Automated Employee Workflows
What are automated employee workflows?
Workflow automation software uses rule-based logic to execute various aspects of a process that don’t require human input to complete. For example, many businesses automate manual tasks related to scheduling or data entry.
In automated employee workflows, they can automatically schedule follow-up calls or emails each time a sales rep interacts with a lead to increase productivity, By connecting their calendar application with their sales software,
Your business runs more efficiently when all of your systems and processes are streamlined, optimized, and consistent. When your systems are inefficient, so are your business processes, including employee workflows. You may not see the disruption right away, but inefficiencies have a tangible impact across your organization.
Efficient employee workflows are the key to creating and maintaining efficient business processes. One of the best ways to create efficient workflows is through automation. When you have an AI-automated workflow platform, you eliminate the monotony of repetitive, time-consuming manual tasks, which gives employees more time to focus on their goals.
What are the benefits of digital workflow automation?
There are plenty of benefits to automating workflows with AI for employees, including saving time, money, and frustration. Here are the top 4 benefits you’ll see when you implement this in your organization:
1. Workflow automation reduces human error
Workflow automation reduces the potential for human error. Software algorithms won’t make the mistakes humans make. Once programmed, an automation tool will execute the same assigned tasks consistently every time.
Humans are prone to making even simple mistakes for several reasons. One issue is the fact that humans have to interact with a visual interface, which requires thinking, clicking, scrolling, reading, and making selections in order to tell a software program how to behave. For instance, it takes a handful of clicks, plenty of reading, and several form submissions to schedule a phone call with calendar software.
A scheduling error can occur from something as simple as one wrong click or transposed numbers (reading “July 12” as “July 21”). Also, a person manually scheduling a follow-up call for 3 days ahead might accidentally enter the wrong date if they forget that the current month only has 30 days.
On the other hand, a software program won’t make that mistake. Automation bypasses the need for a human to make selections through an interface and will communicate directly with the database to schedule a call accurately.
2. Automating employee workflows reduces redundant tasks
Workflow automation reduces time-consuming, repetitive tasks by automating tasks that can be initiated by dependencies. For example, you can automate part of the approval flow in your sales department with customer workflows software. When a client signs a document or completes a form, automation can update dashboard data and notify all the right people that the client has taken these important actions. This eliminates the need for employees to manually send emails to department heads.
If you’ve never taken stock of repetitive tasks, you’d be surprised to see just how many redundant tasks each employee performs on a daily basis. Some of these redundancies are caused by inefficient interfaces, but if you can connect to the software’s API, even these types of redundant tasks can be automated for an improved employee experience.
3. Automating employee workflows saves payroll dollars
You probably don’t realize how much of your payroll is wasted when workflows are inefficient. When you improve your workflows, you automatically improve employee productivity and efficiency. When your workforce is efficient, your payroll dollars are spent on work that matters.
When your workforce is inefficient, you waste a significant portion of your payroll dollars. According to survey data from several sources, here’s where a large portion of your payroll dollars are going (per employee):
- 9 hours per week to create documents
- 5 hours per week to search for documents
- 3 hours filling in forms
- 3.5 hours per week to file and organize documents
These are just some of the time-wasting tasks that could be automated. When you automate these tasks, you’ll save about 20.5 hours per employee per week. At $20 per hour, that’s $410 per week ($1,640 per month), per employee. That really puts things into perspective.
You probably have some team members who you pay exclusively to perform repetitive tasks. If so, their entire position could be replaced by automation and you could move them into a position doing something that benefits your business.
4. Automating employee workflows reduces frustration
Nothing frustrates employees more than having to perform the same monotonous tasks day in and day out. Some repetitive tasks are non-negotiable, like logging into the system to help customers through live chat. However, there are plenty of other repetitive tasks that don’t directly support your customers, and it’s these tasks that create frustration.
For example, the following repetitive tasks are grueling for employees:
- Sending follow-up emails to leads who just had a call with a sales rep
- Gathering and crunching website traffic data
- Sending out registration information via email
- Manually researching on Google
- Manually posting new social media posts each day
The above tasks are necessary but are cumbersome to employees. The more time employees need to spend on these tasks, the less productive they are in other areas.
When your employees can do their job efficiently, they’re less likely to get frustrated. They’re also less likely to waste time creating workarounds for inefficient processes. This can be resolved by automating repetitive tasks.
Efficiency always supports long-term profitability
Companies making millions and billions of dollars in annual revenue are highly efficient. They’ve figured out how to streamline all of their processes, including employee onboarding and get all of their gears moving in the same direction. You can do the same, beginning with workflow automation to improve employee engagement and productivity at scale.
Increase workflow efficiency with Aisera
There are two ways to implement workflow automation in your business, with or without artificial intelligence (AI). Although standard workflow automation is helpful, AI brings automation to a whole new level.
With AI, you can automate even more processes than with standard automation. For instance, our virtual assistant application will automate customer interactions in real-time. By automating key parts of the customer service process, you’ll increase employee efficiency and customer satisfaction at the same time.
If you’re ready to elevate your business to the next level using AI-powered automation, request a Generative AI platform demo to learn more about how our services will benefit your business.