Workflow Management Software | Workflow Management System & Tools
Jonathan D. Rhyne
Definition
Workflow management software defines, automates, and improves an organization’s business processes to improve efficiency, reduce errors, and increase productivity. For more on workflow systems, visit this article on Wikipedia.
What is Workflow Management?
Every company uses various workflows to ensure tasks are completed and business goals are reached. These workflows and processes require much human intervention to keep the workflow moving forward. This could mean emails, pop-ins, meetings, calls, Slack messages, etc. This manual workflow leads to mistakes, long turnaround times, non-compliance, and other issues.
Implementing workflow automation and management depends on your business, tools, and unique challenges. However, generally speaking, workflow management solutions can be thought of as identifying, improving, and automating the various processes that ensure your team accomplishes the work it needs to get done. Automated processes can be tracked and evaluated more readily than manual ones, leading to new insights and improvements.
In summary, managing your organization’s workflow means
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Documenting
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Automating
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Improving
Let’s get started with a few examples of effective workflow systems.
Examples
Every organization and every department has its use cases for workflow solutions. For instance, Finance might need to automate expense requests, while HR might need to automate employee onboarding workflow. Meanwhile, IT might need a system to handle cybersecurity incident management. Each of these workflows is different, with different forms, routing, logic, etc. Each department uses a different workflow system at some companies, leading to disparate and disconnected organizational workflow.
Here are some examples of departmental workflow management use cases.
| IT/IS
New Account Setup
Finance
Expense Approvals
Salary/Wage Changes
Marketing
Campaign Approvals
Brand Management
| HR
Benefits Changes
Vacation Requests
Purchasing
Capital Approvals
Product Pricing
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Facilities
Office Relocations
Resource Scheduling
Facility Access
Move Requests
Sales
Quote Approvals
Proposal Approvals
Product Discounts
Legal
Legal Holds
|
For detailed examples of where and how tools like Nutrient Workflow can be used to manage your workflow, visit our Workflow Examples page or download our Workflow Use Case Examples PDF.
Point solutions attempt to handle departmental workflow needs like onboarding employees, managing invoices, etc. However, some organizations find that implementing a workflow platform that is department-agnostic and flexible while remaining accessible enough for business users to use easily is a better way to go. Administrators and business users can customize workflows over time to improve efficiency or adapt to changing needs.
Video: How does workflow management software work?
Benefits of Workflow Tools
At the end of the day, why do companies invest in workflow software to replace manual processes?
Here are a few benefits you can count on:
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Streamline and speed up internal processes by reducing manual entry and request handling.
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Reduce the risk of improperly approved requests, contracts, hires, etc.
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Improve compliance with audit trails.
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Increase output and increase productivity.
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Provide a unified, personalized request experience for employees.
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Track request status (completed, pending, or in progress, etc.) in real-time
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Identify performance trends (group and individual) over time.
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Reduced license overhead for enterprise systems (ERP, CRM, etc.)
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Monitor team progress against Service Level Agreements.
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Better align tasks with the skillsets and assign tasks to the most appropriate staff members.
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Drastically reduce paperwork and associated costs and waste.
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Reduce the need for manual decision-making and handling of business rules.
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Identify redundancies and improve process efficiency.
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Switch from single to parallel processing of tasks.
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Provide staff members with reminders and alerts when tasks age.
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Allow for 24/7 access to approve and monitor requests and tasks.
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Allow staff and management to focus on value-added projects and tasks.
How Are Workflow Systems Typically Implemented?
Workflow management software can be deployed to suit the requirements of the organization. For instance, we offer cloud-based SaaS, private cloud, or on-premise versions of Nutrient Workflow so you can meet any organizational or regulatory standards as required. We’ll help you get up and running no matter what version you choose, and all versions have the same features and workflow tools.
A typical deployment includes a best-practice project management framework with our service teams, which you can read more about here. Our service and implementation team are experienced and focused on quickly getting you up and running. We also provide ongoing coaching and training as needed.
The process for rolling out an automated workflow to a department or organization typically looks like this:
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Gather information about the workflows to be managed and automated.
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Document the workflow details, including forms, hand-offs, routing, etc.
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Illustrate the process using a flowchart or workflow design tool.
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Gain consensus on the workflow from all stakeholders.
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Build the workflow and forms within a workflow software tool.
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Perform user acceptance testing with a pilot group of users to ensure accuracy.
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Train end-users on how to use the new system.
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Launch the new system.
For more on implementing a new workflow, check out our blog.
Workflow Management begins with drag-and-drop process building.
Workflow Integration Options
Vendors have different approaches to integration. Here are a few that you’re likely to run across:
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The solution will integrate exclusively with enterprise applications like Microsoft SharePoint or specific HRIS systems.
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The solution will integrate with a handful of enterprise applications based on limited partner relationships with those vendors.
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The solution will provide an open system with standalone Web services that allow process integration with almost any scenario. Some custom work may be required.
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The solution will offer various integrations through middleware like Zapier or Mulesoft.
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The solution will provide pre-built connectors with specific applications.
Pricing Options
The way workflow management systems are priced varies among vendors. The most common scenario is subscription-based pricing. You pay for a set number of users who can access the system. This may be broken into tiers like “View Only,” “User,” and “Administrator,” where each user tier is progressively more expensive.
Another scenario is paying the vendor based on the number of transactions. So, for instance, a workflow that involves a public-facing component like insurance claims would generate a large number of transactions and pricing would be dependent on volume.
The last scenario we’ll discuss here (although there are myriad options) is a “Per Process” option. In this situation, you pay the vendor for each process you build. This could be a tiered structure where you pay X amount for five processes, X amount for ten processes, etc.
Nutrient Workflow User License Options
To simplify administration, an Nutrient Workflow “user” is anyone who logs into Nutrient Workflow, whether an administrator building workflows or someone completing tasks in the system. For even more flexibility, you can choose the type of user license that makes sense.
Named Users
You decide who can access the system, and each user gets their login and password. Named allows X users to log in to submit requests, complete tasks, run reports, or be administrators.
Concurrent Users
Everyone in your organization can log in to the system, but only a certain number can be on the system simultaneously. We can guide a realistic number of concurrent users based on your organization’s size.
Additional Workflow Management Software Resources
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Workflow Automation Guides
Interested in Automating Your Workflow?
We have various resources to help you navigate an automated workflow.
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Workflow Management Tools and eBooks
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Request a Live Demonstration
Jonathan joined Nutrient in 2014. As CEO, Jonathan defines the company’s vision and strategic goals, bolsters the team culture, and steers product direction. When he’s not working, he enjoys being a dad, photography, and soccer.
