Think back to when you were in school, given worksheet after worksheet to fill the day. This is often referred to as “busy work” and it’s meant to keep you, well…. busy. We all thought that after we graduated busy work would be a thing of the past. Unfortunately, though it looks different, it’s still around us and can actually take up a significant amount of our time.
To be clear, adult/professional busy work does have a purpose. Things like data entry, sending emails, creating support tickets, filing documents, etc. are all very important to keep the organization running. However, it’s still busy work in the sense that it can be mindless, repetitive, and tedious. When a large percentage of your day is consumed by busy work, productivity decreases drastically, as does morale. Luckily, there are a few options available to you to help with these tedious tasks, streamline processes, and free up time to focus on high-priority tasks: OnBase Workflow, and Robotic Process Automation.
What is OnBase Workflow?
OnBase by Hyland Software is a versatile Enterprise Content Management tool. One of the most popular features is Workflow which gives organizations the opportunity to create simple processes in-platform. Generally speaking, Workflow is best suited for document-driven processes and any process you want to create without having to write complex code. A rich set of point-and-click configurable rules and actions allows business processes to be quickly automated with no need for custom programming.
OnBase Workflow helps organizations monitor the status of items through customizable, real-time notifications. In addition, Workflow can assist in prioritizing work and establishing deadlines to help staff plan their time accordingly. A few other benefits include:
- Facilitation of business transaction processing: All related and relevant documents and data are presented to the user in one place for simple review, decision making, and analysis.
- Optimization of business processes: A customizable framework of rules helps efficiently route electronic documents and data to users without any extra steps or wasted resources.
- Promotion of accountability: All activity is automatically audited and stored in a digital file for future review. Any changes or interactions are tracked, keeping personnel accountable for any and all actions taken within the platform.
- Flexible deployment and access: For convenience and ease of implementation, OnBase Workflows can be accessed across multiple interfaces and are easily integrated with existing business applications.
- Enforcement of consistent business practices: With OnBase Workflow, your entire organization can follow processes in the same manner. This reduces variance in speed, efficiency, and quality while keeping the entire organization on the same path to success.
What is Robotic Process Automation?
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is used to automate repeatable tasks that do not require human judgement. Automation is more code-involved, making it the best option for more custom automation options. Hyland Software also offers RPA because some companies need more flexibility in their solution. Robotic Process Automation is a very complex solution that connects a series of tasks together to create a unified and streamlined process. Where Workflow can display data, send notifications, and track movement, RPA goes above and beyond to take over busy work entirely (in some cases). RPA can read, type into fields and forms, and press buttons. It can work independently or alongside a human to complete entire processes. RPA is hugely beneficial to organizations large and small, particularly those that frequently perform the same tasks over and over.
Hyland RPA takes the best of process automation and integrates it into a leading content services platform. By capturing, routing, and putting content to work as it comes into your organization, your intelligent automation efforts reach a whole new level of efficiency and effectiveness. Your company will see results in no time, allowing your employees to reallocate their time to high-priority tasks. RPA is a game-changer that can positively affect any department including:
- Customer service: Robotic Process Automation can be used to create a flow of automated tasks for both internal and external parties. In customer service, RPA can take in emails, organize/filter them, notify the proper internal team, automatically reply to the sender, create a support ticket, track timelines, and more. The complex process is handled by automation so that employees can get to work without worrying about missing a step or not meeting a deadline.
- Onboarding: All companies need to hire. The onboarding process can be lengthy and takes significant time from your HR department. By using RPA for onboarding, HR staff can move on to their next duty while automation gets the new hire set up for success. Documents can be automatically emailed, a new employee account can be created and auto-filled with information, status updates can be sent to HR, meetings can be set, and onboarding can become a busy work-free process.
- Data entry, collection, and analysis: RPA is an excellent tool for tasks that require precision, speed, and accuracy. Data entry is another given for most organizations, and it can take hours per day. Robotic Process Automation can step in and handle the load for you, leaving only quality control and checks to the employees. RPA can be used to collect data, place it in relevant locations, submit to reporting software, send notifications, and provide analysis of the reports. There is far less room for human error, even when large batches of data are in question.
- Product review and approval: RPA is successful in communicating between departments. In product development, there are often steps that involve someone outside of the team. RPA makes it possible to automatically send these people updates, timelines, statuses, drafts, and other files that streamline the process. Most of the basic communication can be handled by automation, leaving only the most important emails to the employees.
So, Should I Use OnBase Workflow or Robotic Process Automation?
This is the #1 question people ask when considering automating and streamlining processes. To make a long story short, chose Workflow for processes that don’t require (or that you don’t want to require) complex coding, and leave the truly custom stuff to Robotic Process Automation. Workflow was designed specifically to handle some of the most common tasks organizations must complete. However, it is not a comprehensive solution if you have more unique or specific problems. RPA is much better suited for multi-step, repetitive processes, especially those involving multiple apps or software.
The good news is that OnBase and RPA are compatible with both options, so you can transition later on if necessary. Both are highly configurable solutions that offer a lot of flexibility in what they offer. If you’re unsure which choice is best for your organization, feel free to reach out to our Customer Care/OnBase team. They will be happy to schedule a brief chat with you about your needs and goals, and they’ll help you come up with a plan for which solutions to implement. To learn more about OnBase, visit https://imagesoftinc.com/onbase/. To read more about RPA, check out https://imagesoftinc.com/rpa/.