The term ‘workflow’ describes the sequential chaining of different business processes within a company. A workflow is often referred to as a workflow plan. Workflows particularly refer to subtasks within a project or subarea of a company. This means that different processes follow each other systematically.
A workflow is characterised by a defined start event, end result and organised sequence of steps. Additionally, a workflow must serve a specific purpose and provide a meaningful benefit, either internally for the company or externally for customers. To achieve this, several company employees usually work on the various sub-steps to complete them.
Visually, a workflow can look like this:
One example of a workflow that exists in every company is the recruitment process. This internal workflow, from a candidate’s application to an interview or even to hiring, always follows a certain pattern. This pattern consists of several sequential workflows.
For example, a company’s recruitment process might look like this:
Although this workflow probably exists in every company, there are differences everywhere. While one company might consult with one HR manager beforehand, another might involve three HR managers from the outset. The processes would therefore look and work differently in these companies.
Furthermore, not every step or process can be considered linear. It may well be that some sub-steps within an overall workflow need to be repeated. For example, it is unlikely that only one candidate will apply for the vacancy, be interviewed and then be hired. It is more likely that a number of applications will have to be reviewed, assessed and sorted before the next step, the invitation to interview, can be taken. In this way, a workflow can also be seen as a dynamic process within the company.
Since a workflow is a business transaction that is often repeated in a company, it makes sense to structure, control and analyse these processes. This not only increases the effectiveness, but also the efficiency of the workflows and the people working on them. For this reason, workflow management is always associated with the professional organisation and administration of workflows.
To get the most out of workflow management, it is worth investing in workflow software to create a workflow management system. This allows analogue data and workflows to be digitised and IT-supported. In particular, the automation of these workflows within the workflow management system can bring many benefits: digital workflows can be perceived as an enormous relief for employees in their daily work. Specifically, this is because it reduces sources of error, saves time, standardises processes and improves transparency.
However, technical automation in the workflow management system also reduces dynamism and flexibility, as workflows follow pre-defined patterns. This, in turn, can have negative consequences for employees if they are chronically under-challenged by too many workflows or fail to understand important interrelationships. Organisations should therefore always ensure that workflows are used sensibly.
The following business processes are often supported by electronic workflows:
Holiday request processes are an essential, recurring part of a company’s work processes. For this reason, the IT development of holiday workflows is of interest to both large and small companies.
The processing of internal leave requests can look like this:
This example clearly shows the simultaneous processing chain and thus the dynamics of the workflows for holiday requests. Rigid, linear structures do not work, especially with recurring loops in the form of coordination processes and feedback rounds.
This can be seen from the fact that in the upper chain, the holiday would not have been approved because holiday representative 1 refused the substitution. However, as a parallel request was made to another holiday representative and this was accepted, the holiday request can proceed to the next process step and be submitted to the superior. Whether or not to approve the leave is then decided by the superior.
One platform that stands for efficient workflow management is the Microsoft Power Platform. The Microsoft Power Automate module (formerly known as “Flow”) can be used to automate technical processes and create workflows, such as connecting to an ERP system. The strengths of Microsoft Power Automate lie primarily in processes that do not require user interaction or participation.
With the Shareflex Flow component, which is integrated in all Shareflex applications, Portal Systems offers an in-house solution for workflow management. Shareflex Flow is based on SharePoint (Online), a service within Microsoft 365. It is perfect for automating parts or entire business processes where users are involved and have to make decisions, such as approving holiday requests. Compared to Microsoft Power Automate, Shareflex Flow excels in user participation.
If you are interested in cloud-based workflow management and want to improve your business processes, please contact us. We can help you find the right solutions to support and drive your business digitally.
Patrick Carl
Chief Sales Officer
Email: info[at]portalsystems.de
