The benefits of implementing a workflow management system
Do you need help keeping up with the changing workplace environment? With the rise of remote and hybrid jobs, competition in the business world is steep, and new strategies and systems form daily. Meanwhile, developers frequently update and automate existing systems, making them more efficient and giving you greater capabilities such as workflow management systems.
Many businesses have realized the benefits of workflow management systems and are growing by deploying software to support them in a way that increases productivity and decreases stress throughout the organization. Let's expand on the benefits of implementing a workflow management system.
What is workflow management?
Workflow management is how you define, execute, and monitor your processes
A workflow refers to a series of tasks or activities that are executed in a specific sequence to achieve a desired outcome or goal. People use workflows in various contexts — like business processes, software development, and personal productivity — and workflows vary in complexity. A well-designed workflow streamlines operations, improves efficiency, and reduces errors or redundancies.
A workflow management system (WMS) is a software tool that automates and manages workflows to improve efficiency and productivity. It provides a platform for defining, executing, and monitoring workflows in a business process or project.
A WMS provides a uniform platform to automate and monitor these human-based or machine workflows. Industries like healthcare, finance, customer service, and supply chain management use these platforms. These tools help organizations improve operational efficiency, reduce errors and delays, and increase communication and collaboration among team members.
What does a workflow management system do?
There are numerous challenges to building an effective workflow. You may have experienced hurdles like communication breakdowns, lack of transparency, errors and redundancies, dependencies, inconsistencies, and data silos. A WMS helps you overcome these challenges, streamline your work processes, and improve efficiency.
Workflow automation is a crucial benefit of a WMS. Automation allows you to reduce the time and resources needed to complete repetitive tasks, freeing up your people's time to focus on mission-critical assignments that require human expertise, like creative problem-solving and strategic planning.
A workflow management system uses automation to streamline repetitive tasks and free up time for your teams
Use a WMS to establish clear communication channels, assign tasks to the right people, and track progress in real time. This type of tool also enables you to identify bottlenecks and streamline your processes for maximum efficiency.
A WMS provides you with additional benefits like increased collaboration and communication among team members, improved transparency and accountability, and enhanced data collection and reporting. Using a WMS, you can gain insights into your workflows, identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies, and implement changes to improve your processes.
The typical features of a WMS may vary depending on the specific system and vendor. Some distinctive features in these systems typically include:
1. Workflow designer
This graphical interface allows people to design and customize workflows, including creating and modifying tasks, defining task dependencies and sequencing, and setting workflow rules and conditions.
2. Task management
Assign tasks to specific individuals or groups, track progress, and notify stakeholders of updates or changes. This feature may also include options like task prioritization, deadline setting, and reminders.
3. Workflow automation
Automate routine tasks and integrate with other software systems like databases or customer relationship management (CRM) systems. This feature reduces manual intervention and improves efficiency.
4. Analytics and reporting
Monitor performance metrics and generate reports to analyze workflow efficiency and identify areas for improvement. This feature provides insights into workflow bottlenecks, resource utilization, and other key performance indicators.
5. Collaboration and communication
These features facilitate communication and cooperation between team members, such as chat or messaging, shared task lists, and real-time updates on task progress.
6. Access control
Features that control user access and permissions allow administrators to define who can view, modify, or execute specific workflows and tasks.
7. Integration with third-party tools
Integrate with other software tools and systems, such as project management software, CRM systems, or accounting software, allowing people to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.
Elements of a good workflow management system
As businesses grow and processes become more complex, it's beneficial to have a reliable WMS in place. A good WMS helps you manage your team's tasks, increase productivity, and improve overall efficiency. But what exactly makes a WMS "good"? Here are some elements to consider.
Transparency
A good WMS helps teams understand processes clearly
Transparency allows team members to understand the workflow process clearly. Having access to the same information builds trust and accountability among your team members. With transparency in a workflow, team members can see the progress of the project and identify any issues that arise.
This quality also helps with decision-making. With access to the same information, team members can make informed decisions about how to move the workflow forward. This helps avoid delays or errors that otherwise occur when team members are working with incomplete or inaccurate information.
Visibility
Visibility allows team members to easily see the status of a workflow and understand how each task fits into the larger process. With visibility, team members can track progress and identify any issues within the workflow.
A WMS helps improve communication and collaboration among team members by providing visibility. Each team member sees the tasks that have been completed, those currently in progress, and those that still need to be done. This helps team members understand their colleagues' work and avoid duplicating efforts.
Visibility also helps with project management and resource allocation. Managers and team leaders use the information provided by the WMS to identify areas where additional resources may be needed or to adjust timelines and priorities based on the progress of the workflow.
Accountability
Accountability helps people complete tasks on time and to the required standard. Each team member is responsible for their assigned tasks and knows what others expect.
This leads to a sense of ownership and responsibility, motivating your team to work more efficiently and effectively. Additionally, accountability provides transparency into who is responsible for each task, making it easier to identify and address any issues. This reduces errors and ensures the timely completion of projects. Ultimately, accountability is critical for achieving successful outcomes and meeting business objectives.
Compliance
Compliance helps all tasks and activities follow relevant laws, regulations, and company policies to reduce the risk of legal and financial penalties.
With a compliant WMS, all your team members are aware of the necessary regulations and policies and can align their actions with these requirements. This awareness helps minimize errors, reduce the risk of fraud or other misconduct, and promote ethical behavior.
Also, compliance builds trust with your customers and other stakeholders, who expect businesses to operate responsibly and transparently. Overall, compliance is critical for maintaining the business's reputation and avoiding potentially costly legal and financial consequences.
The benefits of using a workflow management system
As a professional, you understand we live in a fast-paced business environment, and efficiency and productivity are crucial to success. One way to achieve this is by taking advantage of the benefits of workflow automation. By using these tools, you'll quickly find out how a WMS benefits your business.
Implementing a WMS can streamline your business processes and improve overall efficiency — whether you're managing a small team or a large organization, the workflow automation benefits can significantly impact your bottom line.
Increase your productivity
If you want to increase your business's productivity, a WMS is a powerful tool. By implementing a WMS, you can automate and streamline many of the repetitive and time-consuming tasks that are necessary for your business to function.
For example, a WMS helps you assign tasks to the right people, set deadlines, and track progress. Everyone will know what they need to do and when they need to do it, which reduces confusion and helps your team work faster.
This tool also helps you identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your processes. By analyzing data and identifying patterns, you’re empowered to make data-driven decisions about optimizing your workflows and improving your overall efficiency.
Improve your collaboration
A centralized WMS makes it easier to keep everyone on the same page and prevent miscommunication
A WMS gets everyone on the same page and working toward the same goals by providing a centralized platform for sharing information, feedback, and updates. You can assign tasks to specific team members and set deadlines, which helps everyone know what they need to do and when they need to do it. This workflow management benefit prevents miscommunications and keeps everyone working toward the same objectives.
You'll be able to track progress and identify any bottlenecks or delays in your processes, helping you proactively address any issues that arise and keep everyone informed about the status of different tasks and projects.
Also, a centralized, cloud-based WMS for sharing files, comments, and feedback ensures everyone has access to the information they need and can easily communicate with one another.
Eliminate redundancies and reduce errors
Use a WMS to set up predefined workflows with specific tasks and steps. Design workflows to eliminate redundancies and ensure tasks are completed most efficiently and effectively. By following these predefined workflows, you reduce the risk of errors and make sure everyone knows what they need to do and when they need to do it.
By automating many repetitive and time-consuming tasks necessary for your business to function, you can use a WMS to reduce errors. You minimize the risk of human error and free up valuable time and resources for more strategic and high-level work.
Create better strategies
By providing you with real-time data and insights into your business processes, a WMS helps you identify areas of improvement and make more informed decisions about allocating resources.
As you track progress and monitor the performance of different tasks on a WMS, you gain the capability to identify trends and patterns in your business operations, which informs your overall business strategy.
A WMS also helps you analyze data and make data-driven decisions about optimizing your workflows and improving your overall efficiency. Identifying bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your processes enables you to make changes to your workflows that significantly impact your bottom line.
Identify weak spots
A WMS is a valuable tool if you're looking to identify weak spots in your business. By providing you with real-time data and insights into your business processes, a WMS helps you identify areas where improvements are possible and where potential problems may arise.
This tool provides you with data on the performance of individual team members. By tracking the progress of different tasks and projects, you can identify areas where some of your people may struggle or need additional support or training.
It also helps you identify weak spots in your business by facilitating communication and collaboration among team members. By providing a centralized platform for sharing information and feedback, you ensure everyone's on the same page and working toward the same goals. This visibility helps you identify potential problems early on and address them before they become major issues.
Elevate your customer experience
Believe it or not, a WMS contributes to better customer experience. When your team completes tasks and achieves goals efficiently with a WMS, you’re ultimately able to provide a better experience for your customers.
Setting up your predefined workflows ensures that tasks are completed in a timely and efficient manner — helping your teams respond more quickly to customer inquiries and requests, which improves your overall level of customer service.
A WMS also helps you track customer interactions and identify opportunities for improvement. By analyzing data on customer interactions, you can identify patterns and trends and identify areas of improvement.
Reduce stress
This comes as no surprise, but using a WMS reduces stress in your workplace. By streamlining your internal processes and helping tasks get completed efficiently and effectively, a WMS helps reduce the workload and stress on your team members.
Set up predefined workflows to ensure tasks are completed in a timely and efficient manner. This functionality eliminates the need for manual tracking and coordination of tasks, which is time-consuming and stressful for team members.
Additionally, a WMS provides clear visibility into project timelines and progress. Visibility helps teams stay on track and feel more in control of their workload, which reduces stress and anxiety.
Improve your work culture
To unlock an improved work culture, using a WMS is the key. By streamlining internal processes and promoting collaboration and communication among team members, a WMS contributes to a more positive and productive work environment.
A WMS helps eliminate the need for manual tracking and coordination of tasks through predefined workflows — automating routine tasks and freeing up time for more creative and strategic work, which improves the overall work culture.
Using this system also improves work culture by promoting collaboration and communication among team members. A centralized platform for sharing information and feedback ensures everyone's on the same page, which helps break down silos and promote cross-functional collaboration. By fostering a more positive and supportive work environment, you create a culture that values collaboration, communication, and innovation.
Discover the power of the Content Cloud
With a single secure platform for all your content, Box enables you to manage the entire content lifecycle: file creation, co-editing, sharing, e-signature, classification, retention, and so much more. We make it easy for you to collaborate on content with anyone, both inside and outside your organization. Frictionless, enterprise-grade security and compliance are built into our DNA, so you get total peace of mind that your content is protected. And with 1,500+ seamless integrations — as well as a range of native capabilities, like Box Sign — the Content Cloud provides a single content layer that ensures your teams can work the way they want.
The Content Cloud is a game changer for the entire organization, streamlining workflows and boosting productivity across every team. Contact us today, and explore what you can do with Box.
**While we maintain our steadfast commitment to offering products and services with best-in-class privacy, security, and compliance, the information provided in this blogpost is not intended to constitute legal advice. We strongly encourage prospective and current customers to perform their own due diligence when assessing compliance with applicable laws.