Imagine being a data entry operator who must enter thousands of records manually. You wake up in the morning, reach your workplace and start your work. Soon, you find yourself exhausted so you take a break. It provides you a sigh of relief, but soon you realize that you will have to return and become a zombie to do the same tedious data entry work again. Data entry operators are not the only ones. Even some sales teams waste up to 10 hours per week on data entry.

So, what’s the solution? Workflow automation. According to a study conducted by Cognizant, 20% of companies who have embraced workflow automation reduced their cost by 15%. With workflow automation, you can put your mundane tasks in autopilot and minimize the risk of human errors.

In this article, you will learn about the six crucial components of workflow automation.

What is Workflow Automation?

Workflow automation is an approach that uses rule-based logic to automate manual work. Workflow automation should be implemented when:

Tasks are repetitive

No room for human error

Higher efficiency required

When executed correctly, it can streamline your workflows and boost your productivity.

Advantages of Workflow Automation

Some of the benefits of workflow automation are as follows:

Improved productivity

Cost savings

Short workflow cycles

Better customer and employee satisfaction

Better visibility and accountability

Workflow automation can boost your productivity by taking care of repetitive tasks, increasing efficiency and reducing errors. Automating manual processes through workflow automation can make it less expensive. According to Deloitte, Workflow automation can reduce business process costs by 30%, especially, when you factor in the time savings and accuracy improvements.

According to a study, 63% of businesses have improved customer satisfaction through smart workflow automation. Automation has helped them improve response times, ensure round the clock availability and deliver personalized services. With most mundane tasks automated, your employees don’t have to worry about them.

This allows them to focus on more critical tasks and get better results, which leads to employee satisfaction. With a clearly laid out automated workflow, you can get better visibility into processes and hold your employees accountable for their actions.

6 Components of Successful Workflow Automation

Here are six key elements of workflow automation

1. Set a Goal

You can only reap rewards of workflow automation only when it solves a specific business problem. Before implementing workflow automation, you should set clear business objectives. Once you have a clear business goal in mind, it can give a direction to your workflow automation efforts.

For instance, your business goal is to save time on each activity or to minimize repetitive tasks. You should develop a better understanding of processes before automating it. The better you understand how these repetitive tasks work, the easier it will be for you to automate them.

2. Calculate ROI

If you are planning to purchase workflow automation software, the first thing you need to consider is the return on investment. You don’t want to be spending a lot of money on a workflow automation tool that does not pay you in return.

Here is the formula for calculating the return on investment.

Return on Investment = Time x Frequency x Cost x 12 Months

In this formula:

Time refers to how much time does it take to perform a single task

Frequency refers to the number of tasks performed every month

Cost refers to the hourly rate of an employee performing each task

3. Form A Partnership

If you are new to workflow automation and don’t know how to implement it, you can form a partnership with a company that specializes in workflow automation. This will make the transition smoother and save a lot of time and money. Working with a workflow automation expert has many advantages. They are aware of the challenges and issues that you might face along the way and will also guide you on how to overcome these challenges.

4. Evaluate Automated Processes

Make sure you don’t just implement a workflow automation process but also monitor it constantly to ensure that they are working as planned. Put everything to test from user feedback collection to identifying underlying problems. Identify and fix problems with automated processes to ensure successful implementation.

TaskQue lets you create your own workflow template that suits your business needs. What’s more, you can also add new phases and rearrange tasks to manage your time more efficiently.

5. Train Your Employees

You might face some backlash from employees when you are pushing for workflow automation because people resist change. You have to train your employees and convince them that automating workflows is well worth it. Organize training sessions that explain how the new system works. Make the transition easier for them. Once employees see the real benefits of workflow automation, they will embrace it.

6. Start Small

Instead of trying to automate your complete business at once, start with a few basic tasks. Once you successfully automated these small tasks, you can move on to more complex business processes. Break down the workflow automation of a sophisticated business process into smaller, more manageable steps and take those steps one at a time. This lays a solid platform for workflow automation efforts and can serve as a launchpad for organization-wide workflow automation.

How do you automate your workflows? Let us know in the comments section below.