To be more productive and efficient in today’s business world, using workflow management tools is almost a must. There are many software options available to help your organization. The hard part might be picking the right one. We’ll walk you through several technology and automation tools and provide tips on choosing the best one for your company.
Why is Workflow Optimization Important?
Optimizing your processes with workflow management tools can simplify tasks, reduce mistakes, and make teams work more effectively. McKinsey’s research shows that workplace automation can increase global productivity growth by 0.8 to 1.4 percent annually. ¹
Additionally, a 2021 Salesforce survey found that using automation in the workplace improves employees’ experiences both at work and in their personal lives. ² In the survey, 773 people in the U.S. who used automation said that 89 percent were happier with their jobs, and 84 percent felt more satisfied with their company. Moreover, 74 percent said that automation software helped them finish their work faster, and 90 percent of IT users said automation made it easier to work with other departments.
If you haven’t already thought about it, now might be the perfect time to consider optimizing your company’s workflows and incorporating automation tools.
14 Best Workflow Management Software for Increased Productivity
Here’s our list of some of the top business management solution tools:
1. Kissflow
Kissflow is a management software built to boost productivity in projects and business processes while helping your team visualize their workflows. It helps define responsibilities for each of your members and keeps everyone on track.
Kissflow has customizable forms, access control that sets roles and responsibilities, actionable analytics and reports, and is an integration-friendly tool.
2. HighGear
HighGear is built for businesses that need strong workflow automation and task management. It offers a no-code platform, meaning users can create, automate, and manage complex workflows without needing to know how to program.
Key features of this tool include visual workflow modeling, task assignment and tracking, and detailed reporting. It also has role-based access control, so only authorized users can change workflows or access sensitive information.
3. HelpDesk
HelpDesk is a tool that helps businesses manage customer questions and problems efficiently. It includes features like ticket management, automating repetitive tasks, and collaboration tools to solve customer issues quickly.
HelpDesk has an easy-to-use interface that lets support teams organize, prioritize, and track tickets from different channels like email, chat, and social media. With built-in automation, HelpDesk can assign tickets based on set rules, making sure the right team member handles each issue.
4. Asana
Asana is a flexible project-handling software that helps teams organize tasks, set deadlines, and track project progress. Key features include task management, task automation, time tracking, project timelines, and team collaboration. You can create projects, break them down into tasks, and assign tasks to team members.
Asana also offers different views like lists, boards, and calendars to help visualize work to create custom workflows. It also integrates with other tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams, making it a central hub for project handling and team communication.
5. Monday.com
Monday.com is a cloud-based platform made to be easy to use and flexible. It’s often called a “Work OS” because it lets teams create custom digital workspaces for different projects in a business workflow. These workspaces look like boards and have features like drag-and-drop, making it simple to manage tasks, track progress, and work with teammates in real-time.
Monday.com supports many types of workflows, from marketing campaigns to software development, making it a good choice for businesses that want to organize their operations in one place.
6. Wrike
Wrike is also a cloud-based platform that allows teams to have a seamless experience across the business. It has dozens of pre-made templates for all task types and displays detailed views of progress utilizing Kanban boards and Gantt charts. You can even improve document management by preventing file clutter and making your folders and projects accessible in multiple places by cross-tagging.
You can share team calendars with everyone through the tool. Wrike can also help you connect with hundreds of apps to keep old workflows with easy integrations.
7. ClickUp
ClickUp is a workflow tool that can help your team streamline project plans and workflows as you manage resources across your team. It is simple and visually appealing, with automation templates that’ll help your team create specialized templates for automating areas of their workflow. Its project views include a calendar, a timeline view, and a Gantt chart. Additionally, its reporting lets you customize dashboards.
8. Airtable
Airtable is a powerful blend between a spreadsheet and a database. You can add images, text, attachments, and even link data across different tables. This flexibility makes it great for organizing all sorts of things, from customer lists to project plans.
On top of that, Airtable is built for collaboration. Multiple people can access and edit the same information at once, and it offers features to track changes and keep everyone on the same page. This makes it a valuable tool for teams who need to work together on projects and keep their data organized.
9. Pipefy
Pipefy is like a visual pipeline where you can create different stages for any kind of process, such as onboarding new employees or managing customer support requests. Each stage acts like a digital box where tasks can be assigned, reviewed, and completed before moving to the next one.
Pipefy’s strength is in its ease of use and flexibility. It has a drag-and-drop interface to build these workflows, and you don’t need any coding knowledge to use it.
10. Nintex
Nintex is a software platform that helps businesses work more efficiently by automating workflows and managing business processes. Besides automating workflows, Nintex offers tools for overall process management systems. These tools include creating smart forms, generating documents and reports, and using robotic process automation (RPA) to handle repetitive tasks.
11. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is an online management platform that mixes features of spreadsheets, project handling tools, and collaboration tools. It uses a spreadsheet-like interface to manage tasks, assign resources, and track project progress. However, it offers more than just basic spreadsheets; it includes Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and real-time dashboards for better visibility and control.
12. Jira
Jira is a project management tool mainly for software development teams. Its main features include tracking issues, planning projects, and managing agile projects. Jira’s strong issue-tracking system lets teams create, assign, and prioritize tasks.
It supports agile methods like Scrum and Kanban, offering features such as sprint planning, backlog management, and burndown charts. Jira also has reporting and analytics tools to give insights into team performance and project progress.
13. Trello
Trello is a simple yet powerful project management software that uses cards to organize tasks and projects. Its main features include task handling, project planning, and team collaboration. Trello’s easy-to-use interface lets users create boards, add lists, and move cards to show tasks and their progress. It supports various power-ups like calendar views and integrations with other tools to add more features.
14. Hive
Aside from its robust task and project management features, Hive has workflow management tools for teams that collaborate daily. The platform offers Hive Automate, which lets you create workflows that connect Hive with other work apps.
Through Hive Automate you can build Recipes, which are automated workflows that span across many apps. Each Recipe is made up of a trigger and one or more actions that can be performed when the trigger event is picked up. These various variables can help your team form multi-step workflows utilizing various applications.
Choosing the Right Workflow Management Software for Your Team
If you’re looking to identify the best workflow software for automation, let us help you carefully choose the right one for you. Here are important factors you need to assess:
Consider Your Business Needs
You need to define your requirements and objectives for selecting workflow management software. Determine which processes and tasks require management through the software and the number of users involved. This will help you identify essential features and functions in the management tool.
Know Your Options
It’s best to look for the best workflow automation software on the market. You’ll know which they are through recommendations, reviews, trials, and demos. You can create your criteria list to help score each tool based on its ease of use, security, support, reliability, scalability, and other factors. Through this method, you can narrow down your choices and find the best one for your team.
Identify What Needs Automation
Identify the tasks suitable for automation to reduce human error and free up employees’ time for critical responsibilities. Automate routinary tasks that don’t require complex decision-making. This includes data gathering for analytics, automated client reminders for unpaid invoices, and other suitable processes.
Test the Software with Your Team
Test the tool with the people who will be using it with you. Invite some of your members to join you in trying the software out so they can give their feedback. Ask them how the tool works for them and if they think it has improved their productivity. Additionally, find out if it has helped them deal with their work challenges.
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References
- “A Future That Works: Automation, Employment, and Productivity.” McKinsey & Company, 12 Jan. 2017, www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/digital-disruption/harnessing-automation-for-a-future-that-works/de-DE.
- Salesforce. “New Salesforce Research Links Lower Stress Levels and Business Automation.” Salesforce, 30 Nov. 2022, www.salesforce.com/news/stories/new-salesforce-research-links-lower-stress-levels-and-business-automation.
