Using common forms of automation such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Business Process Automation, Workflow Automation carries out step-by-step tasks to transfer the proper information between IT system components based on specified business rules. This process is utilized, for instance, in the onboarding of new employees.
The key to enabling digital processes for various job functions such as HR, accounting, procurement, etc. to run smoothly without human involvement lies in workflow automation. By defining the steps and specifying the required actions, users can automate workflows using self-service techniques like drag-and-drop or modeling. This automation enhances the consistency, accuracy, and efficiency of these processes, even on a large scale within an enterprise.
What are the Benefits of Workflow Automation?
Workflow automation allows users to complete workflows more efficiently and effectively, taking advantage of digital transformation. This software provides these benefits to all employees, not just those who are technologically inclined, due to its self-service nature.
These tools assist each business unit in increasing its productivity, allowing companies to accomplish more work and achieve their core mission objectives. By implementing workflow automation, businesses optimize the efficiency of their employees by speeding up manual processes that are usually slow, inconsistent, and error-prone. The use of workflow automation tools eliminates these obstacles, resulting in several advantages.
Accuracy
With workflow automation software, the accuracy of crucial department functions, such as verifying invoice payments, is bound to improve as these automated tools consistently perform their trained tasks and eliminate the possibility of human error.
Transparency
To increase visibility into complex processes, workflow automation software is essential. It guarantees that these processes are well-defined, can be executed again, and can be maintained to ensure accurate identification of accountable workers or factors for specific business outcomes. This eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming investigations.
Workflow Flexibility
Users have the capability to plan, accomplish, and organize the fulfillment of numerous tasks within a workflow, regardless of their complexity. As a result, they can automate intricate processes that involve both unstructured and structured data, catering to the requirements of any enterprise workflow.
Lowers Costs
By implementing workflow automation, organizations can achieve more with fewer resources. By significantly enhancing the efficiency and productivity of individuals, costs related to errors can be greatly minimized, and the workforce needed to complete certain workflows can be reduced.
Job Satisfaction
The positive effects of workflow automation on productivity and efficiency not only affect financial outcomes, but also contribute to higher job satisfaction among employees. As a result, companies experience improved retention rates and are able to attract more talented individuals.
Scalability
Workflow automation software is likely beneficial due to its ability to scale. It enables users to execute tasks related to any process, regardless of the amount of data or people involved. An example of this is the implementation of security credentials for workers following a recent merger. Automating these workflows ensures that these processes run smoothly, even when dealing with larger scales.
Who is Using Workflow Automation?
Workflow automation can be applied across different industries and departments. It is difficult to find any sector or unit that doesn’t utilize some type of this automation. Due to its widespread benefits of improved efficiency, effectiveness, scalability, and cost savings, workflow automation is commonly implemented in various work settings, irrespective of their differences.
However, certain business units tend to have greater departmental use cases for workflow automation compared to others. Human resources, for example, is particularly suitable for workflow automation due to its heavy reliance on paper in the past. Accounting also falls under the same category. Customer support teams are another group that frequently utilizes workflow automation software as it allows them to quickly access various systems to effectively address customer issues and meet their satisfaction.
Financial services and banking are likely to have the highest rates of implementation of workflow automation tools due to their support for knowledge workers. Additional sectors that also utilize these tools include insurance, sales and marketing, as well as healthcare.
3 Real-World Business Automation Examples
1. Leave Applications
If you ask any experienced HR executive, they will inform you about a process that can be challenging to monitor: leave management, also known as time-off management.
The reason for this is that multiple people usually need to approve an employee’s request for time off. Typically, these individuals include the employee’s immediate superiors, department heads, stakeholders of any projects the employee is involved in, and members of the HR team. When this approval process is done through a combination of email chains, phone calls, and text messages, it becomes evident that there can be breakdowns in communication.
You can easily resolve leave management issues with a business process automation solution. Just create a form to gather necessary information and incorporate all the staff members involved in the process. It will run smoothly and can also be integrated with the payroll and employee attendance databases.
2. Purchase Orders
The crucial aspect of purchase orders is to avoid errors. Direct financial losses may occur due to missed or unfulfilled purchase orders, which organizations regularly encounter as there are usually multiple active POs simultaneously.
By using automation, the gaps that allow purchase orders to go unnoticed can be eliminated. Utilizing an automated purchase order system ensures that all purchase orders are either fulfilled or rejected, with none getting lost in the process. Additionally, it enables monitoring of both current and past purchase orders, allowing any conflicts to be resolved even before they occur.
By introducing a rule-based business process automation solution, additional functions can be added for purchase orders. For example, purchase orders that exceed a specific value can be directed to the finance department head for approval.
3. Sales and Marketing
No matter what type of product or service your organization provides, the process of sales can be simplified into three key steps: identifying potential customers, cultivating relationships with those customers, and ultimately, achieving successful sales, sign-ups, or contracts.
The recurring grind makes it necessary to have a business process automation solution in order to prevent the loss of potential leads due to disorganized CRM systems. By utilizing a process automation system, you can create specific apps for tasks such as Sales Invoice Approval, Discount Approval, or updating information for key clients in the main CRM. Additionally, incorporating a constant feedback loop into your marketing process can enhance the effectiveness and agility of your campaigns.
