Software is intended to assist us in completing tasks more quickly, making our lives more convenient. However, like the individuals and organizations that rely on them, these tools have their own unique characteristics. The presence of certain inefficiencies does not automatically vanish when utilizing a particular application.
With workflow automation, there is no need for people to rely on manual data entry, as often seen when trying to make software compatible with their business requirements.
Workflow automation involves streamlining and automating a series of tasks in the apps you utilize. Rather than adapting processes to suit the tools you employ, workflow automation enables you to design processes aligned with your business objectives. The greatest benefit lies in the complete automation of these processes.
What is workflow automation?
Workflow automation involves the optimization and mechanization of a sequence of repetitive tasks within the software employed, surpassing occasional duties like transferring emails to the task list.
In order to provide a clearer explanation of workflow automation, we need to dissect the concepts of automation and workflow.
What is automation?
Setting something up to run automatically is essentially what automation is. At the core of any automation lies a basic command: WHEN and DO. It can be summed up as “When a certain event occurs, perform a specific action.” This straightforward command can be applied even to intricate automations.
What is a workflow?
Is a workflow and a process the same thing? A workflow refers to a repeatable set of steps within an app or apps used to complete a process.
Consider the text below to rephrase while keeping the same meaning: A process can be regarded as the set of actions necessary to accomplish a specific task. For instance, within your company, you may follow a process when it comes to invoicing clients after finalizing a deal or proposal. This process entails generating an invoice, transmitting it to the customer, and ensuring it is both signed and paid before commencing work.
To achieve this process, you have a workflow in place. Consider workflow as the method or procedure you will utilize to execute the process. For instance, the steps involve creating an invoice in QuickBooks, uploading it to DocuSign, sending it to the customer via email for their signature, and finally sending a follow-up email through Stripe to collect payment.
| Process | Workflow |
|---|---|
| CRM deal is marked closed—won. | Mark deal as closed in CRM, won in PipeDrive. |
| An invoice is created. | Create an invoice in QuickBooks Online. |
| An invoice is sent to the customer. | Upload the invoice to DocuSign, send it to the customer. |
| Point of contact signs the invoice. | Customer signs the invoice through DocuSign. |
| Once the invoice is signed and payment processes, the client is handed off. | DocuSign notifies the team. Send a follow-up email to collect payment in Stripe. |
Task vs Workflow vs Process
When discussing tasks, workflows, and processes in business, we are essentially discussing three distinct manners of describing the execution of activities.
A task is an individual piece of work that must be done in order to reach completion. Tasks may be connected or unrelated, but they each serve a purpose and are self-contained units of work that can be finished without impacting other tasks.
Completing two tasks would be responding to an email from a customer with an answer and receiving an email message from a customer.
A workflow consists of tasks that need to be done in a specific order to complete a process or business function. Dependencies link these tasks together. The purpose of a workflow is to assist users in completing tasks more efficiently by keeping track of what has already been done and what still needs to be done, relieving the need to remember everything.
Salesforce’s account management software requires the completion of various tasks when creating a new customer account. These tasks encompass entering essential contact details, configuring payment information, and dispatching welcome emails. The culmination of all these actions constitutes the company’s new customer account creation workflow.
Processes are designed to achieve a specific organizational goal by following a repeatable sequence of steps. They take input and produce output consistently over time. Processes consist of tasks and workflows that represent the total flow of work through an organization.
A series of tasks and workflows that proceed through the stages of an order, from lead generation to fulfillment, could be considered a sales process. Processes can be utilized in all levels of an organization, but they are typically employed to define the work flow within departments or teams in larger organizations.
Workflow Automation and Process Automation
Workflow automation involves using software to automate workflow processes. This can be applied to any business process, but is most commonly used for manual tasks that require multiple steps or collaboration among individuals.
In contrast, business process automation entails the utilization of computer systems to carry out specific actions (multiple workflows throughout the organization) in order to optimize business operations. Business processes are crucial as they establish a standardized approach to completing tasks and yield more consistent results. By implementing BPA, the objective is to enhance entire sectors of your company and enhance their effectiveness.
Workflow automation examples
Workflow automation enables the creation of self-operating workflows to effectively manage essential business processes, including invoice management, lead collection, marketing email distribution, and numerous other tasks necessary for the smooth operation of your business.
Examples of things you can automate:
Creating a spreadsheet to track brand mentions on various social media platforms and websites.
Taking the necessary steps to contact a potential customer who has expressed interest in order to arrange a meeting.
The process involves removing subscribers who have experienced email bounces from a newsletter list.
The process of generating weekly reports that document the tasks successfully accomplished within a project.
After purchasing a product, customers are encouraged to leave reviews.
The process involves obtaining signatures on invoices once a deal has been successfully closed and won.
These are only a few instances of critical business processes that include multiple steps and frequently, multiple teams.
Why invest in workflow automation?
Setting up any process for your business requires a significant amount of effort. The notion of establishing these systems to function independently can be intimidating since we prefer to retain control.
Investing in workflow automation has significant advantages.
By automating tasks, workflow automation allows knowledge workers in small to medium-sized businesses to dedicate their time to creative tasks and projects, according to 66 percent of respondents.
When workflow automation is implemented, there is a decrease in data errors. This has been observed in the case of 38 percent of Zapier users who automated their data entry. Moreover, among surveyed knowledge workers, 34 percent stated that automating data entry has a positive effect in reducing errors.
Workflow automation enables businesses to expand. According to 88 percent of small business owners, automation grants them the capability to contend with bigger rivals. This automation facilitates enhanced speed, faster lead closure, reduced time consumption on menial tasks, minimized errors, and improved customer service.
Who can benefit from workflow automation
No matter what industry you are in, you can reap the advantages of workflow automation. If you utilize apps or software in your professional tasks, workflow automation is suitable for you.
There are several examples available that demonstrate how workflow automation can be advantageous for various job roles.
| Role | Automate your work |
|---|---|
| Marketing operations | Streamlining lead collection, managing paid campaigns, reporting metrics, segmenting subscribers, tracking offline conversions |
| Social media manager | Tracking brand mentions, sharing content across platforms, logging posts, curating content for posts |
| Sales | Following up with prospects, scheduling demos and consultations, tracking sales pipeline, updating and managing contacts |
| Accounting | Invoicing, client onboarding, filing expense reports, updating CRM with payment statuses, collecting signatures |
| eCommerce | Fulfilling orders, tracking sales, adding customers to a mailing list, notifications for failed charges, inviting customers to leave reviews |
| Project manager | Creating reports, assigning tasks, reminders for deadlines, tracking time |
Workflow automation ideas
Marketing operations
Marketing operations professionals oversee the behind-the-scenes aspects of every marketing campaign, such as lead management and scoring, data collection, and tracking, among many other tasks. Given the large number of elements they need to handle, it is unsurprising that marketers often excel at utilizing automation tools.
By implementing workflow automation, marketing operations teams can identify and rectify data errors before they cause any adverse effects, allowing them to concentrate on their core expertise of problem-solving.
Social media managers
Social media marketing is an essential component for any business. In addition to being the spokesperson for a brand, social media managers also monitor customer sentiment and engagement with your business. Due to the demands of their career, social media managers are frequently required to be accessible at all times.
Workflow automation enables social media managers to stay updated on trends, monitor customer sentiment, and generate content while preventing exhaustion.
Sales
Sales, as a profession, involves a high level of risk and stress due to its complexity. Therefore, the responsibility of salespeople is to convert potential customers into paying ones after receiving a lead. Apart from engaging with prospects, they also have to handle the challenging task of managing their CRM tool efficiently.
Sales professionals can prioritize face-to-face interactions by leveraging workflow automation to handle the monotonous aspects of the sales pipeline.
Accounting
Can you envision a business operating without accounting? As businesses expand and increase in size, it becomes increasingly vital to maintain comprehensive records of the inflow and outflow of money. Workflow automation aids accountants in tracking the money and minimizing data mistakes.
eCommerce
With online shops, efficient processes are especially important as customers are quick to notice their absence. Whether it is the absence of a tracking number or the inability to find order updates, inadequate processes can result in a negative customer experience, potentially leading to unfavorable reviews.
With the assistance of workflow automation, eCommerce stores are able to effectively manage the entire purchasing process, starting from browsing through products, to making a purchase, organizing shipping, and more.
Project managers
Project managers prevent business-critical projects from derailing by managing individuals and tasks, ensuring that the project stays on track within the allotted time frame and financial resources.
Workflow automation assists project managers in assigning tasks, obtaining insights, and monitoring progress, ultimately enabling them to prioritize execution.
