Is your team struggling with task management? Maybe you’re looking for ways to improve workflow?  

This article explores the latest advancements in technology and automation that can help your organization streamline its systems and processes which improve productivity. You’ll find here a comprehensive guide that provides you with the latest overview of the best tips and tools for workflow optimization in 2023. 

Productivity and Automation in the Workplace: A Call for Workflow Optimization 

Automating your processes can empower your company to improve its performance by reducing errors and improving speed and quality. This can help you produce outcomes that may even go beyond human capabilities. According to the 2017 McKinsey research A Future That Works: Automation, Employment, and Productivity, automation can increase global productivity growth by 0.8 to 1.4 percent annually.¹ 

A 2021 Salesforce survey found that workplace automation improved the employee experience in both their professional and personal lives. There were 773 automation users in the United States that participated in the survey and 89 percent of them were more satisfied with their job due to automation. Meanwhile, 84 percent found more satisfaction in their company due to automation. 

Salesforce also reported that 74 percent of users found that automation tools helped them accomplish their work faster. It’s also improved team collaboration as 90 percent of IT users said automation brought them more satisfaction when it comes to collaborating across different departments.²

This may be the time for you to consider optimizing pipelines and existing workflows in your company and adapting to automation tools. Workflow optimization leads you to adapt to strategies that can enhance your teams’ efficiency. It can make your current workflow simpler and more convenient to navigate while reducing the chances of errors. 

Advantages of Optimizing Your Workflow 

If you’re considering improving parts of your business processes, here are the benefits that can affect you and your team.

Increases Your Team’s Efficiency 

One of the top advantages of elevating your workflow is the efficiency it gives your business processes. It helps lessen your employees’ administrative and repetitive tasks to give them more space to focus on more important strategies. This provides your company with a more competitive edge due to how highly productive your team may become. 

Related Reading: Unlock Hidden Potential: A Manager’s Guide to Increasing Workplace Efficiency 

Improves Work Quality 

Optimization reduces errors and clarifies tasks, enabling your team to focus on meaningful work. Streamlined processes save time and boost productivity. This leads to more valuable contributions to the business. 

More Accurate Data 

Optimization automates data recording and implements access restrictions, reducing human intervention and minimizing errors. This ensures better data protection and enhances overall data accuracy. 

Enhanced Accountability and Collaboration 

With workflow optimization, teams can easily share information and track employee performance. This fosters better task completion monitoring and time management. 

Convenient information sharing through management tools improves collaboration between departments, keeping the entire company informed about ongoing operations and projects, and reducing miscommunications. 

How to Optimize Your Workflow 

You can save time and achieve better business outcomes through optimization. Here are workflow optimization techniques.  

Have a Clear Idea of Your Desired Outcomes 

Before optimizing your workflow, clearly outline the results you want to achieve. This makes it easier to identify the specific goals and steps involved, as well as the resources and team members required. 

Consider involving all company divisions if needed to understand the big picture. Having a comprehensive overview will help you manage your time more effectively and align your efforts with your desired outcomes. 

Create an Efficient Process Map 

Identify areas for improvement and eliminate any inefficiencies. It’s also advisable to simplify the workflow by breaking down business processes into smaller tasks. 

List and prioritize the most crucial tasks to ensure that each step adds value to your company. In streamlining the process, you can achieve higher efficiency and productivity. 

Gather Feedback 

Consult with your teams to review the process and see if there’s anything holding you back. Your goal is to make sure your new processes will help you accomplish tasks in a shorter span of time. Identify which areas may cause miscommunication, create inefficiencies, or take more time to complete. Then work on these areas to speed up your workflow. 

Identify What Needs Automation 

Identify the tasks suitable for automation to reduce human error and free up employees’ time for critical responsibilities. Automate repetitive tasks that don’t require complex decision-making. This includes data gathering for analytics, automated client reminders for unpaid invoices, and other suitable processes. 

Related Reading: Agile Workforce Solutions: Leveraging On-Demand Staffing with ServiceNow 

Choosing the Best Workflow Management Software for Your Team 

If you’re looking for a management tool or software for automation, let us help you carefully choose the right one for you. Here’s how. 

Consider Your Business Needs 

You need to define your requirements and objectives for selecting a workflow management tool. Determine which processes and tasks require management through the software and the number of users involved. This understanding will help you identify essential features and functions in the management tool. 

Know Your Options 

It’s best to look for the best management tools in 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. 

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. 

Workflow Management Tools to Consider This 2023 

If you now have a better idea of the management tool you need to look for, have a look at our list of some of the best management tools for 2023. 

Wrike 

Wrike is 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 prevent file clutter and make 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. 

Asana 

Asana is a workflow automation tool that works well with all kinds of projects. It can help you collect creative feedback, launch brand campaigns, and get a budget sign-off. 

It has a free plan that can accommodate up to 15 users to use Kanban boards, basic workflows, and over a hundred integrations. Meanwhile, its paid plan can give you access to features like workflow builder, forms and portfolios, task dependencies, and more. 

Hive 

Aside from its robust task and project management features, Hive has workflow management tools for teams that collaborate on a daily basis. 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 a number of 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. 

Kissflow 

Kissflow is a management tool built to boost productivity in projects and 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, an access control that sets roles and responsibilities, actionable analytics and reports, and is an integration-friendly tool. 

ClickUp 

ClickUp 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 Gantt chart. Additionally, its reporting lets you customize dashboards. 

Related Reading: The Future of IT Operations: Salesforce and ServiceNow Explained 

Effectively Improve Your Team’s Productivity and Collaboration through Today’s Tools 

Understanding the optimizations, you need to make in your workflows can help your team become more productive and produce quality results. Adapt to the latest management tools and be certain to document how effective it is for your workforce to determine whether or not you need to try out something better. 

BOOST YOUR BUSINESS RESULTS WITH RASO360 

Want to enhance your company’s performance and stay ahead in your industry? Raso360  empowers your business by optimizing processes and providing top engineering and IT candidates through Staff Leasing or Staff Augmentation to accommodate your business needs.    

Get in touch with us today for tailored solutions to fuel your success.   

References 

1 “A Future That Works: Automation, Employment, And Productivity.” McKinsey & Company, www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/Digital%20Disruption/Harnessing%20automation%20for%20a%20future%20that%20works/MGI-A-future-that-works-Executive-summary.ashx. Accessed 10 Jul. 2023. 

2 “New Salesforce Research Links Lower Stress Levels and Business Automation.” Salesforce, 2 Dec. 2021, www.salesforce.com/news/stories/new-salesforce-research-links-lower-stress-levels-and-business-automation/. Accessed 10 Jul. 2023.