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Grow Your Organization with Business Process Automation Services
Business process automation services are becoming increasingly important tools for organizations to have in order to remain competitive.
Automating business processes is not as complicated as most think now because of all the tools available on the market.
But why is business process automation so important? And which services are the best?
Well, lucky for you, I’m somewhat of an expert in the field considering I work at a company that makes business process automation software. Allow me to guide you through!
What are business process automation services?
Simply put, business process automation services are services that provide business process automation.
I know, you would have never guessed.
So what we should really be defining is business process automation, which is the practice of using software to automate recurring tasks. By doing so, it becomes easier to manage end-to-end business processes and it saves team members time and headaches by taking boring, repetitive tasks off their plates.
Automation can be a scary word for some, but I promise it’s not. It’s much more about making business processes run more efficiently by allowing software to handle the boring work and giving employees the power to do the high-value work.
Top business process automation services
Business process automation services go by many names. You may see them called business process management tools, business operations management software, or any combination of these words.
It really doesn’t matter. They all end up meaning and doing the same. So let me tell you about three of our favorite business process automation management software services.
Process Street
Okay, you knew this was coming. This is a post about business process automation services and we’re a business process automation service. ♀️
Process Street gives you the ability to invite anyone to collaborate on a workflow, whether they work in-house or not. It keeps each step of every process organized.
UThe software keeps everything in one place by using integrations with third-party apps such as:
Integrations like that really help to streamline operations and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
Process Street also provides tons of free workflow templates that can be edited to help users get started and design the best business processes for their organizations.
Basecamp
Self-described as the “all-in-one toolkit” for managing operations, Basecamp really does deliver.
Each process on Basecamp has all of its management features on one page. These features include:
That last feature is great because it allows managers to automate their check-in questions for their team so they don’t have to pester anyone.
Basecamp features team schedules so everyone can see what the others have on their schedules and when their deadlines are.
It’s a highly intuitive tool that’s great for teams who are looking for simpler process or project management software.
Airtable
We actually use Airtable ourselves here at Process Street.
We use it to track our monthly tasks, keep projects on schedule, and see the status of everyone’s work throughout.
Airtable makes it extremely easy to store and share data in relational databases. That’s just a fancy way of saying a spreadsheet you can do more with. That allows teams to access all shared data quickly and easily with much less confusion.
It automates with Slack so we can see when we have new assignments and even does real-time performance monitoring, so you don’t have to do any of the data tracking yourself.
It’s great for teams like hours who work remotely and asynchronously.
Benefits of business process automation services
Okay, so what are the actual concrete benefits of using these services? Let’s break it down.
Increased efficiency
When processes are automated in software, businesses are able to streamline their services and operations, freeing up time for all team members to focus on other tasks.
And with increased efficiency comes greater overall productivity. With well-utilized business operations management software, businesses can do incredible things like:
- Increase product output
- Reach new customers
- Develop new sales and marketing strategies
Then there’s the reduction of cost, which brings me to my next point. ⬇️
Reduced costs
Business process automation services won’t save you money right off the bat, but it will if you do it right and give it enough time.
Software tools are great because they organize processes and keep everything in one place. By that, I mean communication, documentation, data, all of it. This cuts down the costs of having multiple different software and the labor cost of maintaining them.
Additionally, having all company data stored in one place and easily accessible to all employees reduces the time employees spend trying to track down different pieces of information.
All of this time and labor savings contribute greatly to the overall ability of companies to grow and scale.
Better decision making
Business process automation services often come with data-tracking features. These features are extremely useful when it comes to decision-making because they eliminate human error in data reporting.
Without errors in data, managers can make better decisions about sales strategies, onboarding techniques, and pretty much anything else.
This, again, saves organizations time and money because they won’t be making as many mistakes in their day-to-day operations and overall business decisions.
Happier employees and customers
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, business process automation services improve both employee and customer satisfaction.
For employees, having smoother, more streamlined operations that make their jobs easier and remove tedious tasks is a major plus. Effectively using business process automation services can significantly reduce employee churn.
For customers, they become happier when their questions are answered and problems addressed in a more timely manner. Process automation services free up employees’ time enough for them to be able to do that for customers.
Their satisfaction also increases when the product they have been on the waiting list for comes back in stock sooner than expected. All thanks to the increased output made possible by operations management software. Hello, repeat customers!
Best practices of business process automation
Have I sold you yet? I hope so! I can’t speak highly enough about automating business processes.
If you are ready to move forward and get a business process automation service, keep these best practices in mind to get the most out of it.
Set clear goals
One of the worst things you can do is say, “I want to automate my business processes!” and then stop there.
Which processes do you want to automate? Why do you want to automate them? Do you want to automate the entire process or just part of it? If so, which part?
It’s imperative that you set clear goals with your automation before you even select the service you want to use.
Without clearly-set goals, you won’t be able to maximize the benefits of the services.
Start by identifying the recurring tasks that could easily be automated and build from there.
For example, one goal could be to automate sending emails to customers after they purchase your product. Why is that beneficial? Well, the emails are all the same, save for the name of the customer, and it’s not necessary for an employee to spend the time doing it.
It saves the employee time and gets the email to the customer sooner. It also ensures that every customer gets an email and none fall through the cracks.
See? Easy. Now we have a simple goal that is easy to follow and will lead to immediate benefits.
Test, test, test
As you start building automations, you are likely to run into problems. They’re usually small, like setting up the automation and then forgetting to activate it. A quick and easy fix.
But because little problems like that arise, it’s important to test the automations you make. And then test them again to double-check they work. And then test one more time for luck.
Testing is the quickest way to not only identify problems as they arise but also to identify other things you can automate in the process.
The last thing you want to do is launch an automated process full of bugs that isn’t properly optimized.
So save everyone, including yourself, a migraine and test.
Train, train, train
This is just as important as the testing. How can the business process automation service be used to its full potential if your team doesn’t know how to use it?
Invest in the time it takes to get your team to a place where they fully understand how to use the service. Even if they aren’t building automations themselves, they should still understand how it works.
Having that understanding empowers teams to come up with their own ideas for creating new automated processes because they know what the service is capable of. They can also easily identify problems and come up with solutions when they arise.
Your team should know how the service works as well as you, so train them as much as necessary to get them to that point.
Ask for feedback
Make sure you listen to any feedback your team has, especially in the early days. If the software is poorly implemented because of poor training and education, it can have the opposite effect.
Your team’s feedback is the best tool you have for making the service work at its best.
They will be the ones who use it the most, so if they have ideas on how to improve it, listen.
The thing with business process automation is that you’re never done improving it. There will always be a way to make it better, so be open to it and listen to the people who know it best.
Important reminders about business process automation services
Business process automation services do a lot to help businesses run at their best. It saves people time, energy, and money. In fact, it often leads to increased productivity and profits.
As long as you take the time to do the research into what you need and why, and spend the necessary time training your team, you should find great success in whichever service you choose.
Bonus tip: If you want to see what business operations management software can offer and have your questions answered in real-time, book a demo with Process Street! Our sales representatives can walk you through the whole process of building a workflow and how the platform can work for your organization.