Are inefficient workflows and processes draining you down? If yes, then know that you are not alone. When demands in your workplace escalates, you might be like Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen, running fast so you can stay where you’re. This hustle that outdated office tech and burdensome procedures cause is unnecessary. Although upgrading comes with a cost, not doing it can be more expensive. Because of that, many businesses lose between 15% and 30% of their annual revenue.
Examples of Inefficiencies and What Causes Them?
Many things can slow down or even bring your workflows to a stop. These include team members, silo mentality, misalignment, redundancy, and bottlenecks, to name a few. If you don’t deal with all these in the business organization, they can result in the following inefficiencies:
- Ineffective communication
- Outdated technology
- Slow processes of making decisions
- Low customer satisfaction
- Higher operational costs
Strategies Businesses Use to Improve Inefficient Workflows
Improving inefficient workflows is no cakewalk. Why? Because it needs careful execution and planning. To help you improve those workflows, here are strategies you can use:
1. Use Qlik Sense Platform
This is one of the leading platforms for data visualization and business intelligence (BI). It uses the power of data so as to drive businesses forward. If you pair it with Process Mining Tool for Qlik Sense, the platform can play a transformative role of optimizing strategies.
2. Measure Workflow Efficiency
Measuring efficiency of workflows is important for ensuring success of business organizations. It enables businesses assess effectiveness of improvements and even identify key areas, which need further changes. By simply implementing KPIs (key performance indicators), businesses will gain invaluable insights into workflow efficiencies. You can use KPIs in various ways, like:
- Collecting customers’ feedback
- Identifying opportunities so as to minimize unnecessary handovers and simplify processes
- Noting down pain points, fostering culture of improvement, and gathering improvement suggestions
- Identifying areas and bottlenecks where you need to improve so as to streamline workflows
- Providing insights into efficiency of workflows and helping businesses in areas where they consistently miss deadlines
3. Set Priorities and Clear Goals
Set priorities right so you can ensure your team concentrates on important tasks. This, in turn, will help everyone align all their efforts towards reaching their goals; thus, improving productivity. To set clear goals, you will need to take several steps. First, define them by ensuring they are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound). Second, break them into more actionable steps. This will make your goals more manageable. Last but not least, communicate those goals. Make sure everyone understands them to minimize confusion.
4. Assess all the Existing Processes
The first and important step to ensure your team do their work properly is to review every existing process and revise them when necessary. This involves understanding what the processes do and how to carry them out. With this, you can identify issues and develop effective ways that can help to prevent them from happening again.
In conclusion, identifying as well as addressing inefficient workflows in business isn’t all about reducing the costs. It can be about unlocking the potential of your team. By assessing existing processes, setting priorities/clear goals, measuring workflow efficiency, and using platforms, like Qlik Sense, you can drive profitability, engage employees, and streamline operations.
