Why It Matters
Without defined workflows, processes depend on individual knowledge and habits. If the person who “just knows” how something works is unavailable, the process stalls or gets done inconsistently. Workflows make processes transferable, trainable, and measurable. They also expose inefficiencies: when you map out a workflow, you often discover unnecessary approval steps, bottlenecks where work queues up behind one person, or handoff points where information gets lost. Defining your workflows is the first step toward improving them. Improving them is the first step toward automating them.
Example
A design agency’s content approval workflow has five steps: a writer submits a draft, an editor reviews it, the account manager checks it against the client brief, the client reviews and provides feedback, and the final version is scheduled for publication. Each step has a clear owner, a defined handoff, and a time limit. When the team maps this workflow in their project management tool, they discover that the account manager check adds two days to the process but rarely catches issues the editor missed. They remove the step, cutting turnaround time by forty percent without any drop in quality.
See also: process automation for how defined workflows get handed to software, and Digital Royalty’s business automation services if you want help mapping and automating your own processes. Back to the glossary.
