As office technology improves and computers become even smarter and faster, we can increasingly rely on them to handle tasks that used to be managed by people. By performing well-defined, rules-based activities, workflow automation frees up precious human time and liberates cognitive resources for value-adding work. Read on for a few powerful benefits of document workflow automation.
Provides Better Communication
Fortune Magazine reports that the average knowledge worker spends 28 percent of their time on email. Help reduce that jaw-dropping number by automating and centralizing your documents. Instead of emailing files back and forth or checking with various colleagues about the status of a process, a simple email notification and link can be sent to appropriate team members as a process moves to the next step. An active dashboard can also provide a high-level status view.
Reduces Errors
Your team members are only human, which means that they’ll make mistakes from time to time. With automated document workflows, however, a computer will follow the same rules, the same way, every time. Deploying algorithms means you can design your preferred processes and procedures, knowing they’ll be followed precisely. With automatic prompts and deadline reminders, your employees will get help staying on track, and scheduled reports will provide you the information you need, when you need it.
Supports Accountability
Automated workflows are based on established rules that provide transparency for the process at hand, and since processes must be completed in the designated order, nothing gets skipped or cut short. Notifications and reminders keep team members on track—no excuses—and managers can receive notifications if particular tasks aren’t completed within a designated time frame. As The Center for Creative Leadership reminds us, “Accountability is the foundation for creating a learning organization. If you want sustainable, high-quality processes, you need to be able to see what’s working and what isn’t – and analyze the cause.”
Embracing automation means making smart decisions about processes and setting them up to run without any hand holding. It takes a load off of your team, saving valuable time and freeing up precious mental resources while improving communication, reducing the likelihood of errors, and enhancing accountability. To get document workflow automation started in your office, Contact Monster Technology today.