The importance of workflow management with continuous change

In today’s world, continuous change is the only constant. A fancy way of saying we live in a VUCA world. We constantly feel these changes in our daily lives and during our work.

Constant factors are therefore enjoyable: the basis that makes it easy to deal with everything that does change. Today, we will talk about workflow management and how it can be a constant in your daily work.

Getting a grip on change: if only it were that easy

We all strive to get a grip on change. As much as we want to move with everything, sometimes it is quite good if everything stays the same for a while. When all colleagues stay, don’t get sick or switch jobs. Everything then runs like clockwork so you finally have time to clean up your mailbox, read professional literature and don’t have to work overtime. Yet this often doesn’t last long

Some people claim to thrive on this continuous change. Project managers have made this their job. However, most of us mainly try to navigate through all the changes as best we can, doing our jobs to the best of our abilities. Getting and keeping a grip on change is not a given for everyone.

As an organisation, it is important to recognise and acknowledge this. Supporting employees to perform their work as well as possible, in any situation and through any change, is therefore important. Think of clear work instructions so new colleagues know what is expected of them, but also keeping information and processes up-to-date for existing employees ensures continuity.

Besides, any tool that helps create continuity in work is welcome anyway. It may sound a bit out-of-the-box, but we think workflow management can help you as a constant. Why this is so, we are happy to explain.

The usefulness of workflows within an organisation

To understand where we want to go, let’s go back to basics. What is a workflow and what is workflow management?

A workflow consists of a number of activities performed in a fixed, logical order. With this, you try to achieve a predetermined outcome within an organisation, for example by having certain tasks go past certain people, departments or teams. A workflow therefore looks the same for each task, no matter who performs it or when.

Here, tasks can be understood in the broadest sense of the word: from requests to applications, but also the handling of complaints, orders or invoices can be put into a workflow. The advantage is that everyone knows what is expected of him or her, and when. This is useful, for instance, when new employees arrive, or you work a lot with temporary workers; they are included in those fixed workflows.

Working with workflows therefore reduces the risk of errors. Important, recurring tasks are less forgotten and requests do not unexpectedly remain on a desk somewhere. The prerequisite for this is that you digitise workflows.

Workflow management to create continuity

Digitising workflows can be done with workflow management software such as Zenya FLOW. This software is designed to support the organisation in workflow management. Workflow management represents the way workflows are set up and contributes to optimising business processes.

The advantage of online workflow management is that you can record a process in the system and then, when a workflow is started, it automatically runs as defined in the process. For instance, in workflow management software, you can define who is responsible for which step in the process. When the workflow then arrives at that step, that person will automatically be notified that something is expected of him or her.

Earlier, we discussed the benefits of workflow management in a document management system. Here, it ensures that whatever happens within an organisation and who may or may not be working there, document management and version control is secured. In other words, whatever changes you have to deal with, the right information is always available.

This is, of course, a small part of workflow management, but it does show what other possibilities it offers organisations. Because not only document management can be captured well in a workflow, but so can a lot of regular processes. From recruitment and selection to New Product Requests: these are all workflows that can be recorded and digitised. Organisations that have already done this, all confirm that processes run more efficiently this way than before.

But not only that, it ensures that your (most important) processes run smoothly, no matter what changes you face. Employee changes, location changes, remote working; you can always access your most important processes, wherever you are.

Collaborate efficiently

Workflow management lets you work more efficiently and safeguards continuity. But it also offers opportunities to work together more efficiently. After all, you can work on the same workflows as a team, which you can put together yourself. You also have access to the joint tasks and their status. You don’t have to be physically together to do this, thanks to the software you can also do this remotely.

Precisely when you have to collaborate a lot remotely, digital workflow management is almost a necessity to do it efficiently and effectively. You then simply know that it is well organised, that no one misses a task and it is therefore a constant factor in your daily work. So the ideal basis for coping with change.

Are you curious what workflow management can do for your organisation? Or how you can digitise it in a simple and clear way with Zenya FLOW? Our experts would love to show you!