Automation solutions have been responsible for leaps in productivity across all industries and are key to maintaining economies worldwide. Even now, amid economic uncertainty, CFOs are investing in automation to ensure the stability and longevity of their organizations.
Much of this investment goes toward workflow automation, a solution that enables the end-to-end automation of repetitive tasks. In this post, we’ll look at workflow automation’s role in streamlining business processes, improving efficiency, reducing errors, and enabling scalability.
Understanding Workflow Automation
What Is Workflow Automation?
Workflow automation uses technology to automate and streamline repetitive tasks and processes systematically and efficiently. It involves the design, execution, and monitoring of workflows using software tools and platforms.
The main objective is to enhance productivity, eliminate manual processes, reduce errors, and ensure consistent and timely completion of tasks.
How Does Workflow Automation Work?
It utilizes predefined rules and logic to automate the steps required to complete tasks or processes. These rules define the conditions, actions, and transitions between different workflow stages.
Example of Workflow Automation
One common example is customer support ticket management. The assignment and notifications related to a ticket are automated, so that customer service staff can focus their time on addressing issues instead of manually processing ticket assignments and priorities:
- A customer support ticket is submitted in a tool like Zendesk and then connected to other systems with iPaaS.
- Workflow automation captures customer details, issue descriptions, and priority levels.
- The ticket is automatically assigned to a support agent or team based on predefined rules.
- Automated notifications are sent to the designated agent, informing them about the new ticket.
- The workflow automation system updates the ticket status as it progresses through different stages, like “In Progress”, or “Escalating” in Zendesk as well as CRM platforms like Salesforce, so any customer touchpoints are aware of the customer’s issue.
- Automatic notifications are sent to the customer, keeping them informed about progress and expected resolution time.
- The support agent resolves the issue and updates the ticket status accordingly.
- The workflow automation system sends a closure notification to the customer, ensuring a seamless end-to-end support experience.
- To close the feedback loop, two to three days after the ticket is closed, an automated customer satisfaction request from a tool like HappyOrNot is sent to the customer.
Benefits of Workflow Automation
Increased Productivity
Automating repetitive tasks allows employees to focus on more value-added activities, resulting in increased productivity and efficiency. Workflow automation also reduces the time spent on manual data entry, approvals, and coordination, allowing employees to allocate their time to more strategic tasks.
Cost Reduction
Workflow automation eliminates the need for manual interventions, which reduces labor costs and minimizes errors and rework. It streamlines processes, reduces operational inefficiencies, and optimizes resource utilization – leading to cost savings.
Improved Accuracy and Compliance
Automation ensures consistent adherence to predefined rules and procedures, reducing the chances of human error. It enhances data accuracy, regulatory compliance, and auditability, mitigating risks and ensuring proper governance with industry standards.
Faster Turnaround Time
With workflow automation, tasks are routed automatically, eliminating delays caused by manual handoffs or approvals. This results in quicker responses to customer requests and improved service levels.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Workflow automation enables organizations to provide faster and more reliable service to their customers. Often referred to as Customer 360, end-to-end data integration ensures consistent and accurate information, and improves customer satisfaction.
What To Look for In a Workflow Automation Solution
Integration of Disparate Systems
When evaluating a workflow automation solution, it’s essential to consider its ability to integrate disparate systems within an organization’s tech stack. Here are some key aspects to consider:
- Robust integration capabilities: The solution should have the ability to connect with commonly used systems, databases, and applications. This includes ERPs and CRM platforms, document management systems, cloud storage, email clients, and more.
- API support: Look for a solution that provides robust application programming interface (API) support. This enables easy integration with legacy and modern systems, allowing for efficient data exchange and automation of tasks across different platforms.
- Pre-built connectors: The availability of pre-built connectors and adapters for popular integrations can significantly speed up processes. These connectors should enable seamless data synchronization and trigger actions based on events or changes in connected systems.
Real-time Monitoring and Alerts
Real-time monitoring and alerting capabilities are essential for effective workflow automation. Consider the following features:
- Dashboard and analytics: The solution should provide a centralized dashboard with real-time visibility into workflows, tasks, and performance metrics. It should allow stakeholders to monitor progress, track key performance indicators (KPIs), and identify bottlenecks or issues.
- Customizable alerts and notifications: Look for a solution that allows the configuration of alerts and notifications based on specific events, triggers, or thresholds.
- Exception handling: The solution should have mechanisms in place to detect and handle exceptions or errors within the workflows. This can include configurable workflows for exception handling, automatic notifications for exceptions, or the ability to route exceptions to designated individuals or teams for resolution.
Low-Code Development
Consider the ease of development and customization offered by the workflow automation solution. Look for the following:
- Visual workflow designer: A user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface for designing workflows simplifies the development process. It allows users to visually define workflows, set rules, and configure actions without the need for extensive coding.
- Workflow templates and libraries: The solution should provide a repository of prebuilt workflow templates and libraries that cover common use cases. These templates can serve as a starting point, accelerating the development process and reducing the need to build workflows from scratch.
- Customization capabilities: The ability to customize workflows and actions according to specific business requirements is essential. Look for a solution that offers flexibility in modifying workflows, adding custom logic, and integrating with existing business processes.
Machine Learning and AI Capabilities
Leveraging machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities within the workflow automation solution will be essential for the future of work. Here are some aspects to look for:
- Intelligent decision-making: The solution should have the ability to incorporate ML and AI algorithms to make intelligent decisions within workflows. This can include automatically routing tasks based on data-driven predictions, recommending actions based on historical patterns, or identifying anomalies or trends for proactive intervention.
- Natural language processing: Look for capabilities that enable the understanding and processing of unstructured data, such as emails, documents, or customer feedback. Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms can extract insights, categorize information, and trigger appropriate actions based on the content.
- Predictive analytics: Consider solutions that offer predictive analytics capabilities. These can help identify potential process bottlenecks, forecast resource requirements, predict customer behavior, or optimize task allocation based on historical data.
Automating Your Workflows With Boomi
With Boomi Flow, our low-code workflow automation tool, users can easily create, execute, and monitor workflows.
This solution provides a visual, drag-and-drop interface that allows users to design and customize workflows without extensive coding knowledge. The intuitive interface enables users to define workflow steps, set conditions, and configure actions using a library of prebuilt components.
With Boomi Flow’s extensive integration capabilities, users can seamlessly connect disparate systems and applications, facilitating smooth data flow across the organization. Whether integrating with CRMs, ERPs, or other business applications, Boomi Flow ensures the efficient exchange of information, eliminating manual data entry and reducing errors.
Boomi Flow also offers real-time monitoring and analytics to give users visibility into workflow performance. Users can track the progress of workflows, monitor key metrics, and identify bottlenecks or areas for improvement.
With Boomi’s powerful workflow automation capabilities, organizations can streamline processes, improve collaboration, and drive operational excellence.
Watch the Boomi Flow Guided Tour demo to see how Boomi Flow can help you get started with workflow automation.