In the modern business world, there are certain processes every business has to automate. This is irrespective of industry type. Why automate, you ask? To increase efficiency and productivity. A good example is the internet subscription I just bought from a retailer. As soon as I called verizon near me and asked to buy an internet package, I was put through an automated process. I also received an order confirmation email almost as soon as I put down the phone. How does a business with millions of customers all over the country respond individually to a new one so fast? The answer is automation.
5 Business Processes to Automate
Every business process involves a workflow. Essentially, a workflow is the set of sequential activities performed to complete a task. Workflows exist so that the business process proceeds smoothly without hiccups. Automating a business process includes automating the workflows that it involves. Here are 5 business workflows that 21st Century businesses need to automate, in almost every industry:
- Expenses
- Leaves
- Task Assignments
- Sales/CRM
- Ticketing
Let’s take a closer look at these processes and their automation.
Expenses
Your business’ expense approval workflows are likely to have an impact on your entire organization. You need to lay down the conditions for expense approvals. You also need to set conditions for multiple approvals that exceed a certain threshold. At the same time, you need to define budgets and constantly compare them to your actual expenses. Sounds complicated, right?
All this becomes a lot simpler when you automate your expense approval workflows. Consider the alternative. Trying to track expenses on spreadsheets is an inefficient way of managing expense approvals. Not only will this type of workflow consume more time and human resources, but it also makes it harder for employees.
Leaves
Leave approvals are a common HR task that can really eat up your time as well as your employees’. Since almost all employees take leaves at some point or another, automating your leave approval process is a great move. It can save significant amounts of time across your organization. Automation also lets you:
- Lay down rules and conditions for leave approval
- Set limits on vacation time and total leaves
- Identify employees at risk of burnout because they don’t take leaves
Could this make life easier for you? You can see why automating your leave approval workflows is a great way to streamline your business processes. Automate it and save your organization valuable time for more value-adding tasks.
Task Assignments
Employees are not expenses but assets. And like any business asset, you need them to be a productive part of your business. The better motivated they are, the better they perform. You can motivate them through meaningful tasks, among other things. Automating your task assignment workflows is one way you can do this. This lets you define the various workflows that make up the business process. Does that sound good? You can also make processes for entering the task, as well as the assignment and the closure for the task. Automating task assignment lets you track your employees’ progress. There is more transparency when it comes to automated workflows, and you can set reminders to make ensure execution. There’s nothing more efficient than an automated task assignment process.
Sales/CRM
Most organizations have a process to acquire new leads. These leads require nurturing, which means you need to communicate with them. You need to understand their wants and needs, as well as their likes and dislikes. You then need to present your product or service as a solution to their problems. This is how you guide a lead through the sales funnel. The process of converting a lead into a sale involves different members from your sales team. This means you need to make sure the right person is addressing the lead to convert it into a customer. This is where having an automated sales and CRM workflow can be really helpful. You need your revenue generating processes to be as productive and efficient as possible. The more streamlined they are, the more revenue you generate. Do you really need a reason to improve your sales process?
Ticketing
Providing your customers the support they need is essential. Especially for small businesses, support activities are extremely important. Each customer is important, and business stands to gain from making recurring customers. There needs to be a streamlined process to handle:
- Queries
- Issues
- Requests
Sounds like a tough call, right? This is where automating the ticketing process becomes very useful. You get to have the right team addressing the correct support queries. You can also offer customers status updates on the progress of their issues. Finally, a streamlined process means quicker problem-solving. This type of automation is the reason people speak so highly of Cox Service. Each query gets assigned to the relevant team, in a thoroughly streamlined manner. Customers can call can check the status of their issue, or they can check it online. All issues are resolved with expediency, which is why the provider retains it’s customers so well. Automating business processes is something that you shouldn’t ignore in the modern business world. It can transform your business into a model of productivity and efficiency.