What is Workflow and Why is it Important Within Your Association Management?

Recently, the term “workflow” has gained traction within the business community. And while the majority of business owners can intellectually understand the fundamentals of workflow and why it is important, it is challenging to completely comprehend it until one has seen it in action. 

According to Wikipedia, workflow “consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information.” Simply put, workflow is the steps that are involved in the process of getting work done. A business workflow is a repeatable procedure that consists of a series of tasks that routinely need to be completed in one specific and cohesive sequence. Workflows are useful for guaranteeing that important processes are completed the right way—every time. 

Workflows help streamline and automate repeatable tasks within a company, decreasing room for errors and increasing overall efficiency. This, in turn, drastically improves a company, allowing managers to make quicker and more intelligent decisions and empowering employees to collaborate in a more productive way. However, developing a successful workflow is no easy task. It can often be incredibly challenging, as it requires that someone see the big picture while concurrently paying attention to a plethora of small details that go into it.

Creating a workflow for standard procedures that are repeated often is an excellent idea. It not only streamlines tasks but also makes it very easy for everyone within a business to understand their role in a project as well as everyone else’s involved. Workflows can be designed for one person or a group of people whose roles depend on each other to complete a project. Writing down the steps is not exactly a workflow, but it is a good start.

There are applications that help companies streamline these tasks, such as ClickUp. ClickUp, an all-in-one project management, allows for all of your work to be in one place, including tasks, documents, chats, goals, & more. Productivity apps like ClickUp are entirely customizable and allow every type of team to work together while using their own space. Products like ClickUp increase accountability and reduce micromanagement, allowing managers to assign tasks for employees or employees assigning tasks for themselves. This task manager sets due dates, sends reminders based on those due dates, and provides a seamless process until each task or project is completed.

Communication within the workplace is essential because it affects every other aspect of a company. Unfortunately, in some businesses, miscommunication is the main conflict among managers and employees. However, by creating a workflow, the visibility of processes and responsibility drastically increase workplace communication. Excellent communication, in turn, improves business operations, ensuring that each job is completed by the correct people, in the correct order, and within a specified amount of time.

How to Implement Workflow

Even though most business owners understand the importance of workflow, it often takes a backseat to more prompt and pressing business operations. Oftentimes this can happen because business owners feel as though they are already operating sufficiently enough without a clearly defined workflow. However, if you are a business owner, setting up and enhancing your workflow may be what sets you apart from your competition. 

If you want to decrease errors, increase efficiency, and ensure that important processes are completed the right way every time, it starts with creating a workflow.