Workflow Automation Platform, Solution and Tools

A beginners guide to workflow automation

What is workflow automation?

Workflow automation is the use of software to complete repetitive tasks and activities, without human interaction. By automating processes with workflow automation companies reduce the need for manual work. As a result, processes become more efficient and employees can spend more of their time on value-adding activities.

When the right software is in place and all the ins and outs of workflow automation are understood by organizations, workflow automation is a powerful tool. Organizations can set up automated workflows to create reports, send e-mails, set up reminders, trigger actions, schedule tasks, and much more. This all happens without human interaction and useful data will be stored in the right places.

The Betty Blocks platform: an all-in-one toolkit for workflow automation

An example of automation software is the Betty Blocks platform. This platform lets you quickly and easily design, implement, and manage automations without the need for a dedicated IT team. It allows you to create functional applications that automate your most important business processes.

At the end of this article examples of automations built with Betty Blocks are given. First, let's dive into why you should automate workflows in the first place and how it is done!

Why automate workflows and business processes?

Spend more time on value-driving activities

With the implementation of workflow automation, employees don’t have to do repetitive, tasks. Instead, organizations free up their time so they can spend it on value-adding activities.

Increase the quality of your work

Manual processes are not only time-intensive — they’re also often prone to errors. Automation makes it easier to prevent errors in the first place. When they do occur, you can pinpoint where they came from and improve the process going forward.

Prevent risks and decrease costs

Workflow automation often prevents the risk of costly issues before they arise. Automated reporting on errors ensures that companies can intervene ad-hoc.

Generate data-driven insights

Automating processes can help organizations become more data-driven by making it faster, easier, and more accurate to collect data. This enables organizations to integrate and centralize their data management processes.

How it works: a 7-step plan

1. Define the process you want to automate

Search for processes in need of automation. Ask yourself the questions ‘is this process made up of repetitive manual tasks?’, ‘Is the process cost-heavy at the moment?’, and ‘is this process prone to human errors?’. By answering these questions, organizations can find the processes that benefit the most from automation.

Found a process that is ripe for automation? See if you can define it by writing out a small summary of the process.

2. Write out the process in detail

After the automated process is identified, it is important to write out its workflow. Map out the process by defining the specific steps and tasks the process consists of. Check which employees are involved in the process, and which actions they perform. Additionally, look at which steps information is collected and where this is stored.

Once you have all the actors and action points identified, you need to connect the dots between them.

3. Set your goal(s) and evaluate the impact

Once you have written out the workflow you can make an estimation of the impact of automating it. This may include analyzing the costs and benefits, as well as any potential risks or challenges. Don't get lost in spreadsheets, but make sure that you have a general idea of its impact before automating it.

It’s important for an organization to articulate how automation can deliver on specific goals.

4. Design your workflow

After the process has been mapped and the impact is evaluated, you’re ready to create your first version of the workflow. You can choose the automation platform of your choice but -if you want a powerful all-in-one platform that integrates with all your current systems- we recommend Betty Blocks.

Automating your workflow with a no-code platform means that you can develop automated workflows rapidly and intuitively through visual modeling; 100% in the cloud, multi-device, and cross-platform, designed with an intuitive automation builder.

5. Test and optimize

Test and optimize the automated workflow: Before rolling out the automated workflow, it's important to test it to ensure that it is functioning correctly and meeting the organization's needs. This may involve conducting a pilot test with a small group of employees, and then making any necessary adjustments to the workflow based on the results of the test.

6. Roll out the automated workflow

Once the automated workflow has been tested and optimized, it's time to roll it out to the rest of the organization. This may involve instructing employees on how to use the automated workflow, communicating the benefits of automation to the organization, and providing support to ensure that the transition goes smoothly.

7. Monitor and maintain your automation

After the automated workflow has been implemented, it's important to regularly monitor and maintain it to ensure that it continues to function properly and meet the organization's needs. This may involve tracking performance, making ongoing updates and improvements to the workflow, and providing ongoing support and training to employees.

Quick take

Identify processes that are repetitive, costly, or prone to human error as potential candidates for automation.
Prepare for automation by mapping out the process steps and -tasks, including the persons and information involved.
Design, test, and implement the automation using a powerful tool that connects with your systems like Betty Blocks. Here you can take a more detailed look at the Betty Blocks platform.

No-code refers to a type of software that allows users to build, customize, and automate processes and workflows without the need for traditional coding skills. This allows organizations to quickly and easily design, implement, and manage applications and automations without the need for a dedicated IT team or expensive development resources.

There are 7 key benefits to using no-code software for automation in professional organizations:

Respond to regulation and market changes swiftly

Providing the business with all the tools and processes to independently solve their and their client’s problems means that firms can instantly respond to changing needs or market shifts, and start the building process immediately. Meanwhile, no-code platforms are built for rapid application development, where users can build prototypes in days and launch fully functional applications in weeks.

Elevate client experience and satisfaction

Using no-code tooling, firms can build competitive and differentiating automated workflows which optimize and elevate the client experience. Thus, a firm combines technological capabilities with expertise to offer the best, fastest, and most accessible services. Self-building means that those who know exactly what their clients want and need are building these tools. This, in the end, will elevate your client experience and satisfaction.

Increased efficiency and productivity

No-code software allows you to automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks, freeing up your team to focus on more valuable, high-impact work. By streamlining processes and eliminating manual steps, you can save time and reduce the risk of errors, improving overall efficiency and productivity.

Improved data management

No-code software can help you manage and organize your data more effectively, providing a centralized repository for all of your firm's documents, case files, and other important information. This can help you save time and reduce the risk of data loss or errors, improving overall efficiency and accuracy.

Customization and flexibility

No-code software allows you to tailor your automation processes to your specific needs and requirements. You can easily design and build custom workflows and processes, and make changes and updates as needed. This allows you to adapt to changing business needs and stay competitive in an increasingly dynamic market.

Reduced IT costs

By using no-code software, you can reduce your reliance on IT resources and avoid the cost and complexity of custom software development. This can help you save money on IT staffing and infrastructure, freeing up budget for other areas of your business.

Enhanced collaboration

No-code software can help you improve communication and collaboration within your team, as well as with external stakeholders. By providing a centralized platform for sharing and accessing information, you can increase transparency and streamline collaboration, leading to better decision-making and more effective teamwork.

Overall, no-code software is a valuable tool for workflow automation in professional organizations. By automating and streamlining processes, improving data management, and enhancing collaboration, you can increase efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness, while reducing costs and IT complexity.

Examples of workflow automation

Overall, workflow automation is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes, helping you save time, reduce costs, and improve efficiency and accuracy. By automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks, you can free up your team to focus on more valuable, high-impact work, and improve your overall competitiveness and success.

Examples per department:

Legal: Workflow automation can be particularly useful for legal departments and law firms, as it helps streamline and automate repetitive tasks involved in legal practice. It can be used to manage the various steps and processes involved in handling legal cases, from intake and case assignment to discovery and trial preparation. Additionally, it can be used for invoicing, billing, contract generation, and much more.

Human resources: Automation can be used to streamline HR processes such as employee onboarding, benefits enrollment, and performance reviews. For example, you can use automated workflows to send out new hire paperwork, schedule onboarding meetings, and track the progress of new employee training.

Sales: Streamline and automate sales processes such as lead management, proposal generation, and contract creation. Automation can help you track and manage leads, create and send out proposals, and manage contract approvals and signatures.

Finance: Automated tools can help you send out invoices, track payment status, and generate financial reports, freeing up your finance team to focus on more valuable tasks. Moreover, it can be used to create advanced automation that generates ESG reports and contracts.

Customer service: Provide timely and accurate responses to your customers by creating a customer portal. Automation can help you route customer inquiries to the appropriate team or individual, track the progress of requests, and provide customers with regular updates on the status of their issues.

Examples created with Betty Blocks:

With the Betty Blocks platform, no-code enablers and business developers can work together to create apps that automate workflows. This can be an easy to build application such as a questionnaire that integrates with your existing software. It can also be a more advanced application such as a document review application, planning tool or feature that can be added to a customer portal. Below you can find a set of automation apps built by our customers.

Planning tool

Optimize your companies project and task planning through a fully automated Planning Tool.

Pre-Assessment Audit

Optimize your client offer and support with a Pre-Assessment Audit. Guiding clients through their audit preparation process in an automated way.

Document Review App

Digitize, optimize, and automate your organization’s document revision process with a Document Review Application.

Project Budget Planner

Empower your organization or department to establish an efficient and automated project budgeting and planning process.

Risk Assessment App

Automate your organization's or department’s risk and compliance assessment in an automated way with a Risk Assessment application.

Ideation portal

Collect, validate, and prioritize ideas and solutions in an automated way through an Ideation Portal.