Workflow management: what is it and when do you need it?

Workflow management is about a problem almost every organisation recognises: something falls through the cracks. Not a crisis, but a request that sits untouched because nobody knew it was theirs, an approval waiting for someone who is on holiday, or a customer calling to ask where their order is while everyone assumed it had been handled. Those are not individual mistakes. Those are workflow problems. In this article we explain what workflow management is, which forms exist and when you need it.

What is a workflow?

A workflow is the fixed route work takes from start to finish, with all the steps, decisions and handovers in between. Take a quote request:

1. A customer fills in a form.
2. Sales receives the request.
3. Sales prepares a quote.
4. A manager approves it.
5. The quote goes to the customer.
6. The customer responds.
7. Follow-up happens if needed.

Seven steps, several people, a few decision points. The question is whether this is explicit in your organisation. Does everyone know which step is theirs, and is there one place where you can see where every request stands?

What is workflow management?

Workflow management is making those routes explicit, supporting them and improving them, so it is always clear what the status is, who is up next and what happens after that. It makes the invisible visible.

You know where everything stands. Every request, task or order has a status: awaiting approval, in progress, completed.

You know who does what. No confusion about responsibility. The system shows that a step is yours.

You spot problems early. If something has been stuck for days or a deadline is approaching, you see it or get a notification.

You improve based on data. With insight into lead times and bottlenecks, you optimise in a targeted way instead of on gut feeling.

New colleagues become productive faster. The process is defined and does not have to be learned by asking around.

Why are implicit workflows a risk?

Implicit workflows are a risk because they only work as long as the right people are around and things are quiet. They live in people's heads, habits, inboxes and chat channels: this is how we do it here.

When someone is ill, the rest do not know how it works. When you grow, the mutual trust of a small team does not scale. When it is busy, steps get skipped and balls get dropped. When something goes wrong, there is no way to trace what happened, because there is no log.

Implicit workflows work until they do not, and then it is hard to see why.

Which processes do you use workflow management for?

You use workflow management for any process that recurs regularly, involves several people and where mistakes or delays cost something. A few examples found in almost every organisation:

Customer onboarding. A new contract automatically sets up the tasks: create an account, send a welcome email, plan an introduction, arrange access. Each task has an owner and a deadline.

Quotes and orders. From request to signed quote and from order to delivery, with clear handovers. See also quoting systems.

Content production. Text, review, approval, images and publication. Everyone sees when something is waiting for them.

Purchasing and approvals. Request, approval by the manager, order and invoice processing. Four steps, four departments, one route.

Support questions. Intake, categorisation, assignment, resolution and closure, with escalation when something sits too long.

Which forms of workflow management are there?

There are four forms of workflow management: kanban boards, specialised workflow tools, workflow features in existing systems and custom solutions.

Kanban boards. Columns with cards that move from left to right, as in Trello or Notion. Visual and simple, fine for straightforward processes.

Specialised workflow tools. Tools such as Asana, Monday or ClickUp, with conditions, automatic assignment and reporting. Suitable for more complex processes that are still fairly standard.

Built into existing systems. Your CRM, project tool or ERP often has workflow features. Not always the best, but integrated with your data.

Custom. When off-the-shelf tools do not fit how you work, you build a system around your own process. When that pays off, you can read in having a custom workflow tool built: when does it pay off?

Which form fits depends on the complexity of your process, the size of your team and how specific your needs are.

When do you need workflow management?

You need workflow management when you regularly have to search for the status of work, the same mistakes keep coming back or handovers between people go wrong. The signals:

• You often wonder where something has got to.
• Steps are skipped or forgotten, not because of the people but because of an unclear process.
• You are growing and informal agreements no longer hold.
• Information gets lost during handovers.
• When something goes wrong, you cannot look back at what happened.

If you recognise several of these, it is time to make your workflows explicit.

How do you start with workflow management?

Start with one process: the one where the pain is greatest or the biggest gain can be made. Map it step by step: who does what, when and under which conditions. Only then look at tooling. Sometimes a simple board is enough, sometimes you need something more robust. Once that process works, move on to the next one.

Many steps in a workflow can then be automated, from notifications to setting up tasks. How to approach that, you can read in workflow automation: where do you start? and on our page about workflow automation.

We are happy to help you map your most important workflows, with a practical view of how work flows through your organisation and what can be improved. Get in touch.