Time is the key to success for all types of business, be it small, medium, or large. Every day, your team works on different tasks and processes. These daily basis tasks are known as the workflow of your business processes. If you are able to optimize your workflow efficiency, it can save a lot of time by cutting down on time-wasting tasks. Undoubtedly, this results in enhanced productivity.

In order to achieve greater workflow efficiency, it is essential to focus more on the critical processes of your company and streamline all the necessary tasks. This will boost your accuracy, speed, and quality as well.

Eliminating redundancies that waste time helps you and your team focus more on essential elements that can take your business to the next step. For instance, you get time to focus on upcoming strategies and innovations. Workflow efficiency helps in maximizing the value of money and time. Alongside it decreases the risk of errors and turnaround time.

Before diving into the ways with which you can increase your workflow efficiency, let’s first look at some of the factors that decrease workflow efficiency.

Factors That Affect Workflow Efficiency 

All the departments of an organization are interconnected. If any of the departments are affected, it will cost you money, productivity, and time. The main reasons behind the workflow inefficiency in an organization are:

• Miscommunication
• Employee management issues
• Technological obsolescence
• Unnecessary tasks
• Lack of productivity

With the boost in workflow efficiency, you can detect and analyze severe issues in your organization and overcome them by improving business collaboration, technological advancement, analyzing necessary tasks, and performing better employee management. 

How To Improve Workflow Efficiency 

1. Analyze your Current Situation and Existing Processes

The initial step should be to evaluate where you are standing at the moment. What are your desired results, and if the current procedures are producing an effective outcome. Communicate with the employees and have their feedback. Alongside, keep an eye on the routine tasks if they are being done on time or not. 

The data you will collect can be used to identify healthy opportunities to improve your workflow. Look into the process and tasks that are slowing you down. Once you have identified them, you will need to focus on these areas. 

2. Arrange your Tasks First

Since you have understood how your current process is going and what areas you need to work on, it is essential to prioritize the tasks and events on the basis of daily, weekly and monthly schedules. 

Skip the unnecessary actions and organize all the tasks so that you can easily track them. Delegate assignments to your employees, making sure that each and every task is being tracked in your ongoing process. 

3. Optimize your Workflows

Now, the ultimate goal of the workflow is to improve employee productivity so that tasks can be done within fewer steps. 

Analyze the potential of your employees, and their skills and figure out what works best for you and your team. Make adjustments according to your needs. An effective process will help you meet objectives such as:

• Speed up workflows 
• Minimize distractions 
• Simplify information sharing 
• Continuously analyze for future and current improvements 

4. Leverage Automation

The next step should be to automate various tasks in your organization. A low-code automation platform can help you do this. 

You might be wondering how automation works with organizational workflow. There are tons of ways depending upon how you leverage automation. For instance, you can simply automate the whole process of emailing your clients using an email automation tool. This will save a lot of time, and effort and can maintain a significant pace and productivity. 

The next big question is how to integrate automation with your business to enhance workflow efficiency. It varies from software to software.  For different software, you may need to vary your integration method. Well, in general, the integration of software for workflow automation may include the following steps:

a. Picking Up The Right Workflow Solution

Initially, you will have to look for a suitable workflow automation tool. Look for the functionalities that the tool has and what is the primary focus of that particular tool. Check for its API and whether it could be integrated easily with your existing tools (built-in integration), or you will need a custom third-party solution. 

Most importantly, consider if it requires a lot of coding to be integrated and operate the solution. Or is it a low-code platform that is easy to manage and uses user-centric visuals? Comidor is one of the best low-code automation platforms which can boost your workflow efficiency. 

 b. Document Your Plans

The next step would be to analyze how this workflow automation is going to impact your business outcomes. You can simply create an impact analysis. Highlight the expected changes and how you can cope with any undesired event.

c. Create A Test Environment

It could hurt if you are planning to implement the new workflow in the entire company. In the beginning, test the automation software. Use a testing environment or implement it in a particular department for a few weeks. 

Now, it’s time to observe how the new automated workflow is impacting that specific department. 

• What problems do your employees face after integrating automated workflow solutions?
• Does the new workflow solution really affect their work?
• Has it affected the performance of other departments as well?
• How does it impact other departments’ work and efficiency?

Running this test can help you identify problems and answer the above-mentioned questions. You will be able to address the issues before you roll out the automated solution in all the departments or your organization.

d. Demonstration To The Employees

According to Dissertation Assistance, “It is important to gain the trust of your employees before applying any sort of the change in the organization.“ 

Show them the benefits of automation software. How it will impact the company and how it can make their job easier with the improvement in productivity. 

This will help employees accept the change and adapt to the new workflow quickly.

5. Analyze and Redesign your Strategy

It will take a few attempts to design a good workflow with effective outcomes. Do not expect it to be done with a single try. You may need to perform some minor adjustments to attain an ideal system for your organization. 

Regularly analyze and monitor how new workflow and tactics are affecting your employee productivity. Continue to test advanced solutions and keep analyzing their results. Comidor is once again best with this as it allows you to analyze and provides instant workflow analytics. The more you analyze the gaps, you can get better opportunities to rectify them. Build future strategies accordingly so that you boost your workflow efficiency gradually.  

Final Thoughts

One could say that workflow efficiency is a measure of the effectiveness of the process of improving the necessary steps to complete a business process. The key to improving workflow efficiency is to identify and eliminate any inefficiencies that exist in your current workflow. After identifying them, you should determine what can be done to improve their performance. Automation is the first thing on your list since it enables you to automate and streamline your workflow. Finally, picking the right automation software solution plays a crucial role in the implementation of those improvements that have the highest impact on your team productivity and business performance.

Author Bio
Claudia Jeffrey is currently working as an Editor QA at Crowd Writer. She helps students when they ask to write my dissertation. Claudia is a tech-geek, and to keep herself updated with new tools and advancements, she reads tech related blogs and spends her time surfing on the internet.

Workflow automation makes managing complicated corporate operations much easier. 

With automation software, intelligent tools and bots can process, transport, or alter data when a form fill, user action, or internal signal is triggered, following business rules. This hands-off method speeds up time-consuming and repetitive tasks. 

Workflow automation software can help your team move faster through tasks and processes, and it might even come with advanced built-in analytics to help you find inefficiencies.

Most workflow automation systems include a visual interface that allows you to create workflows without having to know how to code or have a lot of technical knowledge. This software is ideal for marketers, salesmen, medical and industrial professionals, and even educators, thanks to drag-and-drops, forms, and flowchart settings. Many providers also put at their disposal flexible adaptations for small enterprises and processes that are one-of-a-kind. 

The product selection tools below can come in handy if you are just getting started trying free workflow automation solutions. These can help you save time and money as we give you insight into the best free workflow automation tools – with a free plan or free trial – available at the moment. 

1. Kissflow

Kissflow is one of the most popular workflow solutions on the market due to its ease of use and inexpensive pricing. The software is simple to use, with drag-and-drop editing and intuitive process visualizations. Integrations like APIs, WebHooks, and Zapier bring different technologies together in one location and send you notifications so you can keep track of your activities.

You can create permissions for different user levels and generate detailed reports depending on the metrics that matter to your team with the correct customizations. Kissflow’s  designer is ideal for simple needs and for both mobile-first enterprises and e-commerce sites.

2. Nintex

Nintex belongs to the group of low-code platforms with a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to view workflows as you create them. The platform allows you to create and sign documents directly in the software, then save them to your workflows for convenient access. Nintex also promotes collaboration by sending automatic messages in response to triggering events.

Nintex can be used on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment.

3. Comidor

Comidor is a Low-Code and Hyper-automation platform that provides the fastest and most efficient way to build, automate and share applications and workflows for fast growing businesses. More specifically, Comidor offers businesses a synthesis of Low-Code framework, a business process management software and state-of-the-art RPA/AI technologies, that enable organizations to go beyond simply automating small routine tasks. Instead it helps organizations to unlock a wide range of opportunities such as, streamlining and automating end-to-end business processes efficiently and deploying a digital workplace where users and intelligent robots work together.

The Comidor BPMN 2.0 workflow designer provides an easy visual model-driven environment for professional and non-professional developers to visualize all types of business processes easily, automate workflows end-to-end using advanced RPA/AI components as well as monitor and track the performance of every workflow with real-time analytics.

Comidor can be installed on-premises, in a public or private cloud, or in a hybrid environment. The company also provides clients with a user-friendly mobile application.

The Comidor pricing plans start from $8 per user per month.

4. Integrify

Integrify takes a service-based approach to best practices and process improvements, which include support and consultation. The software was created with ease of use in mind, and most processes are created employing a drag-and-drop editor.

All of the tools are ideal for beginners in workflow automation and may be used on any mobile device.

5. ProcessMaker 

ProccessMaker is a minimal-code workflow automation solution that is noted for its ease of use. Visual flow charts aid in the creation of approval-based workflows and notifications are included in each step. The system is entirely web-based, with WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) capabilities that lower the entry barrier for users in any field, including manufacturing, education, healthcare, and telecommunications.  

ProcessMaker has predetermined pricing for the platform, plus a monthly fee for each user. API access for developers it possesses allows larger businesses and more sophisticated procedures to customize the program. 

6. Flokzu 

Visual workflows of Flokzu include icon-based flowcharts that allow you to visually map out your business processes without needing to know how to code. Using related tools such as Zapier and WebServices, task-oriented interfaces and workflows connect to over 700 existing application connections. The workflows adapt to personalized procedures based on the duties and needs of your team. If you need help getting started, Flokzu offers process templates.  

This cloud platform ensures data security with end-to-end encryption, and a comprehensive set of process analytics allows your team to analyze and improve processes. 

7. TrackVia 

Cloud-based workflow visualizations contained in TrackVia make it easy to automate your manufacturing and warehouse processes with apps you already have. The program connects existing siloed apps, allowing them to communicate and send notifications to the right people. Sensitive data is kept safe on the TrackVia cloud servers thanks to end-to-end data encryption. 

Although its specialty in manufacturing, the web and mobile-ready interface has a low-code design, making it an accessible alternative for a variety of use cases. Developers have access to the API, but TrackVia also has hundreds of ready-to-use connectors.

8. Gravity Flow 

The automation solutions from Gravity Flow allow you to integrate customer and internal workflows straight into your website. Anyone with a basic understanding of app development can simply create custom workflows. Developers can also use open-source coding to create a configuration that matches their site’s special requirements. 

Stripe, PDF Generator, and Flowchart are just a few of the extensions available, with additional cost since extensions are not included in any of the four subscription tiers that exist separately from the most expensive. 

9. Kofax Process Director 

Process Director from Kofax, based on BP Logix’s Process Timeline software, combines the power of BPM with document sharing, notifications, visual workflows, and reporting. This forward-thinking solution does not require flowcharts or coding. Optional notifications help keep stakeholders informed at every stage of the process you are running.  

Analytics and reporting are integrated with customer-facing forms and backend processes, and the Process Timeline software offers changes based on predictive modeling using past data gathered throughout workflow execution.

10. Zapier 

Because of its simple UI and easy app connection, Zapier is a great solution for marketing and project management users. The platform allows you to create whole workflows with several integrations ranging from email marketing – which can be backed up, updated, and visually improved with various platforms such as VerticalResponse – and document sharing to social networking and project management. 

Zapier has a free plan that gives you access to current apps and allows you to complete 100 tasks per month. There are different pricing plans for beginners, professionals, teams, and companies.

Conclusion 

Keep in mind that workflow automation software is frequently coupled with a business process management (BPM) tool or built into a broader software suite, such as people management tools or customer relationship management systems (CRM). This is advantageous since it allows you to access a wide range of features at once, but some purchasers may prefer a best-of-breed solution.  

In most situations, workflow automation and risk management could be the solution to every organization as they address problems with little to no flaws, enabling thus organizations to keep their customers satisfied. This means that having efficient product delivery, reduced downtimes, and stellar customer support could help set you apart from the competition.

However, being the company your customers want isn’t always an easy feat. It requires making and implementing the hard decisions that can get you from point A to B. In case anything is holding your back from success, you should control it, if not eliminate it.

While workflow automation and risk management are often used apart, they work best when implemented in tandem. Automating workflows will elevate your risk management goals and vice versa. The trick is finding the right way to combine both practices.

Here is what you should know about using workflow automation and risk management to build a better future for your business.

What Is Risk Management?

Risk management is the process of evaluating the common threats to your business and looking for ways to mitigate them. It involves deciding on the best alternative for eliminating an issue without demanding too much effort from your resources. Among the best ways to understand your risk landscape is to involve your entire team in the decision-making process since your staff best understands the kind of risks your business goes through.

Why Risk Management Matters For Business

Risk is a necessary evil for doing business. However, businesses are successful when they can best adapt and adjust to their risky environment. Sure, you can always invest in industry-accepted cookie-cutter solutions for the different risks, but this can be a slippery slope. It isn’t necessary for a solution that works for another business to work for your business too.

You could be operating in completely different risk landscapes with other businesses in your industry. For instance, your business could be targeting a completely different demographic in comparison to other businesses in the industry. Risk management ensures that you understand the different aspects of your risk landscape.

It takes into account your current resources, including manpower, finances, and partnerships. With risk management, you can also account for your current risk tolerances. In turn, this makes it easy to choose tailor-made risk mitigation solutions that will work best for your business and combine workflow automation and risk management.

What Is Workflow Automation?

Workflow automation is the process of designing a hands-free approach to commonly manual business tasks. Repeating these tasks can be not only mundane but also time-consuming. However, these tasks are necessary for your business to thrive. Automation can be achieved by deploying software or machines to eliminate the human side of doing a task.

Why Workflow Automation Matters

Automated workflows easily comply with your business needs. If tasks are automated, human error is greatly reduced. It becomes less possible for you to miss important parts of a process or even make miscalculations. Often, people make such errors while being inattentive to the tasks at hand.

Automating your workflows also increases the level of visibility for specific tasks. For instance, if you use invoicing software, tracking invoices for specific dates becomes a walk in the park.

Lastly, automation shifts your focus towards the more demanding business tasks. The fact that automated tasks don’t require an employee to do them could be advantageous. In turn, this frees up time and manpower to cater to other core business tasks. Your business could also cut costs by choosing to automate some of its tasks.

How Risk Management and Automation Could Elevate Each Other

Workflow automation comes with a variety of risks. For instance, if you choose to use security alerts to spot cybersecurity risks, you will be accepting the risk of having some false positives. Without controlling such a risk, your team can spend endless hours trying to manage non-existent threats. Risk management ensures that you can automate your workflows while limiting the inherent risk of your chosen solutions.

On the flip side, the risk management process can be quite mundane at times. It could require you to do a couple of manual tasks from time to time, whereas automating these tasks would suffice. For instance, a compliance officer will need to constantly remind staff members of any overdue compliance tasks. Since sending email threads back and forth can be time-consuming, automating the process will save everyone time.

However, succeeding at both tasks requires having all hands on deck. Your employees need to understand the role they play in mitigating specific risks. They should also know that automating some parts of the workflow could benefit overall customer satisfaction rates. Taking time to educate employees is pivotal to achieving different organizational goals.

Your organization’s future isn’t set in stone. With the right combination of workflow automation and risk management, you can design a bright future for your business. Both practices allow you to be more in control of your business.