I get a lot of questions in my line of work about tools to automate workflows and processes. I’m asked what I think of a particular tool, which one I like best, which one a company or department should purchase, how to best set the tool up, and so on. I’m asked about tools for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Applicant Tracking (ATS), Agile and Project Management (ALM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Marketing Automation (MAP), and on and on.
Oddly enough, I am rarely asked the most important question: what do we hope to accomplish with this tool?
I think the reason for this is because most companies are choosing a tool based on how many human interactions it eliminates. Leaders reason that people are way more expensive than software over time, so if we minimize the use of humans, we can significantly cut our costs.
Of course, what these leaders are overlooking is that effective work requires a human touch. It always has and always will. While machines can move virtual paper across virtual desks, they can’t reason, make informed decisions in the face of messy problems, or use their life experiences to introduce better, more effective ways of working.
So if you were to ask me for my advice on a tool for workflow automation, my first response would be a question: What are you hoping to accomplish?
Because if your hope is to eliminate conversations, human interactions, or the expense of dealing with the messiness of human connection, I’d be willing to bet that you’re doing it wrong. And you’re going to end up spending a lot of money on subscriptions and maintenance and server space on a tool that only makes the work of the human beings in your company harder (and more expensive).
My advice? Before you even consider purchasing a tool to automate a workflow, step, or process, carefully map it out, actually perform it manually many times, and then slowly add in some low-fidelity solutions to make the process more effective. Eventually, you might decide that a tool is the right solution, but when you do, you’ll better understand which parts of the process need to maintain their human touch and which can be handed off to the machines. And perhaps most importantly, you’ll ensure you don’t overspend on an expensive tool when some wall space, a few sticky notes and a handful of sharpies would have sufficed.
If your processes and workflows are painful, slow, or broken, I can help. I work hand-in-hand with you and your teams to identify the bottlenecks, eliminate the disruptions, and restore the flow of value to your customers. Let’s build something better. Let’s do it together.
nicolederr.com 