In pretty much any workplace today–whatever the industry, size, or location–workflow management and automation are either already used or being considered.
The average business user is now empowered with the power to design workflow and achieve great, consistent results from common workplace processes.
For example, Kissflow has made it easy to create workflows with a WYSIWYG form designer, drag-and-drop modules, and an easy-to-understand visual design. But with certain processes, designing the workflow from scratch can be difficult, bordering on downright impossible.
The benefits of a streamlined workflow include:
That’s why we’ve compiled this list of workflow examples for common business processes. With graphical representations, You’ll see what each process typically needs to include, which will give you a head start when you get into the ‘process designer’ mode.
Businesses across all industries have various workflows for their critical tasks. Some can be identical, while others can be unique to a particular organization/industry. Examples of workflows include leave request management, reimbursement management, employee onboarding, etc.
Here are the 10 workflow examples for common business processes:
When onboarding new employees, it is important to make the process as smooth as possible. A report by Frevvo has found that employees with negative onboarding experiences tend to quit early. If you are looking to improve your existing onboarding experience, you need to set up automated workflows that are standardized and consistent.
Here is a new employee onboarding sample workflow:
Workflow action:
HRs can ensure that all the processes in the onboarding are completed.
Roles:
Pro Tips:
Keep the candidate informed about the whole process
Sales orders play a major role in every business, irrespective of the industry. It is a waste of time and productivity if you are still stuck to manual sales order generation processes like email, excel sheets, and forms. Automated sales order processing workflows can eliminate a lot of paperwork, leading to faster processing.
Here is a sales order processing sample workflow:
Workflow action:
Roles:
Pro Tips:
In the ongoing hybrid workforce, organizations often need to authorize travel requests. Manually getting it done can lead to costly mistakes. Employees can overestimate their travel budget and file for reimbursement above their cap. You can automate the travel request process through a workflow where you can upload receipts, and employees can track their ongoing travel expenses using their cameras.
Here is a travel request authorization sample workflow:
The employee needs to fill out a travel request form with the purpose, and date
Workflow action:
The finance department can make sure they process the exact reimbursement that aligns with the budget cap for each employee.
Roles:
Pro Tips:
Store the invoices at a place where the finance can access them for processing the reimbursement.
With time-off or vacation requests, the goal of the process is to approve planned, scheduled days off. Without a workflow system, employees typically send requests through email, and the respective boss/coordinator/approver maintains a log through spreadsheets.
Here’s a vacation request sample workflow:
Form data to collect:
Workflow actions:
A user-made decision on whether the leave is approved
Roles:
Pro tips:
Sample workflow of Document approvals are a common, everyday task in businesses across industry verticals, but they tend to slow operations down. An email request system is only going to make things slower, so what you need is a workflow like this one:
Form data to collect:
Workflow actions:
Leaders should be able to review, approve, or reject an item. They should also be able to quickly ask contextual questions. Rejection can be set to trigger an ‘update document’ task allocated to the initiator, who will submit a new draft for approval.
Roles:
The number of workflow steps depends on the complexity of the document, but you usually need at least two people to look at it.
Pro Tips:
This business process example is a little more complex than the previous ones, as it’ll need to include triggers from incoming customer emails containing POs. This process involves two goals: providing the service/product requested in the PO, and generating the respective invoice.
Form data to collect:
Workflow actions:
Roles:
Pro tips:
Just like the second workflow example of document approvals, expense claims are an ideal candidate for a workflow management system. You’ll see in the workflow diagram that this is a simple, straightforward, predictable process.
Field data to collect:
Actions
Roles:
Pro tips:
If you’re looking to create a workflow using powerful workflow management software like Kissflow Workflow, these illustrated workflow examples should be all you need. However, note that only your imagination can limit you–all you need to do is pick workflow automation and build it just the way you want.
With Kissflow’s easy-to-use interface, you’ll be designing your own workflows in no time!