Tips for using business process automation tools.
Accomplish more each day with business process automation tools.
Running a business depends on keeping documents and processes organized. A poor document workflow can spell disaster and open your business to errors and inefficiencies. Instead, accomplish more each day with business process automation tools.
What are business process automation tools?
So, what are business process automation tools? Business process automation (or BPA) simplifies tasks like emails, information sharing, and report generation with software. Most business process automation software programs use logic and rules to complete those tasks.
Curious about how BPA software can transform your business? Take a moment to explore the automation tips in this short guide.
Where business process automation tools help.
Workflow automation includes many benefits and can help your business be successful in many ways:
- Reduced human error rates. Automation is most effective when used to replace manual, repetitive tasks, which have the highest rate of human error. With fewer manual inputs, you can increase the accuracy of your data.
- Increased productivity. Automation can do manual tasks more quickly than human beings and frees up humans to do more specialized tasks.
- Greater employee satisfaction. Automation gives employees more time to invest in learning, growing, and improving. It also removes manual tasks from their workload, which opens them up to more creative pursuits.
- Improve transparency. Automation through BPA software gives team members more visibility into the status of tasks, projects, and documents. This can help a team make better decisions, collaborate more effectively, and be held accountable.
What business processes should you automate?
Business process automation tools can be used in many ways. Generally, you should consider two main areas of automation: Employee tasks and management tasks.
Automate employee tasks and processes.
Between recurring administrative tasks, such as email, reports, and managing deadlines, your employees probably have a lot on their plates. After they complete all these repetitive tasks, your workers have less time to spend on important tasks like creative problem-solving or more valuable, higher-level work.
This is where business process automation tools come in. Map out your team’s tasks and workflows, and ask yourself questions like these:
- Are there a lot of customer service emails to answer?
- Are there any tasks that take up a lot of time but aren’t that valuable?
- Where are workflows bottlenecking?
These are the areas you can streamline with BPA software. Here are some examples:
- Use email software to automate repetitive messages
- Transition to a digital workflow to reduce back-and-forth communication
- Turn IT ticket management into a well-oiled machine
Automate management tasks and processes.
Business process automation tools aren’t just for employees — it can streamline and automate managerial tasks too.
Consider the average workday for an upper-level manager. Now, let’s pluck out some common tasks and identify how they can be automated:
- Scheduling meetings. Let employees find and book time on your calendar themselves rather than you spending your time looking for available time slots.
- Vacation and time-off requests. Review and approve out-of-office requests in seconds instead of sifting through emails.
- Project approvals. Forget about signing off on dozens of project emails — instead, replace them with a simple drag-and-drop platform with e-signature workflows.
Finding the right business automation tools.
Today, many options exist for business automation tools. Consider several elements as you search for the right solution for your company.
Based on the size of your business and the tasks you are looking to automate, you may need to invest in more advanced BPA software or be satisfied with a basic version. You’ll also want to look at the cost of your investment and find an option that matches your budget. Additionally, examine what kind of customer support your BPA software offers to be sure you have the guidance and expertise you need as you onboard your team.
Explore everything you can do with Adobe Acrobat for business to enable document workflow automation and automate other important, regular business processes.