Knowingly or unknowingly, businesses use many workflows to manage daily operations. From training new employees to processing payroll and approving documents, all business procedures can be called ‘workflows.’ The more efficient your workflows are, the more efficient your business will be.
Business automation software streamlines manual procedures within your operations. Automation tools boost efficiency by eliminating time-consuming and manual tasks. You can transform daily procedures with enhanced communication, reduced expenses and more personalized customer approaches. Learn more about workflow management software and how Salient Process can help you optimize these solutions.
Business automation workflow uses software and other forms of technology to streamline and automate business operations. Automation software completes manual and repetitive tasks without human input. By automating daily processes, you can increase efficiency across multiple departments.
Various software types can streamline part or all of a workflow. Capabilities like artificial intelligence (AI) or logic-based software use predefined business rules to complete tasks. For instance, you can program software with existing business documents and procedures. The technology absorbs this information and uses it to finish workflows.
You can use business automation workflow solutions to complete processes like:
Approving and sending documents: Automation software can check documents to ensure they’re in the correct format and contain the right information before sending them to the next user. Other tools like automated signatures let officials upload their signatures instantly. These processes remove time-consuming transferring processes and eliminate the need for physical documents.
Onboarding new employees: Automation can also quicken the employee onboarding process as they enter company systems. The software can instantly send workers required paperwork, schedule introductory meetings with supervisors, send surveys to learn about their experiences and complete many other tasks.
Transferring data: Data entry is one of the most tedious daily operations tasks. Manually entering small pieces of information can quickly become tiresome. It can also lead to human error, especially after many work hours. Workflow automation can sync systems and data, automatically transferring data from one application to another. Automation reduces the time needed to update data and lets workers focus on more fulfilling tasks.
Benefits of Business Automation Workflow
Workflow automation services bring many benefits to companies, including:
Cost savings: Automation reduces manual errors and empowers employees to work more efficiently, increasing profitability. Mistakes can be costly, especially when they involve sensitive information. You might have to delay other projects to fix the error and other affected areas. By avoiding these errors in the first place, you minimize downtime and expensive fixes. In addition, you can decrease administrative costs with less manual work.
Improved communication: Workflow automation creates clear and consistent paths of communication. Employees can quickly connect with co-workers and access necessary data for their projects. The software can send automatic alerts for upcoming meetings, project deadlines and other commitments. Automation software can also assist with accountability — after you designate a project to someone, the system tracks statuses to make sure every task gets completed.
Enhanced efficiency: Workflow automation tools help you identify inefficiencies. You can evaluate workflows and determine bottlenecks that limit productivity. For instance, a document approval procedure might take weeks to complete, lengthening project times. You could implement automation software to streamline the process, increasing efficiency. Employees can access advanced tools that reduce manual workloads and let them progress more quickly.
Detailed performance tracking: During the automation process, you digitalize all tasks in the workflow. Your automation system can track the workflow’s performance from beginning to end, identifying inefficiencies or inconsistencies. By continually refining your approaches, you ensure your company operates optimally.
Business automation has advantages for all members of an organization. Here is a closer look at how it benefits managers, employees and developers:
Benefits for Managers
Managers and supervisors can use automation software to monitor employee progress and designate projects. For instance, managers can have access to tools like:
Online dashboards: Managers can organize projects and designate tasks using online dashboards. These tools automatically assign and monitor work tasks to the appropriate employees. Managers can check work completion statuses or idle times.
Real-time project statuses: Work objects only leave workflow dashboards once employees complete them. Supervisors view real-time project updates and ensure all necessary tasks get completed before sending them for approval.
Automatic alerts: You can preprogram automated software for automatic alerts, approvals and exceptions. For instance, the software could automatically approve access to a document if the employee has the appropriate clearance level.
Benefits for Employees
Employees can experience decreased workloads and improved working conditions with workflow automation. Other worker advantages include:
Enhanced scheduling: Automation software can organize projects based on their due dates or other priorities. By basing their schedules on these recommendations, employees manage their time wisely and keep departments on track to meet deadlines.
Easier communication: Workflow automation streamlines communication processes. Instead of manually updating supervisors about project completion, the system automatically provides status updates. Built in messaging tools make it easier to communicate with managers if employees have questions.
Decreased wait times: Business automation software facilitates projects from beginning to end, reducing wait times. For instance, employees could receive instant approval or feedback on a task instead of waiting hours or days for responses. The increased speed lets them progress through projects much faster.
Benefits for Developers
Developers can speed up the creation and experimentation process of software development. Many types of workflow management software integrate seamlessly with existing systems. It also has minimal coding requirements, allowing developers to complete installation quickly.
Business Departments That Can Benefit Most From BAW
You can introduce workflow automation to all business departments. Each team can apply automation to specific procedures and benefit from the results. For example, workflow automation software can improve departments like:
Customer Support
You can improve customer support procedures by implementing automated tools. When customers have questions about products or services, it’s important to address them as quickly as possible. The longer they have to wait, the more dissatisfied they can become.
Automated tools assist customers without manual employee input. They can help clients with general questions, then refer them to an employee if they need further assistance. For example, chatbots are programmed to respond to basic questions and can send resources for additional guidance. They could address customer inquiries about:
Product details
Order processing times
Refunds or returns
Problems with payments
Instead of answering simple questions and completing repetitive tasks, customer support agents can focus on more advanced customer concerns. Customers also benefit from the rapid response times, letting them resolve problems without excessive wait times.
Finance
Your company’s finance department handles all areas of financial well-being, making accuracy essential. Lengthy invoice or transaction processes can reduce efficiency and lead to more errors. By automating financial procedures, you can ensure the department works with optimal accuracy.
Workflow automation software simplifies financial procedures like end-of-month closings, employee payroll processing, document approval and more. Automatic data transfers eliminate human error while logging transactions and financial receipts.
You can also restructure workflows for increased speed. For example, your software could streamline a reimbursement request process. You can program the software to approve certain requests, reducing bottlenecks automatically.
Human Resources
Human resources (HR) departments manage employee experiences from their first onboarding session to their last workday. Depending on your business’s size, providing a personalized experience for all employees can become challenging. Automating manual tasks lets HR workers focus on high-priority concerns.
Workflow solutions could streamline HR processes like:
Onboarding and offboarding: Automated tools can quickly set up employee accounts and login credentials, letting them access online systems sooner. They can also update new employee calendars with training sessions and necessary onboarding tasks. After an employee decides to leave the company, you can develop a workflow solution that automatically disables their account and access to company systems.
Timesheet approvals: Many organizations use timesheets to track the number of hours employees work each week. Manually inspecting and approving these can quickly become time-consuming and tedious. Instead, you can program workflow automation software to detect and flag timesheet discrepancies. That way, HR workers only need to look at flagged documents rather than studying each one.
Vacation requests: Most HR departments are also responsible for processing vacation and paid time off (PTO) requests. Automated solutions can simplify these procedures by allowing approvals with minimal external input. For example, employees might only have to click one button to accept a request. Workflow software can also build advanced calendars that display all upcoming vacations and off-days, letting employees schedule more efficiently.
Benefits and pay changes: As employees receive promotions and move further in the company, their benefits and pay amounts will likely change. An automated solution can streamline the updating process.
Sales
Sales departments work closely with consumers to market and sell products that meet their needs best. Workflow automation tools can integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) approaches. By automating manual tasks, employees can spend more time building and analyzing effective sales methods.
For example, workflow automation can simplify procedures like:
Sales proposal approvals
Prices for products
Aligning campaigns with budgets
Project Management
Workflow automation services can transform project management, offering deep insight into project progression. With these tools, you can develop an end-to-end view of your project workflow. Real-time statuses and updates ensure you have a clear understanding of project progression. The increased transparency improves communication for all related employees and officials.
You can scale your automation solution to meet your business’s specific needs. Whether you manage multiple projects at once or just one, the solutions provide the most personalized approach possible. Other benefits like enhanced efficiency and reduced costs let you work through projects at optimal speeds.
Operations Management
Operations management and workflow automation go hand-in-hand with their emphasis on efficiency. Automation tools make operations monitoring easier. With an overhead view of all workflows and ongoing projects, it becomes much easier to identify inefficiencies. You can track operational processes closely and determine areas that need improvement. After you refine methods, the software helps you track effectiveness.
When to Use Business Automation Workflow
While business automation workflow can benefit businesses of all sizes and industries, it can be especially helpful for companies experiencing these factors:
Decreased efficiency: If your business experiences declining efficiency, it could be a sign to reevaluate your workflows. Productivity is essential for meeting deadlines and maintaining customer satisfaction, so decreasing rates can cause more significant problems. By committing to an automation workflow solution, you can reduce repetitive tasks and manual workloads. Employees can complete streamlined procedures much faster, boosting success on all fronts.
Increased errors: The more errors you have, the harder it becomes to maintain efficiency. A sudden increase in errors could indicate your existing workflows are losing effectiveness. Automated solutions eliminate manual data entry and improve accuracy on many different levels. You can reduce downtime and eliminate the need to repair mistakes.
Employee burnout: Employees experiencing burnout face mental and physical exhaustion. They struggle to complete regular tasks and don’t feel fulfilled at work. Burnout can negatively impact your workplace culture and create high turnover rates. By investing in advanced automation features, you create better employee experiences. Streamlined processes make projects feel less overwhelming. With less manual and repetitive work, workers feel more fulfilled with their daily responsibilities.
Why Salient?
If you’re ready to invest in a workflow automation solution, partner with Salient Process today. We’re a leading workflow automation solutions provider. Bring to bear our years of expertise to build customized workflow solutions. We specialize in the following:
Process mapping
Mining and analysis
Robotic process automation (RPA)
Business automation workflow (BAW)
Business rules management
Hyperautomation solutions
We understand the need to work at optimal efficiency while keeping costs low. With our solutions, you can boost efficiency by reducing time-consuming tasks. Focus on high-priority planning and customer connections instead of manual data entry, and see how it can increase success.
Salient Process sets itself apart from competitors with highlights like:
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Premier Partner status: We partner with IBM to provide the highest-quality software and solutions for businesses.
Years of experience: Our employees have an average of 15 years of experience. No matter your industry or needs, we help you build the optimal workflow automation solution.
We also created the IBM Business Automated Workflow (BAW) and business project management (BPM) integration. This solution assists with mapping workflows and tracking data through various cloud components. We have offices around the world to make closer connections with clients. Our team is dedicated to building tangible and effective change for businesses worldwide.
Request More Information About Workflow Automation
Business automation workflow can upgrade efficiency across all departments. By automating work operations, you reduce employee workloads and create a more productive work environment. Whether you’re a new employee or an experienced manager, workflow automation can improve your daily operations.
Salient Process is your partner for every aspect of workflow automation. As an IBM Premier Business Partner, we provide leading integrated solutions and expertise to transform our client’s processes. We work with you to identify target goals and develop automation processes that meet these needs.
