improve how the sequence is structured. Over time, your team delivers more accurate work at a faster turnaround time.
Implementing Workflow Automation
Workflow automation fundamentally changes how your team approaches tasks, deadlines, and accountability for completing their part in a process.
Once you have decided to transition to automated workflows, finding an experienced implementation partner is essential to ensure you can fully realize the benefits of workflow automation.
At RDS, we have worked with hundreds of organizations to identify opportunities for automation within their existing workflows and implement a world-class transformative solution for workflow automation. Our business process consultants are on hand to optimize and streamline your business processes and even consult you in managing the change process effectively.
Identifying opportunities for automation
Start with identifying processes that involve manual data entry, physical sharing of documents across functional teams, manual approval or verification processes and other administrative or rule-based tasks that can be configured for automation.
Look for step-by-step sequences of actions that your operations team follows on a daily basis that could be initiated based on predefined triggers.
Pick tedious and time-consuming processes that have a high potential for human error and that are also expected to grow in volume as the business grows.
Choosing the right workflow automation tool
You need the right workflow automation software to start automating manual business tasks.
The first consideration is whether the tool you are evaluating will integrate seamlessly with your existing tech stack. For example, RDS recommends ECM ToolBox as it integrates with your ERP system and a document management system like OpenText AppEnhancer, helping you leverage the true benefits of workflow automation. It extends the functionality of AppEnhancer and adds value to its document management modules.
Growth is a primary objective of any commercial enterprise. So, it's vital to choose a workflow automation solution that is flexible and scalable and will empower your operational teams to handle increasing workloads easily and accurately without a proportionate increase in staff numbers.
Finally, pick a workflow automation solution provider with expertise in business process automation, especially within your industry. Ensure the provider has extensive experience with the products and can extend ongoing support so your company realizes the full benefits of workflow automation over time.
RDS: Realize the True Benefits of Workflow Automation
Automation removes several low-value administrative tasks from the manager's to-do list. No more sending umpteen reminders to every team member to expedite a particular task because it's holding up work downstream! And no more poring over manual reports on spreadsheets at the end of the month - just to find the numbers are off-target (too late!). You also reduce follow-ups with team members as you can see for yourself the status of each step in the workflow. Automation keeps work flowing smoothly with little intervention from the manager.
Talk to RDS to transition from chaotic manual processes to the order and accuracy of automated workflows.
Rely on RDS expert consultants to optimize your business processes and support you with experienced OpenText consultants to improve operational efficiency and keep your teams happy!
Connect with RDS today and experience the benefits of workflow automation.