Workflow automation will be one of the biggest corporate investments in 2022. Is your business looking at where to automate? Some businesses are increasing productivity through automation and gaining against their competitors. Others are boosting growth and increasing new hires. Some businesses are using automation as a way to cope with employment problems.  Since the recent health crisis, many companies are desperate for great employees. Automation is filling the gap.

Read on to find out why workflow automation helps businesses, some great examples of uses for workflow automation, and how to find the top tools for the job.

Table of Contents:

1. Why Automate Workflow?
2. What is the Difference Between Business Process Automation and RPA?
3. Top Use Cases for Workflow Automation Software
4. Best Use Cases for RPA
5. Top Software Tools for Automating Workflows
6. Finding Workflow Automation Specialist

Why Automate Workflow?

Workflow automation or another term, intelligent process automation (IPA), is the concept and practice of building computerized processes that can replace repeatable tasks of office workers. These processes typically can be done without any other oversight or input. Why should you invest in automating your workflow? Let’s look at some facts:

According to McKinsey, business process automation could save more than 60% of businesses over 30% in employee time. This is time they could be doing other tasks. The prediction is that those companies who fail to invest in workflow automation will eventually fall behind their competitors. When a company chooses to invest in managing their workflow processes with automation, they can:

• Improve Performance
• Reduce Errors
• Improve Quality
• Quicker Task Completion

All of these improvements contribute to productivity, growth, and profits. According to the study, nearly half of current tasks in business can be automated. If today’s global economy supports a 32 trillion-dollar work force in wages, if half of their tasks are automated then that is more than $16 trillion in savings worldwide. While many companies are struggling to find a boost to growth, estimation could raise global productivity up approximately 1.4% per year.

How much growth could your company experience if it could re-invest the results of greater productivity? Many workers fear automation, but it is entirely how you look at it. Your workers will be more excited about having some of their work automated if you explain how their jobs will be improved, not replaced. Those tasks that deliver a confidence boost and make employees feel productive can have more of their focus. You can’t automate away every task, but you can develop better employee relations and boost production significantly.

Other facts about workflow automation to keep in mind:

• The average company loses up to 30% annually of revenues due to inefficient workflows.
• According to surveys by Zapier, on average 44% of small business employees don’t feel that they are efficient in their tasks. Most, about 94%, complain of performing time-consuming tasks that are unnecessary or repetitive.
• Nearly 82% of employees who use automation report work satisfaction, only 75% of employees without automation enjoy their work.
• Departments that incorporate marketing automation gain up to 80% in leads and 77% in conversions.
• Omnichannel marketing automation delivers a 92% increase in customer retention.

What is the Difference Between Business Process Automation and RPA?

BPA or business process automation is focused on optimizing the workflow or business processes of an entire organization. BPA focuses on the company as a whole. Automation is introduced in the areas that need it most – across the company. Generally, BPA includes bringing in an integrated automation platform, like Airtable, to pull together the many different applications used across the company.

RPA stands for robotic process automation. It may seem similar, but the distinction is that RPA uses robots or “bots” to automate. RPA uses automation to specifically perform a task otherwise performed by humans. An example of this would be the AI automation that directs calls or answers basic chat requests.

The main difference between BPA and RPA is that one focuses on many automations across the company through the integration of apps, the other is specific to a singular task. Both help improve the implementation of repetitive tasks, both types of automation boost growth and productivity.

Top Use Cases for Workflow Automation Software?

Anywhere you can find a great solution or time-saver, you should take it. Today’s businesses are coming up with hundreds of ways to automate their workflows and be more productive. When you use business process automation your ability to hire increases. Nearly 78% of businesses are planning moves to automation to help with staffing shortages. Executives believe automation actually helps to increase their ability to hire additional employees.

Here is a list of some of the top uses for business process automation:

• Assignment Automation
• Email Automation
• Push Automation
• Employee Requests
• Onboarding
• Payroll
• Purchase Orders
• Time Tracking
• Claims Processing

How many of the above tasks are your employee’s favorite? Think of how much smoother the office flow will be when you automate tasks that are huge time-suckers to productivity?

Best Use Cases for RPA

When you also incorporate robotic process automation you optimize your workflow. You include the additional automation that can push many tasks into a self-service option. Customers love it when they can handle their accounts without having to hit the help button or call an 800-number. Your employees feel great relief when they can pass on job details, they find tedious. Considering all the important tasks that your HR department handles, if you could give them an assist in reviewing resumes with AI or automating recruitment, then it’s a win-win all around.

Here are a few great ideas for incorporating RPA into your business.

• Chatbots
• HR Recruitment
• Data Extraction and Formatting
• Bank Transactions
• Customer Service

Top Software Tools for Automating Workflows

At DataCose we work with all the top automation platforms. We can help you discover which software system will work best with your business model, services, or products. There can be huge learning curve costs for businesses that choose the wrong platform for them. These companies face the costs of making a big data migration and new software installations when they realize they have to switch. Since DataCose has automation specialists who can help you choose the right one for you – your company will go right on to boost leads, conversions, and a great ROI.

Here is a list of top recommended tools we can help you with:

• Monday – a great project management platform. Works well for teams by making communication easier.
• Zapier – a popular no-code integration platform.
• Asana - project management software with tons of features.
• Zoho CRM – one of the most popular customer relationship management tools on the market.          
• Airtable – this platform is easy to integrate with all the apps your business already uses.
• Hubspot – this all-in-one customer relationship tool has great free options.
• Trello – this platform is the home of Kanban boards. Easy to use, great for creative teams.

So many choices! That is why automation works when you allow experts to help you find the solutions that are as unique as the type of business you run. Automation is not a one-size-fits-all tool for everyone. Each business has its own unique processes, data, services, products and other methods of interacting with their customers. You can make the best choice in your platform selection when you work with a workflow specialist that can listen to your needs and demonstrate which would be most effective for you.  

Finding Workflow Automation Specialists

When you decide to invest in workflow automations, you don’t want to go halfway. As a decision-maker, you want the investment of your time, energy, and money to come back with large returns. Working with an automation specialist will make the choice and transition easier. DataCose has top business process experts that can listen, and match you to your unique solution.

Fill out the form below today. We can contact you for a no-obligation review of your business needs. Our tech teams offer experience and know-how, including software development and custom coding solutions. When you are ready to take back the 30% average loss on wasted time and employee wages, we can help.