Are you looking for ways to automate redundant tasks in your workflow and remove bottlenecks? It’s a no-brainer to employ reliable workflow management software (WMS) that you and your employees can use right off the bat. This means you want software that isn’t riddled with arduous coding and lets you employ cutting-edge technologies like AI and cloud integration to give the best bang for your invested dollars.
Before hopping onto the various features you need to look for in a WMS, here’s a quick rundown of the reasons why you want it in the first place –
- 1. Allows you to automate numerous repetitive tasks
- 2. Makes it easy to track the progress of individual tasks in place
- 3. Lets you tap into performance metrics
- 4. Clearly defines and streamlines your workflow
Wait, that’s not all. Depending on the sequence of operations you have in your workflow, a WMS can be customized from basic to complex triers to render the most efficient, error-free results while keeping a truckload of paper out of the picture. So, you first need to narrow down your needs and requirements before taking the plunge.
💡Pro Tip: If you don’t want holes drilled in your pocket, it’s best to first decide on a budget and then try searching for a trial period before going all-in with a WMS.
Table of Contents
8 Features Your Workflow Management Software Must Have
We’ve listed 8 crucial features to search for in a free workflow management software to ensure it keeps up with your business needs and proves to be a fruitful, long-term investment.
After all, you’re looking at around 30% of your precious business hours saved when you have robust automation channels at your disposal. Ensure you choose the best!
Integration Capabilities: “Can it blend in with existing software?”
Before hitting the market for a WMS, you should assess all the workflows and software tools you currently have. You want to pick a workflow management software that can seamlessly integrate with different services so that you don’t have to waste time switching platforms.
For this, carefully go through the list of third-party integrations that the WMS offers to figure out what you’re getting into. A cross-compatible software will let you have a coherent system in place without requiring massive disruptions in the tools already in place.
Usability: “How quickly can your team become well-versed with it?”
You want a tool that your team can start using TODAY and not after 3 weeks of training.
So, keeping user-friendliness at the forefront of your priority will go a long way in bringing the best value out of your WMS. Chances are, not everyone in your business environment is racked up with programming skills — therefore, you want a simple and clutter-free design.
How to ensure this? Go through the different menu and features and examine the overall user interface (UI) for its ease of use.
Form Designer: “What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) is the way”
Forms make for a significant part of any business workflow. If you’re confused with the first look at the form designer, this is a clear red flag.
Basic drag & drop functionality should be intuitive without any exception. At the same time, you need an array of layouts (tabbed, multi-column, multi-page, tabular, etc.) to work well with the form designer.
Creating out-of-the-box forms while keeping them feature-packed is unskippable in a business environment.
Reporting: “How easily can you generate KPI-based reports?”
Automating a workflow using workflow management software free comes with the need for top-notch reporting. We get it — you want to simplify the workflow. But, at the same time, the overall WMS integration should let you generate reliable KPI-based reporting to get a clear idea of the productivity.
Subsequently, you can ease the workflow, along with removing any bottlenecks being an impediment to an efficient system. Being able to generate KPI-based reports on the go means you can seamlessly figure out the optimal sequence of operations in a given workflow.
Functionality: “Can it give you a competitive edge?”
Your workflow management software must entail the desired functionality to improve the overall workflow. Depending on your business needs, you’re looking at mainly two types of WMS — general-purpose WMS and application-specific WMS.
The former lets you address major automation needs and is more feasible when you want to use it for the entire workflow. However, you’ll need process-specific functionality when it comes to catering to complex, inner processes of the organization.
Typically, you should be able to carry out the following functionalities with your WMS:
- HR onboarding and offboarding
- Storing marketing and design campaign materials
- Letting project managers assign with ease
- Automating the invoicing
- Manage several compliance programs
- Automatic notifications and alerts
Keep a close eye on the features your WMS has so that you can make an informed decision during the trial period itself.
PDF Generation: “Can it let you create custom PDFs?”
Automating generating PDFs comes in handy in several HR and AP workflows. While at it, you should be able to use the data pool and generate these custom PDFs that look the same as the print-view of the form.
Apart from the visual mapping of the form data, your WMS should let you include e-signatures while generating PDFs. This will leverage the drag-and-drop mapper to let you sign multiple PDFs in a row.
This becomes even more crucial during processes like onboarding and offboarding, wherein you have to deal with multiple forms at once.
Pricing : “How much will it cost?”
While opting for a tool for your organization, having a clear idea of the pricing front is of paramount importance. You don’t want to shell out more than your software is actually worth it. So, ensure being mindful of the different pricing models your WMS offers and pick the one that fits your requirements the best.
As most workflow management software take a SaaS (Software-as-a-service) approach, you can opt for a subscription-based model. However, you must assess its overall feasibility so that you only bring an affordable software integration to the table.
SLA status indicators: “Can you review all tasks at once?”
Business environments have to deal with several core workflows at a given moment. Your WMS should let you evaluate the current progress and status of these processes to stay informed at all times.
Generally, the following key performance indicators are offered by the best workflow management software.
- Percentage of finished tasks
- Average time to complete a process
- Average time to complete individual tasks
- Effectiveness of reducing errors
SLA indicators use color-coding and other handy methods to let you review the exact status of different core processes. Therefore, you can reallocate attention and resources based on the priority of a given task.
Bottom Line — Go For A System Your Team Can Use
The whole point of using workflow management software is to eliminate any discrepancies in your processes and take productivity to the next level. Keep a checklist of important questions handy when you go for the trial run.
Remember, if it overcomplicates the system and entails an unjustified cost, you don’t want it. Your WMS should be scalable, relevant, cross-compatible, and above all, secure. Go ahead and explore from this list of Workflow Management Software, and pick the one that suits your needs the best.
