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Efficient or Productive? People often confuse "efficiency" with "productivity." Let's differentiate the two. Setapp covers it nicely here: "Put simply, productivity is the quantity of work produced by a team, business or individual. Efficiency, on the other hand, refers to the resources used to produce that work." So you… View More

After fifteen years of working with customers on improving workflow efficiency and productivity, we can honestly say that every workflow situation is truly unique. There are similarities among every new hire process, expense request process, change request process, etc., but no one handles the same process exactly the same… View More

You've had that feeling. A key team member or executive unexpectedly announces they are leaving the organization for "new challenges" and gives their two-week notice. Your first thought is, "Uh oh. Who is going to replace them? How is their work going to get done?" Sometimes there is a clear replacement who can step… View More

Related: Why Change Is So Difficult in an Office (and How to Cope) Silos Are Wreaking Havoc on Your Business Processes Better Ways to… View More

Business process optimization is critical to ensuring process improvement projects meet the expected results. What is Business Process Optimization? Business Process Optimization (BPO) is the targeted redesign of processes to promote efficiency and strengthen the alignment of individual processes with overall strategy and goals. While the optimization… View More

Whether you're a manufacturer trying to innovate with new products or a marketing department trying to come up with the next killer campaign, managing innovative ideas without a consistent, reliable system can be frustrating at best.  Innovating with Automation Personally, I have a variety of methods for managing ideas from Google Keep to… View More

Quick Hits: Determine if you really need to hand off a task and, if you do, does it need to be handed off to a person, a pool, or a system. Make sure people receiving hand-offs are clear that they have an action to take and they have all the relevant information. Ensure people being assigned tasks have signed off on their specific responsibilities and timeframes during process… View More

Many of the positive impacts of workflow automation businesses expect are related to productivity, efficiency, accuracy, standardization, etc. But what impact, if any, does workflow automation have on employee morale? "Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients."  -Richard Branson Unhappy,… View More

For years now we have seen a push for companies to use cloud services in an effort to become entirely paperless operations. The reasons reducing paper consumption are well known: reducing carbon footprints, streamlining processes, cutting costs, eliminating manual work, etc. and the topic of "going paperless" has run the gamut of media outlets. However, there is one question that hasn't been asked. How Much… View More

We've put together several resources that cover designing a process from the ground up over the years and thought it made sense to combine them into a single, one-stop shopping post. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional, these articles will help you understand the basics of the business design process and provide some of the crucial steps in creating an effective… View More