If you already use Google Apps for Work, you are used to simplicity, speed, and productivity. In fact, G Suite is so good for small business owners that you may think you have everything you need. Email, calendar, cloud storage, document sharing, instant messaging and video conferencing – what more could you want?
In fact, the majority of Google workflow users don’t feel the need to add any additional apps to their office suite. But you are probably experiencing a problem that you didn’t even realize had an answer right within Google Apps.
For example, how do you handle leave requests? An employee sends an email to his manager. She sends an email back saying ‘approved’. He then forwards that email to HR who adds it to their cloud HR software, copies the data onto a Google Sheet to track leave balances and reminds the employee to create an automated email response in Gmail.
Not exactly smooth as silk, is it?
The one add-on you really need for your Google Apps? A workflow tool.
Upgrade from Manual
The leave request process is an example of a manual workflow. Data has to be pushed and pulled manually by different people in the process. When you think about your organization, you likely have lots of these types of processes. Purchase Orders, Employee Evaluations, Content Requests, all sorts of things get passed around manually on a typical path.
But small and medium businesses (SMBs) often ignore the impact an automated workflow solution can have on their business because they are not used to thinking about automation.
G Suite is not built to automate tasks, so it becomes chaotic when workloads get heavier or workflows get complex. While manual tasks might work out when your team is small and everyone knows what to do, the more people you have, the more chaos you add. This leads to errors and slipups on routine processes. Apply this to a critical process like sales invoicing and you’ve got a big problem on your hands.
The Need For An Automated Workflow App
If you want to set the foundation for your company as it grows, you can’t overlook the impact of creating automated workflows. An automated workflow allows you to create a smart form that collects and distributes all the data required and connects it to a predefined path. You can set up tasks for humans or systems.
To revisit the leave application, an automated workflow tool like Kissflow could automatically capture the initiator’s name and details. It could also calculate the number of days requested and show the leave balance. The request would automatically go from the initiator’s manager and then onto HR, with no need for manual emails. You can even integrate Kissflow with your cloud-based HR tool to automatically update data there.
An automated workflow tool for Google Apps will not only correct any chaos you have currently, but it will also give you the foundation to create a culture that looks for new ways to automate regular processes in your company.
Not All Workflow Platforms Fit the G Suite Feel
Once you realize that you need a workflow platform and it’s not just a nice-to-have, you want to pick one that matches with the rest of your G Suite.
A cloud-based workflow app like Kissflow is deeply integrated with Google apps, comes for a fraction of a price of traditional workflow platforms, and requires no technical expertise to use.
Here are more reasons why a well-built cloud solution will deliver value to your workflow processes:
Intelligently Designed
Kissflow follows the Material Design standards set out by Google and used in all of their native office apps. When your users log into Kissflow, they will not only get the same intuitive functionality they expect from a Google App, it will also look like one.
Deep Integrations
When you choose Kissflow to work with your G Suite, you can automatically sync all of your G Suite users instantly. Kissflow can also be directly connected to Google Drive to share attachments and collaborative documents. With Zapier, you can also make custom integrations with Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Google Sheets. Not to mention, users can take advantage of a Single Sign-On option which makes it easy on your IT team and users who don’t have to remember another password.
Scalability
Kissflow is built on the Google Cloud system which means you never need to worry about growing too big for it. Whether you’re a startup wanting to set a good foundation or a quickly expanding enterprise, Kissflow can grow with you – and you only pay more when you add more users. Software often performs differently when catering to one user or 1000, but when the Google infrastructure is the backbone, you have plenty of room to grow.
Reporting
While Google Analytics might help you with your website, there is nothing native to G Suite that helps you monitor your regular business processes. Kissflow can step in to give you exact metrics about how your processes are running, where the bottlenecks are, and how to make improvements. Reports help companies see valuable data, interpret it for their real-world purpose, and base their decision on the data patterns.
Small and medium business owners are waking up to the fact that automated workflows are not something organizations can live without for long. The longer you spend in manual process, the more time you lose in becoming the best you can be, and the further you delay becoming a fully automated company.
Try Kissflow Workflow to see how easy it is. Within just a few weeks, you’ll realize that it is just as essential as giving employees Gmail. Regardless of what size you company is, you should power up your Google apps with a workflow suite that can help your enterprise transition to the next level of greatness.
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