Every business has some sort of document workflow process in use. Whether that document workflow consists of an invoice, order processing, email, snail mail, or any other document type; workflow of these documents occurs every single day in every single business. Once the realization occurs regarding how often document workflow occurs each day, one begins to consider ways to improve and streamline the document workflow process so as to maximize time and cost savings.
Putting together a visual diagram of the process allows each of the stakeholders to agree to the process and demonstrates how the workflow actually works. Often, people don’t know or understand the entire workflow, so a diagram provides multiple benefits and gives everyone involved a clearer picture of what is being done. It may also result in the elimination of steps added over the years which no longer contribute to the process as a whole.
After the decision is made to improve workflow, the question becomes ‘Where do I begin?’. The best thing to do is to choose one document process to start with. After selecting the process to improve, begin by breaking the document process down into the actual physical steps. Take the business process and physically follow it from beginning to end. Spend time with each person involved along the way and find out what actions occur at each step, what the exceptions for each decision are and where the document goes once it leaves that step. The end result of this will be a clear understanding of what takes place for the entire process.
Mapping this to an electronic workflow product requires an understanding of the features needed in the product and how they apply to workflow management. A good set of features is outlined in a table in this whitepaper.
There is really no reason for businesses to continue using out-dated and inefficient workflow processing methods given today’s affordable and easy to use software technology. The trick is getting started and having a plan. The best way to get started is to pick a single workflow process and make this work with the software. After doing this use the new process for several weeks and learn how to improve it further before moving on the next workflow. After the first one is working correctly, subsequent processes will be easier to tackle.
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