What is workflow automation and how can it help your business?

For every organization, workflows serve as essential building blocks of daily work, breaking down tasks into steps for completion. Eliminating as many manual steps as possible is key to maximizing productivity — but just how essential are automations to your workflows?

There are several benefits when businesses automate workflows, but perhaps the most notable is time-savings. 75% of IT and engineering leaders report saving at least four hours per week with workflow automation software (i.e., up to 12 hours of extra time each month). It’s no surprise, then, that 80% of retail and pharmaceutical companies are planning to adopt intelligent automation by 2025.

This article explores what workflow automation is, its benefits, best practices, tools, and a step-by-step guide to get you started on your workflow automation journey.

What is workflow automation?

Workflow automation is a type of technology that handles repetitive or tedious tasks to streamline daily processes, boost efficiency, and enhance overall business operations. It replaces the need for human input altogether, freeing up time for staff to focus on more strategic tasks.

8 benefits of workflow automation

Now that we’ve defined workflow automation, let’s dig into another commonly-asked question: what is the value of workflow automation? Regardless of what industry you operate in, adopting workflow automation software will benefit you in the following ways:

1. Increased efficiency

Automation handles time-consuming and monotonous work — such as data entry and lead nurture processing — faster and more accurately than humans. By reducing errors and eliminating delays, your business will see efficiency improvements across the board.

Related read: Maximizing efficiency for small businesses

2. Time savings

Streamlined processes save teams time, allowing them to shift from manual tasks to more strategic and rewarding work. With workflow automation, teams get time back to spend on creative problem-solving, collaboration, and other work that drives further business value.

3. Cost savings

As discussed previously, automation increases efficiency and saves time. These benefits directly impact a business’ bottom line. By streamlining daily tasks, automation reduces the resources spent on manual work, resulting in impactful cost savings. Software also enhances processes that drive revenue, like sales and customer service, further contributing to the solution’s return on investment (ROI).

4. Happier employees

Not only does workflow automation free up valuable time for employees by handling manual tasks, it also allows them to focus on more engaging and fulfilling work. Manual processes that require minimal skill or insight can feel tedious and frustrating. By automating these types of workflow tasks, you can reduce monotony and increase satisfaction for your employees.

5. Improved productivity

Automation can enhance productivity by accelerating workflows with consistent, streamlined processes. When employees increase their work output, companies can onboard more new clients, grow faster, and stay ahead of competitors.

6. Better customer experience

Workflow automation enhances consistency and reduces errors, leading to higher-quality work that satisfies customers.

Aside from the products and services your company provides, automation tools like chatbots can also improve how customers find information and receive support. Automation can resolve customer issues without staff involvement, freeing up more time for your sales and customer service teams. When customers receive quick answers without needing to call and wait on hold, they are more likely to leave with a positive impression of your business, become a repeat customer, and share their experience with friends and family.

7. Enhanced security

Workflow automation software not only boosts customer service and streamlines daily operations, it also strengthens security. It enhances the efficiency of data security processes, including staff training and audits, and helps standardize secure practices across teams. Simultaneously, automation platforms safeguard sensitive information throughout every stage of workflows with built-in security features.

8. Transparency

When your automation solution is part of a larger workflow management software, it not only saves time, but offers a clear view of your processes. This way, teams can see every workflow step and distinguish between automated and manual tasks, which enhances transparency and helps everyone involved understand how work is completed.

How to automate workflows

While every company has unique tasks and workflows, a few key components of workflow automation apply universally.

Key components

• Triggers: An event that sets off a workflow or a step in a workflow. For example, a prospect filling out a form could trigger a workflow that sends them a series of marketing emails.
• Actions: Steps performed by a workflow to complete a task. If we continue with the example of a marketing email workflow for prospects, each email that is sent automatically is considered an action in the workflow.
• Conditions: Set criteria that can alter a workflow’s triggers and actions. If the form for prospects has an industry drop-down field, it could become a condition for the emails prospects receive. Based on the prospect’s input, the workflow could be set up to automatically tailor marketing emails to the recipient’s industry, making them more personalized and relevant.

Tools and tech

We’ve explored how automation software can benefit your company with time savings, cost savings, and other benefits listed above, but how do these tools actually work? Workflow automation platforms vary, but they typically integrate multiple technologies to increase efficiency and transparency. These platforms may include the following tools and features:

• Process mapping: Create bespoke workflows in an easy-to-understand visual format.
• Custom triggers: Select triggers that make sense for your business's unique processes.
• Integration: Connect to other solutions to automatically pull in information when and where you need it, and leverage existing data to influence workflows.
• Analytics: Track workflow progress and metrics with dashboards and reports that help you optimize workflows.
• Collaboration tools: Enable collaboration that keep teams aligned using shared workflow automation platforms with integrated messaging capabilities.

Related read: Transform your business with AI workflow automation

Step-by-step guide

Now that we’ve covered key components of workflows and some tools you can use, here are five steps for implementing workflow automation:

1. Identify processes: Start by choosing the processes you want to automate. Processes that are tedious, repetitive, and prone to error will benefit the most from automation.
2. Choose the right tech: Assess your business goals for automation to define what you need a software solution to accomplish. From there, research and select a workflow automation tool that meets your needs, has great reviews, and offers quality customer support.
3. Define workflows: Outline the steps in each process you plan to automate from start to finish. Be sure to assign ownership to team members at each stage.
4. Set-up automation: Integrate automation by setting up triggers that initiate desired actions. This will maximize your software’s features for seamless data flow and ensure security and compliance throughout every stage of the process.
5. Monitor and optimize: Assign staff to monitor workflows and provide feedback. Their input will inform gaps and areas for improvement that could further enhance efficiency.

Best practices

Workflow automation can significantly benefit your business by saving time and improving efficiency — but adopting new technologies is never easy. Challenges can arise during and after implementation. Here are some best practices for how to use workflow automation:

• Map processes first: Visualize the processes you want to automate and document these digitally or manually. This helps you better understand each step, catch details you may have overlooked, and ensure you can successfully integrate automation into your workflows.
• Prepare for “plan B”: Be sure to include conditions for when things go wrong. For example, in a workflow that requires a document to be sent by a certain deadline, include who needs to be contacted as well as follow-up actions if the document isn’t provided. In any given workflow, certain errors are prone to occur. You know your business best, so try to anticipate likely mistakes and plan accordingly.
• Consider the bigger picture of process management: If inefficiencies persist despite optimizing workflows, the issue may be deeper. Take a step back to evaluate your company’s overall process management and explore opportunities to improve operations on a broader scale. Identifying the true source of inefficiency is essential, as it might not be what you initially expected.
• Leverage technology, but prioritize supporting your people: While automation can save time and streamline processes, its true benefits come when your staff can use it effectively. Sometimes, employees may lack the resources or clarity needed to complete tasks or struggle with using new technology. To encourage successful adoption, ensure everyone fully understands your workflow automation solution and has the necessary support to use it confidently.
• Audit workflows regularly: Schedule regular audits to identify optimization opportunities and address any emerging issues.
• Choose software that sets you up for success: Even if your chosen workflow platform has all the features you’re looking for, there are a few other factors that make a tool effective. Make sure to select user-friendly automation software for a quicker learning curve. Keep security and compliance in mind to avoid the risks of data breaches and fines.

Automate workflows to drive better business outcomes

With workflow automation, your business can unlock new opportunities to save time, cut costs, boost productivity, improve employee satisfaction, and increase security. Be sure to research custom workflow automation technology to help find the right solution for your business.

When you take the time to follow best practices and implement new technologies effectively, you’ll arrive at tangible results that not only streamline operations, but position you for long-term success.