Workflow Management Examples: Automating Compliance & Operational Workflows in Regulated Industries

In a nutshell, workflows are an efficient strategy to ensure something gets done right consistently, without fail. They can illuminate complicated tasks and turn them into simpler, step-by-step processes. In this article, we provide several workflow examples, talk about the benefits of a competent workflow system, and show you how to choose the right one for you.

What Is a Workflow Management System?

Modern workflow management software offers a plethora of tools to digitally create, document, analyze, and optimize workflows, making it possible – and efficient – to streamline and automate each step.

Workflow management platforms allow workers to define inputs, transformations, and outputs, translating them into objects, rules, and events for automation. These systems also typically support custom workflows, enabling teams to meet unique needs.

Process workflows are a series of steps that must be completed to finish a goal. The steps could be linear and simple, or they could contain complex branching. We all deal with workflows in some capacity every day, whether it’s the processes we deal with at work or the steps we take to make dinner at home.

Effectively managing a workflow system requires the processes are set up accurately, and efficiently, that they are understood, and that they are repeated the same way each time to guarantee the same results.

Manual workflow systems are a thing of the past – or they should be. Software technology innovations have revolutionized the process. 

What Are Different Types of Workflows?

Some common inter-industry workflows include:

• Employee Onboarding
• New Client Setup
• Product Return Authorizations
• Documentation Requests
• Purchase Approval Requests
• IT Change Management
• Engineering Change Requests
• Compliance Audits
• Website Edits

These workflows may involve multiple individuals, teams, or departments that need visibility and accountability, as well as organization, collaboration, and communication.

Workflow Management Best Practices

To maximize the benefits of a workflow system, organizations should:

• Commit adequate resources and ensuring accountability for continuous improvement.
• Simplify workflows and identifying potential streamlining shortcuts.
• Remove or automate inefficient and redundant activities.
• Convert manual tasks to digital automation.
• Customize the features of a workflow management system to fit the process.

7 Workflow Examples

Example #1: Senior Living Resident Grievance Workflow

A patient grievance workflow (or resident grievance) requires immediate, auditable action. When a family member submits an issue, a branching workflow automation instantly assesses the severity. If it involves a safety risk, it’s routed to the Administrator with an immediate SLA escalation, generating a full regulatory compliance workflow trail. If it’s a non-urgent request, it's routed to the maintenance or dining team, ensuring both types of requests are handled with consistent accountability. 

Example #2: Engineering Change Management

Our first sample workflow is common in the world of systems engineering. The change management process begins with a change proposal. Usually, the proposal is first sent to a change control board for approval. 

If the change is feasible, an implementation plan is developed. Once that’s completed, the Engineering Change Order finalizes the details, outlining the steps for modification and revision of documentation.

Last, the implemented change must be tested and verified. If there are any problems, the proposal is redesigned and the approval and implementation process repeats. However, if there are no problems, the system is returned to production status and operations continue.

Example #3: Human Resources Employee Onboarding

This workflow system gets kicked off every time a new employee is hired. For most organizations, HR, Facilities, and IT departments have their own processes that must occur in tandem with each other:

• IT sets up computers, phones, and appropriate software and network access.
• Facilities set up a workspace and grant any building access needed.
• HR produces paperwork related to the employee's insurance, tax needs, and payroll information.

Most of these tasks need to be completed either before the employee arrives or during their first-day orientation. Setting up a digitized workflow system ensures that no department forgets a step or leaves the new employee without equipment on their first day.

Example #4: Accounts Payable

Our next workflow example is critical to get right. When money is involved, it pays to be as organized and methodical as possible. 

Accounts Payable departments go through process after process to ensure that vendors are compensated and that payments go where they should:

• When does a payment need to be sent? 
• Who will receive it? 
• What happens when an error occurs? 

All of these moving parts can be accounted for in a branching workflow (or, likely, multiple workflows) that defines the next steps and ensures accuracy and efficiency every time.

Example #5: Customer Service

Satisfactorily responding to customer service requests requires following specific processes as well.  Having a comprehensive workflow system in place can easily improve customer experience and increase brand loyalty.

Depending on the type of request, your team may have different workflows to handle and resolve issues. For example, your team may take a different approach to responding to a customer complaint as opposed to a service request or comment.

While each inquiry merits attention, they all have unique steps that must be completed to reach resolution. Logging each of these steps using a task management tool helps reduce confusion and ensure that no steps are overlooked.

Example #6: Manufacturing Non-Conformance Process 

The non-conformance process automation is central to quality control. To maintain product integrity, effective non-conformance process automation must be integrated into the broader manufacturing quality audit workflow. A report of a faulty component immediately triggers a specific workflow. This workflow routes the issue to the QC team for inspection, then, based on their determination, either triggers a corrective action ticket for the vendor or launches a manufacturing quality audit workflow for the internal process. This level of rules-driven issue routing ensures consistency and rapid problem solving.

Example #7: Healthcare Scheduled Maintenance & ITAM 

Hospital facility and IT teams use workflows to ensure maintenance never lapses on critical equipment. This is managed through a scheduled SLA management workflow that automatically creates an issue ticket 30 days before a ventilator or IT asset's scheduled service date. The workflow then routes it to the correct biomed technician and is closed only after all compliance documentation is attached, creating a non-repudiable auditable process workflow.

Benefits of Workflow Management

Once you realize the benefits of an effective workflow system, you may wonder how you ever went without one:

Reduced costs and time savings: Automating workflows saves your team from tedious tasks that take up a lot of time. WBy redirecting your team to more important needs and projects, you ultimatley reduce costs to your organization.

Consistent task completion: Structured workflows keeps your team accountable and responsible for their own tasks, and maintains a smooth process for escalalting issues from start to finish.

Operational resilience: Standardized tasks can be easily taught and replicated. Your process setup is well-documented and remains a reliable source of consistency for your team's most important SOPs.

Stakeholders can easily understand : Convey task completion processes to anyone involved, such as what and who is involved at every step of the resolution chain. Whether customers, team members, managers, or other key stakeholders, no one is left out of the loop and no issue falls through the cracks.

Managers can identify inefficiencies: With identifiable trend reporting, management can find ways to improve processes so issues never happen again. This, overall, contributes to better business practices, growth, and a cohesive process management workflow that gears organizations toward success.

Improved employee retention: Businesses suffer when satisfaction is low. Workflow management eliminates repetitive, low-value tasks and gives employees greater retention value.

A better and more efficient team: Workflow management systems ensure managers match specific skills to tasks, so the right people handle the right activities - and issues get resolved faster.

Choosing the Right Workflow System for You

Every workflow you develop can be as complex or as simple as you need. It all depends on the requirements of your process.

The important thing is to fully understand your processes and all of the potential branches and loops that your workflow may take. Be sure to document this fully so that you can accurately repeat the process whenever necessary.

You may find it helpful to use workflow management software to create a workflow system, keep track of tasks, easily make changes when necessary, remain organized, and more.

Business Process Management (BPM) software must provide an auditable process workflow to ensure every step is traceable for regulatory scrutiny. Key features of workflow systems include:

• Mapping and defining workflows
• Creating and customizing workflows
• Accessing prebuilt workflows
• Automating notifications and repetitive steps
• Integrating with existing systems, including legacy ones
• Measuring and reporting on workflow performance

Businesses should also consider low-code/no-code features, user interface design, and visualization capabilities to ensure usability and an effective workflow. 

Additionally, since primary system users often do not have IT training, it’s important to evaluate vendor support and how easy it is to implement and use the software. This is why Issuetrak prioritizes values like accountability, respect, relationships, and integrity.

Are you ready to make a change for the better? Request a tailored demo with our Product Experts today!