Today, innovation has progressed to another level. Businesses can serve their customers globally by working remotely. Geological limits are not restricted to the development of the associations. Organizations are embracing more savvy work than hard work.
Workflow Automation is a straightforward process that focuses on improving productivity. In this article, we discuss the steps involved in the process & the importance of Workflow Automation for businesses.
What is Workflow Automation?
Workflow Automation refers to using a rule-based or if-then logic to complete a series of tasks without the need for human interactions. Once the rule is established, automation can perform various tasks like sending emails, setting up meeting reminders, triggering campaigns, etc.
WA is beneficial for every department of an organization. Whether it’s marketing, sales, HR, IT, or finance.
How does Workflow Automation work?
WA works on if/then conditions, when these conditions are met, it triggers the next step.
Let’s look at one example:
(a) A potential client subscribes to your company’s newsletter.
(b) The action fulfills the if/then condition and marks the client as ‘new’ in the automation campaign.
(c) A thank you for subscribing email is sent to the client.
(d) The first email of the campaign is sent to the client stating to book a strategy call with your company.
(e) The client taps on the link and books a call by filling out the form.
(f) This triggers the next step which is to send a thank you for booking a call with us email.
(g) The CRM/BRM marks the dates and assigns the task to the concerned team.
(h) The team reaches out to the client and closes the automation successfully.
Figure 1: Steps involved in Workflow Automation Process
Although it seems to be an easy process, one needs to make sure that the links, content, and layout of the email are easily understandable by the customer to book a call.
Benefits of Workflow Automation
From savings to effective communication, there are various benefits of installing WA software.
Figure 2: Benefits of Workflow Automation
- WA increases the productivity of the team which leads to high revenues.
- With the elimination of human interactions, there are no chances of errors in the workplace.
- WA helps employees to devote their time to other important tasks by managing the automation, making the team more productive.
- WA is a multi-tasking software. From auto-generated replies to scheduling emails, it helps in saving time & effort.
- Organizations can track and measure the performance of their campaigns. If needed, the strategies can be changed according to the highlighted outcomes.
- Overall, WA provides better customer service by responding to customer queries timely.
Limitations of Workflow Automation
- Some of the automation is expensive to install. This might be a drawback for small to medium enterprises.
- Some of the employees consider WA as direct competition. They think they might lose their jobs with the innovation of such software.
- Automations may be fast & accurate but they always need a person to monitor them. If not, it can lead to huge losses.
Workflow Automation Software
WA is generally categorized as Software as a Service (SaaS). Some of the WA software include:
- Zapier gives the user an option to choose the trigger and an action.
- IBM offers a platform of integrated software components.
- Microsoft to integrate workflows & BPM.
- Nintex automation software that requires little to no coding.
- Catalytic automation for digital operations.
Summary
Workflow Automation is a necessity for businesses today. This helps in the smooth functioning of an organization. Not only does it increases productivity but it also helps businesses to stay ahead of their competitors by providing the users with the best possible customer experience. Some of the key takeaways from this article are:
- WA is a software that requires no human interaction to operate by requires a person to monitor its working.
- There are various steps involved in setting up the automation.
- It is beneficial for every field within a company. For example- sales, HR, IT, etc.
- WA increases productivity by eliminating the duplication of efforts. But some may consider this a threat to their jobs.
- Microsoft, IBM, and HubSpot are some of the leading names of WA software in the market.
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