Manual processes drain company and employee time — and keep your organization from focusing on what matters. From requiring manual intervention from upper management to forming information silos, when you have scattered processes, it affects the whole team. Thankfully, workflow management doesn’t have to be a burden.
By optimizing your workflows, you can set your organization, employees, and clients up for success.
If you’re ready to uplevel your workflow optimization efforts, keep reading.
In this article, we’ll dig deeper into what workflow optimization means and why it matters. We’ll also review how to optimize your workflows for more successful projects and higher productivity.
Let’s get started.
What is workflow optimization?
Workflow optimization means automating your working systems to enhance productivity.
The goal of workflow optimization is to work smarter and reduce human intervention by having predefined business processes in place.
With workflow software, you can replace many administrative tasks, automate reminders, and create an aligned system for everything you do.
Why is workflow optimization important?
Successful workflow optimization means you can protect your valuable time and grow your business instead. In fact, 48% of businesses use automated workflows to improve productivity.
Streamlined workflows also reduce human errors — and replace unnecessary steps team members would have to take to complete an assignment.
With efficient workflows in place, you can:
- Improve your business from the inside out
- Eliminate unnecessary expenses
- Foster trust and transparency
- Streamline task completion
- Spot process bottlenecks
- Allocate resources better
- Enhance communication
- Reduce information silos
- Expedite approvals
- And so much more
Now that you’re clear on the “what” and the “why,” — let’s talk about the “how.”
Read also: Top 20 workflow automation tools in 2024
How to optimize your workflows?
Get ready to save this article and take notes.
Here’s how to optimize your organization’s workflows:
1. Get clear on your organizational goals
What’s your vision for your company?
What’s your end goal and overall mission?
Getting clear on where you want to go is crucial to understanding where to focus your workflows.
For instance, if you’d like to create an online news magazine that competes with the Huffington Post, you’re going to need ultra-refined content management processes.
If you’re looking to grow your sales department and increase SaaS sales by 25%, you’re going to need pristine lead scoring and conversion-focused workflows.
When defining your goals, you can set them as SMART goals. These goals are clear, trackable, and achievable.
Keep your objectives top of mind as we move through the rest of the steps.
2. Outline and document your operations
What operations currently run your business? What departments do you have? How do you get work done?
Create an operations overview and document it.
If you run a large organization, be sure to categorize as much as you can.
Here’s a simple operations overview model you can use:
(Company Name) Operations Overview
(Department Type, i.e., “Sales”)
Typical operations:
- A (“Use LinkedIn to identify potential prospects”)
- B (“Manually add prospects to our CRM”)
- C (“Manually score new prospects”)
- D
This model is applicable to all other departments within your organization.
3. Audit your current workflows
If you have any workflows set up with workflow software, now’s the time to make sure they’re still serving you. Review each of them and look for opportunities to streamline.
If you’re doing most things manually, it’s time to audit those, too.
What operations take up too much employee time? Which ones drain the company’s budget? Which ones hinder customer success or make projects run too long?
Be sure to also note what’s working well — and see if you can replicate that with other processes.
Don’t forget to audit any specific tools or warehouses you use to manage processes, too.
One of the main goals of workflow optimization is to accomplish the workflow’s objectives — while using as few resources as possible and ensuring data security.
When looking into optimizing your productivity ecosystems, consider all factors of the technology they use. This includes back-end systems, like data centers. For instance, you might opt for a sustainable data center provider to ensure your tech has reliable uptimes while maximizing energy efficiency.
Consider other back-end layers, too, such as business password management and authentication.
For example, one of the main challenges of modern workflow optimization is providing appropriate tech access levels to users and departments.
If you don’t have a secure way to provide user access without asking for credentials, you may be putting your organization at risk for cyber crimes. In this scenario, you might opt for OAuth 2.0 to help grant team members access to your tech stack.
This helps users log in quickly without sacrificing their (or your company’s) data.
4. Create a more refined process and system for everything
Highlight the inefficient processes you documented during your audit and strategize ways to improve them.
Consider meeting with an operational “task force” to tackle this together.
This might mean an operations director, operations manager, and any other process support specialists you might need. For instance, a moving company could optimize its operations by automating the contract lifecycle for bookings.
Read also: Time management for online entrepreneurs: 5 strategies to boost productivity
5. Use the right tools for your workflows
Head to G2 or Capterra to read up on workflow management software, such as project management tools, productivity software, and team collaboration apps.
The tools that are right for your specific business will vary. Consider your industry, workflow audit results, and end goal to find the right apps for you. If you have a task force, make sure they’re helping you with this step.
Sign up for free trials and test features, and set up mock workflows to see if a tool is right for you.
While you’re here, be sure to look into other technology options your team can use to work smarter.
For instance, if you run an EdTech brand that specializes in explainer videos, consider testing AI text-to-speech software options to save time recording and editing audio. You can also generate audio in your brand’s specific style and tone and adjust the language if you serve an international audience.
Or, if you own a graphic design agency that specializes in B2C branding, consider testing AI logo maker options to save time designing logos. You can also generate other branded elements, such as designs for merchandise, website templates, social media Story templates, or even your company name if you’re just starting out.
Other tools to look into include:
- Video conferencing tools
- Relevant integrations
- Virtual whiteboards
- Note-taking tools
- Chat tools
AI tools are the new norm with 77% of businesses using or planning to use AI tools. While it’s a good idea not to rely on AI too much, leveraging these tools to streamline your workflows can help you get ahead and stay ahead of your competitors.
6. Set up optimal workflows and automate what you can
After testing potential tool options, meet with your team to finalize the ones that work best.
Use the notes from your audit and refer to the workflow optimization strategies your team discussed in step four.
Set up your workflows to put these strategies to the test.
Be sure to use your software choices to streamline as many repetitive tasks as possible — especially ones you don’t need a human to do.
You can also attend workflow automation training to learn about various automation recipes and how they can help you save time.
For extra support, reach out to the customer service department associated with each tool to see what kind of onboarding options they have. Some SaaS companies offer workflow support and custom coding or can refer you to a specialist.
Your best bet?
Find an operations director (preferably yours) with experience in your industry. They also need to have solid workflow automation expertise — and a way to prove it.
7. Assure proper implementation
Refine your new workflows until you have a final system that puts your organization on track toward meeting your end goal.
Train your team on these new workflows and consider setting up a trial day for all departments to test them out.
When everyone knows how to use them, make it official. Begin using your new workflows and improve them over time.
And speaking of reiteration …
Read also: What is a document management system (DMS)?
8. Conduct a workflow analysis every month
Audit and refine your workflow optimization techniques every month at a minimum.
Consider allocating at least one operations manager to pilot this process. They can help keep your organization accountable for continuous improvement.
You might also consider hiring a cybersecurity specialist to ensure your workflows are completely secure. Have them review your data systems, user authentication tools, and process technology to make sure nothing’s at risk.
Ask if they have other protocols you can implement and if they offer cybersecurity training.
Set up cybersecurity training across all departments and send out regular updates to remind team members how to keep data safe.
Key takeaways
Your time is precious — and your big-dream goals don’t have time to wait.
While devoting yourself to your company is crucial, over-working or relying on manual processes drains your organization as a whole.
That’s why it’s pivotal to have integrated productivity ecosystems.
And you can have them by creating optimized workflows in line with your objectives.
If you’re ready to create a well-oiled operational machine, carve out time in your schedule to act on the steps we’ve covered today.
Here’s to your success!
