Workflow management systems are quickly becoming an integral part of the internal infrastructure of a work team. Workflow systems are used to setup, execute and monitor the documents and tasks of a business process. Workflow can refer to the progressive sequence of work objectives and activities, or a complex set of processes that take place concurrently. Work flow activities have a direct impact on the rules, routines and roles of the work group.
Workflow systems provide First Notice of Loss (FNOL) service providers with the opportunity to define and control the various activities that are needed to efficiently and successfully execute claim and incident reporting systems. In addition, quality workflow systems allow FNOL providers the opportunity to measure and analyze the workflow process so that continuous improvements can be made.
Here are the top 6 features of a workflow management system to consider when researching your application.
- Process design tool. A process design tool enables the administrator to define what activities need to be done, by whom and by when. It may also designate specialized tools and/or equipment that might be needed and any budgetary constraints that should be considered.
- Test process capability. A quality workflow system will include the ability to test or pilot a version of a workflow to see how it works before it goes into use. This gives users the chance to fine tune and work out the bugs of a process before it is finalized.
- Cloud-based application. As work teams become more mobile, the ability for team members to access workflows from home or anywhere on the go is an essential feature for today’s applications.
- Document and media integration. There are many different applications in use across various operating systems in today’s workplace. It is important that your workflow management system have the capability to share and integrate various types of documents created in different formats such as forms, documents, spreadsheets, videos, audio files and more.
- Email notifications. It is very important that team members are able to be notified of new tasks and service-level agreement (SLA) violations.
- Customized reports. It is essential that evaluation feedback loop is completed at the end of each process to ensure the process and participation flows as planned or adjustments are made. A quality workflow system will enable administrators the opportunity to set up reports that indicate how well the process was executed and enables fine-tuning.
A workflow management tool is an opportunity for FNOL providers to improve both the underlying business process as well as the organizational structure of the work team. Workflow management systems that are designed and implemented using best practices will unify team members with diverse skills into a cohesive, high-functioning work unit.