Outstanding workflow software is the ultimate flexible toolkit that organizations in just about any industry can use to become more efficient, save money, serve customers better, and have a healthier bottom line. With workflow software, you break work processes down into steps, automate any steps you can, and step the users of those processes through them methodically, so no steps are left out, and nobody remains uninformed.
Virtually any business process can be improved with workflow software, from the simplest (requesting building keys for a new employee) to the most complex (putting out a year-end shareholder report). If you have ever wondered whether your organization could benefit from workflow management software, read on to see just a few of the ways it can be used across 7 industries.
1. IT Services
Exceptional IT service requires a high level of organization and documentation. But who has time to document everything manually? Workflow software lets you set up processes step by step, and automate steps that don’t require handling computer hardware. The process may start with an end-user submitting a help request using an online form, the system notifying the next available IT worker, and then stepping the IT worker through the process of diagnosing, repairing, and documenting the process.
2. Publishing
Whether you publish a trade publication, financial prospectuses, or informational health brochures, several steps are required from idea through end product. Workflow software can ensure that the right approving authorities receive content expediently, and that content automatically flows to the next step in the process. The process may continue through making a print request, approving galleys, and then submitting the final version for mass printing. Workflow software reduces errors and ensures no steps are missed.
3. Marketing
Marketing organizations have to keep client information organized and must be ready at a moment’s glance to see where any marketing project is in its lifecycle. With workflow software, critical information about each client can be entered and used to inform steps further downstream. Client A may want marketing collateral to hand out at a trade show, while Client B may want a social media campaign. Workflow software helps your team keep it all in order and prevent any client needs from slipping through the cracks.
4. Human Resources
Workflow software and human resources activities go together perfectly. Organizations that provide outsourced HR services can streamline processes in countless ways with workflow software. They could use workflow software to create a uniform process for on-boarding new employees, collecting all data and forms necessary to ensure that payroll, taxes, and benefits are administered correctly. Workflow software can also be made to create an audit trail which can be tremendously useful for future reference.
5. Couriers and Messaging Services
There’s a certain amount of chaos expected with courier and messenger services. By nature, these businesses are fast-paced and constantly changing. Workflow software can ensure each courier completes all necessary steps in a delivery, including getting signatures and logging deliveries. When workflow software is mobile-friendly it’s even better, because couriers can take care of process steps on their mobile devices, logging deliveries the moment they’re complete.
6. Insurance
Insurance is a form-heavy industry and when you can make forms electronic instead of paper-based and connect them into logical workflows, claims can be submitted and processed more efficiently. Policies can also be written and delivered to customers much more quickly. Insurance adjusters can benefit from workflow software that’s mobile-friendly, because it can help them log critical information from the exact site a claim originates, eliminating many manual tasks, and helping claims get into the system promptly.
7. Education
Whether it’s a preschool or a large university, educational institutions use many forms, and the more you can uncouple from manual, paper-based procedures, the better. Online registration forms, requests for services, and creation of records and reports can all be streamlined using workflow software. Not only can educational institutions make processes more efficient, they can reduce their costs for paper and ink, potentially save thousands of dollars, and reduce their environmental footprint simultaneously.
Conclusion
Workflow automation software isn’t just for Fortune 500 companies and enormous public institutions. PerfectApps is a workflow management software solution that can work beautifully for your startup, or your established business that you want to make more efficient. With its intuitive, drag-and-drop interface, non-IT personnel can create online forms and workflows easily and even make them mobile, producing a fast return on investment. If you want to learn more about how PerfectApps can help your organization, we encourage you to contact us at any time.
