Articles Archives - Gravity Flow

Jun 12 2017

How to Get Started Building and Organizing Your New Workflow

If you have never undertaken the process of creating a workflow from start to finish, it may feel like a complicated process.

While building a workflow can take time, especially when it comes to planning, processes, and testing, it isn’t as daunting as it seems if you know what you’re doing. The key is in knowing how to start.

You first need to know how complicated your workflow will need to be, which means you will have to understand the difference between a simple project workflow versus a complicated process workflow.

After that, it comes down to choosing the right visual representation of your workflow and then following a few basic steps.

Projects vs. Processes

Building a workflow for a single project is not the same as creating a workflow for a business process, which is why it’s important to understand the difference.

In order to build a project workflow, you would generally need to group a series of one-off tasks in order to accomplish a goal. This might include:

Identifying the ultimate outcome
Creating a series of steps involved to reach the outcome
Listing any one-off tasks and documents involved in each step
Identifying the order that each task needs to occur in
Assigning tasks to a person, if necessary (some tasks may be automated)
Setting a duration for each task and step

Projects are often completed using project management strategies and software (like Microsoft Project). Project management involves the initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, control, and closing of a team’s specific goal, usually involving a certain set of criteria that needs to be met.

The biggest difference between project management and process management is that project management has a temporary, constrained scope, quality, budget, and timeframe.

Creating a workflow for a process, on the other hand, involves defining processes that need to be managed throughout the organisation, which may include repeatable projects and grouped tasks. It also requires visualizing, measuring, controlling, reporting, and, improving that process over time, with the goal to increase productivity and/or decrease costs.

While both are somewhat different, both project and process workflows can be organized in similar ways, using visual flowcharts and diagrams to document each stage, step and task.

Choosing the Right Flowchart or Diagram

Flowcharts and other diagrams can be used for project planning, system mapping, process documentation, or creating almost any type of workflow. But, not all flowcharts are created equal in terms of helping you achieve your ultimate outcome.

There are a few different flowchart types, including your basic flowchart for project planning as well as those more suitable for organizing complex processes, like the swimlane diagram.

Your basic flowchart looks something like this:

They can be useful when organizing a process that involves a series of tasks, like processing a customer’s order. You can even create a workflow to track your other workflows, like so:

Projects and grouped tasks benefit the most from simple flowcharts, like waterfall charts. Processes involving more than one person typically require swim lane diagrams. Here’s a simple example of a PTO process:

Swimlane diagrams can help you clarify even very complex processes. Here’s another example with more steps and roles:

How to Build Your Workflow Flowchart

Here is a general idea of what the organization process should look like from start to finish:

Step 1: Name your workflow. The name should help you identify your ultimate outcome, but don’t worry too much about this, as you can change it later.

Step 2: Identify start and end points. What events or tasks will trigger the process to start? How will you know when your outcome has been reached?

Step 3: Identify what is needed to perform the process. What tasks, documents, and actual materials (paper, pens, automation software, programs, etc.) are needed to complete the process?

Step 4: List any tasks and activities. What needs to be done to accomplish your outcome? State these in a verb/object format (e.g. approve the request, sign the paperwork, etc.). Each task may get its own box in your flowchart or diagram, so you can group minor tasks together if necessary.

Step 5: Identify the order tasks should be accomplished. Should certain tasks be finished before others can be started? Or can certain tasks be accomplished at the same time?

Step 6: Identify roles. Who will be involved in what tasks or activities? Some tasks may involve simple automation tools and no human approval, while others will need a review and sign off. Identify who is responsible for which task and process in your workflow. Add a swim lane for each role in your swimlane diagram.

Step 7: Identify your flowchart type and draw it out. Again, swimlane diagrams are best for processes, while a simple flowchart may work for projects or other smaller workflows. You can either draw one out by hand or use a tool like Visio, gliffy.com or draw.io.

Step 8: Review and finalize. After you’ve set everything up, you will want to test your workflow and review it to ensure that all processes are efficient and achievable and that everything accomplishes what it needs to accomplish.

Step 9: Use a workflow automation tool to create your actual workflow. Once your workflow is finalized, you can use workflow automation software to set up your actual workflow and integrate it with other software. Don’t forget to test your systems to make sure there are no hiccups throughout the process.

For swim lane diagrams, more guidance may be needed to truly capture all the roles and responsibilities. Further tips for building an effective swimlane diagram can be found here and here.

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind that the more complicated the process, the more complicated the flowchart will be, which means that you may either need to create a large flowchart or break down the process into multiple diagrams.

The process isn’t necessarily complicated once you get the hang of it, but it can be time-consuming, especially during the planning stages. Make sure you involve key team members in the brainstorm and planning processes before you start building your workflow or designing your flowcharts.

The more preliminary work you can do before you put pen to paper (or processes into your automation tool) the easier and faster your implementation and testing will be.

May 29 2017

Which Workflow Process Will Work Best for Your Organization?

How effective is your workflow at saving your organization time?

A good workflow should allow you to easily map out the progress of a project from beginning to end, helping you speed up the approval process and reduce errors that prevent your team from working efficiently.

But there’s more than one type of workflow out there, and not all workflows will be best suited for your processes or the people accomplishing workflow tasks. Each type of workflow has its benefits and setbacks, as each is designed to handle tasks with varying degrees of complexities.

Deciding which one will work best for your organization will come down to understanding your team’s strengths and weaknesses as well as the intricacies of the tasks themselves and how much buffer room you need for mistakes.

Here is a quick breakdown of the three main types of workflows and what to look for when choosing the right one.

Download this helpful resource: Which Workflow Does This Process Need?

Types of Workflows

There are essentially two main categories that a workflow can fall under:

Sequential – A sequential workflow represents a series of steps performed one after another until the last activity is completed. The exact order of execution may vary, but tasks will always be sequential. This type of workflow is usually built around the same style and format as a flow chart, which ensures that there are no backward steps and that everyone is only moving forward within the business flow.

State Machine – A state machine workflow represents a set of states, transitions, and actions that can be executed non-sequentially. This means that they’re not necessarily performed one after another, but are instead triggered by specific actions and states. One state is assigned as the start state, and then, based on an event, a transition is made to another state. This type of workflow is traditionally more complex but will allow people to return to a specific point if they make a mistake.

For the most part, sequential workflows tend to be more common than state machine, due to the fact that they’re easier to design and maintain. Sequential workflows also tend to be faster, as progress continues forward at a set pace (usually deadline-driven) and it’s usually clear when a project or task starts and ends.

Tasks that are part of a state machine workflow, on the other hand, need to be approved (meet a certain state) in order to progress forward, and if denied, may be sent backwards in the process. This means potentially more time spent bouncing tasks between people or departments for approval.

This doesn’t mean sequential is always better than state machine. There are times in the process where mistakes will be made, and having the ability to send a task backwards one or two steps can be more efficient than having to start the process over.

It can also be easier to add steps to the process with a state machine workflow, which makes them a great choice for organizations that don’t have set processes in place or are still experimenting with their workflows (though they can be more difficult to design from the beginning a process).

Deciding on the Right Workflow

So how do you know when to choose a sequential workflow or state machine?

The good news is that you can set different workflows for different processes (so you’re not stuck with something that doesn’t work), but knowing which workflow will be the most efficient for a certain process will depend on a few factors, including:

The good news is that you can set different workflows for different processes Click To Tweet

The complexity of tasks – Is it a matter of uploading a file to a server and notifying another team member, or does the task require a series of approvals before it can be finalized?
The efficiency of your team – How many mistakes can you expect from your team? Are they prone to forget uploading a file or taking too long to approve a task?
The timeline of the steps – Do you need things done as quickly as possible or are you more concerned with things being approved and completed in the right way? Do certain tasks need to be completed before other ones or can they be accomplished in any order?

Think of sequential workflows like a connect-the-dot game, while state machine workflows are similar to a puzzle. If you need things done quickly and you don’t expect there to be many mistakes in the process, and the tasks are not too demanding (e.g. you only need to upload a file or notify another team member), a sequential workflow will move things along quickly.

If, on the other hand, tasks are more complex – budgets need approval, files must be reviewed or created and sent back for review, and so on – or you expect there to be bottlenecks in the process (something didn’t get approved when it should have), a state machine workflow will allow you to add or retrace your steps, or give you more time to complete a process.

You also need to consider whether or not tasks need to be accomplished in any specific order. For example, if you had contract approval process that required three approvals from the legal team, finance team and upper management, could a manager approve something before the legal team sees it? If not, you may need a sequential workflow.

Keep in mind that sequential workflows are easier to design from the get-go and are more predictable: you know what you’re getting when you build your workflow diagram or flowchart. That may be a good enough reason to stick to a sequential workflow.

Alternatively, state machine workflows are more heavily influenced by external factors (like people), which create multiple opportunities for adjustments if you’re not quite sure about the effectiveness of your current workflow.

In short: Assess your needs.

Simple tasks, low risk of mistakes and a need for sequence add up to a sequential workflow most of the time, while more complicated tasks or approval processes may require an equally complex workflow to match.

Get the bonus content: Quiz: Which Workflow Does This Process Need?

Final Thoughts

Remember that your workflow should ultimately save you time and energy. If you have implemented a sequential workflow but you find that it doesn’t leave enough room for mistakes or bottlenecks, and you have to continually start from the beginning, you may need something more complex (or vice versa).

You can also design and implement different workflows as needed, depending on your needs. If you find that certain processes simply aren’t working with your chosen method, try implementing another solution to see if that solves the problem.

Keep your team in mind throughout the decision-making process, as they will be involved with the implementation of tasks and may have a say in which workflow works best for them.

May 15 2017

5 Reasons Why You Need Workflow Automation

There are many benefits that come along with optimizing your workflow, including an increase in productivity. But the biggest outcome of an effective workflow is money.

The biggest outcome of an effective workflow is money. Click To Tweet

Research shows that inefficient workflows can cost up to 30% of your company’s revenue. This means that one missed email or delayed signature could result in lost revenue, and any task that’s delayed is more work for someone down the line.

So how can companies ensure that their workflows are truly optimized? Automation. Automating workflows removes the human element from the equation and creates a reliable process that can cut costs where it matters most.

Here are a few of the reasons why automation matters when it comes to your bottom line, and what you can do to make sure you’re automating the right processes.

Here are 6 Ways Workflow Automation Tools Reduce Costs:

How Workflows Impact Revenue

How your company spends its time matters. Most businesses are deadline driven, which means that the faster tasks can get done, the more things will be accomplished, and the better the end results will be (which is a win for your customers).

In an article for Inbound Logistics, Tom Heine, CEO of Aljex Software, describes how each minute counts when it comes to saving money:

“Every function employees deal with has a cost in hourly pay, salary, or commission. Whether they are paid for increments of time is immaterial. Time is still money. That’s because there are only so many minutes in a day. And, if that day includes lots of repeated functions that could be automated but are not, the result is more loads that could have been dispatched, more revenue that could have been earned, or—at the very least—missed opportunities.”

Effective workflows provide the necessary triggers that make things happen when they should, which means that opportunities aren’t missed and money is being spent to further productive operations.

But the only way to ensure that a workflow is truly effective is to make it run with minimal energy from your employees. If your workflow doesn’t automatically handle tasks, send alerts or trigger processes, your team will waste more time checking and double-checking the workflow, making the cost-savings obsolete.

Why You Need Automation

The key, therefore, is not just having a workflow, but having an automated workflow. Here are the biggest reasons why.

Reason #1: Eliminating Distractions

According to one survey by Think Money, employees waste 759 hours each year due to workplace distractions. The most significant reasons given by workers for why they waste time include not being challenged, no incentives to work harder, no satisfaction from the job and being downright bored, the latter of which can result from piles of tedious tasks that provide no immediate incentive.

Automation eliminates tedious tasks from employees, improving engagement and allowing them to focus on more skill-related activities.

Reason #2: Reducing Customer Service Burden

One of the biggest benefits to using automation is experienced by the customer service department. Studies show that 67% of customers have hung up the phone out of frustration that they could not talk to a real person, and 75% of customers believe it takes too long to reach a live agent.

You want to make people available to reach customers, but you also want customer service to happen quickly, ensuring that questions are answered and people are reached in a timely manner.

Many customer service representatives or help-desk personnel can become bogged down in administrative tasks. Automation eliminates the slower processes (paperwork, notifications, etc.) that prevent them from doing their job.

Reason #3: Improving Management Efficiency

Managers often spend their days attempting to keep employees on task, putting out fires or otherwise trying to make processes more efficient. Making sure that everyone is engaged, on target, and following through on their respective duties can be difficult.

Workflow automation gives managers better insight into the work done by members of the team and allows for the monitoring of the business variables so sensible business decisions can be made. Up-to-date information limits problems from getting out of hand and provides managers with essential information requisite for steering any business to the right direction.

Reason #4: Increasing Production Capacity

Some businesses face limitations when it comes to processing orders or requests or otherwise completing tasks on time. Some go to the length of hiring extra employees during busy seasons or investing in expensive software in order to increase their production capacity.

Often, the problem isn’t the need for more workers or even more expensive systems. Streamlining the process, eliminating redundancies and unnecessary tasks can actually make the most use out of the people and systems already in place.

Automating workflows to fit production needs can save costs that would otherwise be put towards unnecessary payroll and software.

Reason #5: Shifting the Blame (Appropriately)

When things go wrong, it can be easy to blame employees or even customers for backups in the workflow process. While many workflow problems happen as the result of human error (which automation can solve, too), some issues can happen with a poorly implemented workflow itself.

Automating manual workflow processes can help you spot flaws in the workflow faster. For example, if documents sent to a certain department for approval should be saving you time, but things still are slow, even with automation, it could point to an overall workflow issue.

Automation allows you to identify the bottlenecks in your operations faster so that you don’t waste time on tasks that aren’t actually benefiting your company.

Choosing the Right Automation Tool

Of course, knowing which processes need to be automated and which tool will help is half of the battle. If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to incorporating workflow automation, ask yourself these questions.

1. Where is our biggest pain point?

There are automated solutions for every part of your business, so determining which automation tools will help you streamline your operations comes down to determining your biggest areas of slowdown.

First, look at your workflow. Where is there a poor response time? Where are customers getting angry? Where are sales floundering? If there are any minor tasks slowing down operations, that’s a good indicator that automation is needed.

2. Does our current workflow solve our pain points?

You may already have processes in your workflow that solve your pain points; you’re just not using them (or you’re not using them correctly). Take some time to assess your current tools and whether or not they’re saving you time.

You may find that you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a workflow automation system, but that a small fix or automation tool that integrates with your current system can resolve the issue rather painlessly.

3. Do our automation tools have enough support?

Finally, you need to make sure that your employees understand how to use your chosen automation tools appropriately, they can incorporate them into their current workload, and that they know who to go to for support.

You shouldn’t have to maintain your own systems. Before shelling out money on automation software, have your team test the tool and try out scenarios that your company is likely to encounter. If you encounter problems, make sure that the team behind the automation tools can handle it quickly and easily so you don’t have to do more work than necessary.

Don’t miss: 6 Ways Workflow Automation Tools Reduce Costs:

Final Thoughts

Workflow automation tools are designed to save you time, and most importantly, money. If your current workflow processes or tools aren’t doing that, then it may be time to look for an alternative.

But if you’re not using any form of automation, you should be. Automating your workflow can save you on labor as well as boost your revenue and otherwise streamline your processes so things can run smoothly.

If you’re not currently automating tasks as a part of your workflow, and you’re unsure where to start, take an inventory of your pain points to determine which automation tools will help and which tasks will make the most impact on your bottom line.

May 01 2017

How Employees Fit Into Your Workflow Management Process

Employees are the lifeblood of your organization, and if they’re not happy and engaged, the whole company suffers.

A large part of employee engagement comes down to the use of time. Being overworked is one of the top 10 most common employee complaints, and employees frequently lament processes that lead to being overworked. Along those same lines, you might also hear things like:

“The process is too time-consuming”
“I’m still waiting on feedback”
“I didn’t know what I was suppose to do”
“I don’t have time to complete this project”

One way to minimize the time constraints placed on employees that often lead to dissatisfaction is to incorporate workflow automation. According to a study done by ADP, 55% of modern employees feel positively about the replacement of repetitive tasks with automation.

But, that doesn’t mean that you should cut employees out of the process entirely. In fact, employees should have more control over the workflow process and be more involved in planning and initiating workflow in the workplace. Here’s why…

Here are 7 Tips for Improving Employee Feedback Processes:

Why Employees Are Essential to Workflow

Employees should have more say in the workflow process for a few reasons:

1. They are the ones who have to follow the process. Workflows should help employees do their jobs better, not stop them from working. If employees dislike a workflow process or it adds to their burden, it won’t save them time or improve their job performance. Bringing them into the equation can help maximize effort and reduce time loss.

2. They know which tasks are the most difficult. Tools and other forms of automation should save effort for employees and no one knows how hard their jobs are better than they do. Creating workflows based on job descriptions or expectations may not always help. Having employees develop or address workflow-related problems directly creates real change in the day-to-day operations of your company.

3. They know when things are working. Employees are often better at identifying stress points in the organization than managers are because they work up close and personal with the processes that cause stress. This means they also know when processes are working well and when there’s bottlenecks preventing them from moving forward.

Consider employees your front line of defense when it comes to workflow. If upper management are the only ones setting the pace, they may feel neglected, ignored, or otherwise stressed by processes that they have no control over. By inviting them into the workflow process, you can gain insider information about how your company runs and which processes can be improved for maximum effect.

Consider employees your front line of defense when it comes to workflow. Click To Tweet

How to Get Employees Involved In the Process

In order to get employees more actively involved in workflow development, you have to prove to them that workflows will benefit their lives. Some of those benefits include:

Reduced multitasking – Studies show that working on multiple complex tasks at the same time obstructs daily workflow severely. Workflows can handle the tedious tasks that would otherwise overload the system, allowing employees to focus on the essentials that make up their roles.
Improved communication – Oftentimes employees don’t know who to alert when tasks are completed, or waste time notifying other departments when workflow automation can handle those processes automatically.
Improved focus – Studies show that the typical office worker gets only 11 minutes of actual work time between interruption, and it takes an average of 25 minutes to return to the original task after the interruption. By reducing or eliminating processes that cause distractions, you can improve employee focus and save time throughout the workday.

You can also give them more responsibility in the planning process. Have them develop flowcharts or workflow diagrams for their departments or their individual tasks so you have a better idea of what they experience and what processes are actually involved.

It’s also important to get regular feedback from them before, during, and after a workflow is developed. Workflows may change over time, tasks may need to be notified, and employees may leave or change positions, requiring new employees to be notified of completed projects.

How to Get Employee Feedback in the Process

Keeping employees in the loop will maximize your current workflow’s effectiveness while also helping you pinpoint areas in the process than can be improved over time. Here are a few of the best ways to harness employee feedback to keep your workflows up-to-date.

1. Make it easy for employees to give feedback. You may even consider developing a feedback workflow if necessary, but whichever method you choose, make the process quick and easy for employees to submit feedback about current tasks. Encourage them to speak up if they notice patterns in the current process that aren’t as efficient as they could be.

2. Let them know if feedback is being reviewed or accepted. Employees should know whether or not their feedback is being considered or alternatively, why it was rejected. Management may also need time to assess feedback or develop a solution based on current feedback, in which case they should still have a method for letting employees know their voice was heard.

3. Create a feedback culture and listen to employees. Perhaps most importantly, companies should strive to listen to employees and actually implement workflow suggestions wherever possible. Remember, employees know better than anyone which tasks are burdensome and which are inefficient. Organizations should strive to listen to their needs and address concerns regularly.

Including a feedback loop somewhere in the organization for employees to speak up about things that concern them will not only improve morale, but also help them feel more engaged in the company as a whole.

Don’t miss: 7 Tips for Improving Employee Feedback Processes:

Final Thoughts

Saving time and energy throughout the organization is an important component to engagement. Happy employees are productive employees. The best way to save them time is to get them involved in the workflow development process.

Employees are intuitively aware of which processes are hindering their performance, which ones can be improved and which should be scrapped all together. Getting feedback from them or using them to create new workflows can improve processes company-wide.

Giving them more ownership over their workflows can help reduce mental overload and improve their focus and job performance, which will only benefit the company (and the employees themselves) in the long run.

Apr 17 2017

Why Lost Time Seriously Affects Your Profitability

Employers lose 4.5 hours per employee each week due to time theft. This is where employees are being paid for non-productive hours.

Delays in production, inefficient workflows, distractions and other interruptions in the workplace – even minor ones – can add up to significant lost time throughout the year, costing companies thousands of dollars in the process.

According to Paychex, 16.1% of all time loss happens to administrative staff, 9.3% to support staff, 8.8% to middle management, 8.3% to temporary employees and 7.5% to upper management. The average amount of time wasted per department is 3 or more hours every day.

Assuming you paid a full-time employee $15 per hour, a 3-hour daily loss would cost $11,250 in lost revenue annually per employee.

Even a loss of an hour a day could set you back $3,750 each year. Click To Tweet

The biggest areas of time loss are unproductive meetings, inefficient email practices and general interruptions in the workflow. The good news is that by addressing these areas and looking into the workflow itself, you can regain lost time and improve your overall productivity.

Don’t miss: 5 Tips for Minimizing Daily Workplace Time Loss.

Meetings

On average, employees spend 31 hours a month in meetings. One study by Atlassian found that half of those surveyed believed that meetings were the number one time-waster at the office. Atlassian also estimated that the salary cost of unnecessary meetings was around $37 billion annually.

In his article for Psychology Today, executive coach Ray Williams noted that meetings often expand to fill the time available, making it difficult to cut down on time-wasting activities. “If you set an hour for the meeting, people will use the hour, regardless of how much is on the agenda,” he wrote.

The biggest issue is that many of the agenda items that are addressed in your typical business meeting can be handled with more time-efficient processes throughout the workday. Information can be given via email and visual workflows can help minimize unnecessary tasks, removing them from the meeting agenda altogether.

Not everyone who attends a meeting needs to be there, either. Understanding the role that each employee plays in the workflow may reduce the number of hours or employees involved in meetings, saving additional payroll costs for the company.

Because meetings are such a considerable area of time loss, it’s important for organizations to improve their workflow processes to reduce unnecessary time spent in meetings throughout the workweek.

Emails

In the same survey by Atlassian, inefficient email practices were also noted as a major factor for time loss. They found that an average of 16 minutes each day are spent refocusing on tasks after handling emails.

A survey by Adobe Systems Inc. found that employees spend 6.3 hours every day checking emails, and 87% of those polled, check their work emails outside the office.

According to Michelle Yeager of Career Valet, one the biggest time-wasters when it comes to emails is back-and-forth conversations, where asking questions about or clarifying project details can reduce productive hours otherwise spent working on said projects.

Considering that the average employee receives 147 emails per day and only deletes 71 of them (48%), inbox burden can also contribute to slow downs, especially if time is wasted searching through inboxes for the right email or resending emails that get lost in the fray.

Understanding your organization’s workflow (who should be doing what, when and who needs to be notified) can help minimize unnecessary emails sent and streamline the process, saving countless hours in the day.

Additionally, having a specific email workflow in place to minimize inbox burden can help employees stay on top of their work load and dwindle the amount of time spent curating their email inboxes.

Interruptions

According to a study by UC Irvine, people spend an average of 11 minutes on a project before they’re interrupted, and take 25 minutes to return to a reasonable level of productivity after an interruption has occurred. This loss is estimated to cost around $588 billion per year for U.S. workers.

Some of the biggest interruptions and distractions in the workplace include:

Too much work or being understaffed
Full inboxes or checking/sending emails
Office noises or other ambient distractions
Technology updates or crashes
Chatty co-workers
Time spent in meetings
Micromanaging from superiors

Micromanaging in particular – especially when combined with other distractions from the list, like sending emails to check in on workers – can waste hours of both employee and management’s time.

A study from Florida State University found that productivity and performance are at their peak during uninterrupted 90-minute intervals, but finding a hour-and-a-half of dedicated time each day isn’t always easy.

The key to reducing interruptions and “time locking” (setting aside those precious hours of uninterrupted work time every day) is to utilize your workflow to batch-process repetitive tasks. Batching or automating smaller tasks can eliminate the distractions that reduce productivity and help workers focus on larger projects.

Management should also look at any other habits or processes that invite distractions. For examples, frequent mistakes on projects can cause other employees to waste time fixing errors.

Using technology and automated processes in your workflow can curtail these burdens for employees.

Reduce your daily workplace time loss with these 5 tips:

Final Thoughts

Any lost time is lost revenue for your business. Ensuring that processes are in place to minimize losses will improve productivity and boost your bottom line throughout the year.

It’s important to have a streamlined workflow that can abbreviate smaller, time-consuming tasks and generally help the business run smoother.

If you’re not sure that your workflow is ideal, you may need to monitor workplace activities to assess slowdowns and track areas (or people) that are contributing to time loss and eating into revenue.

The ideal workflow will make sure that the right people are notified of upcoming deadlines or tasks in the right way, at the right time during the day, so that no extraneous energy is spent checking emails, attending meetings or otherwise being distracted during billable hours.