Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Download PDFDownload PDF
Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Abby Nieten
/
October 4, 2017
Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

MIN
/
October 4, 2017
About the Episode
Episode Highlights
Meet our Guest
Episode Transcript

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Get the Report

Not a valid e-mail address

Great, thank ya!

You can now access the content.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Blog

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Panelists
No items found.
Introduction
Introduction

Great, thank ya!

You can now access the content.
Download NowDownload Now
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Panelists
No items found.
Infographic

3 Administrative Bottlenecks You Can Start Tackling Today

Learn how you can tackle business process bottlenecks with these three easy tips for communication barriers, lengthy approval processes, and too many forms.
Download InfographicDownload Infographic

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Collecting payments with online forms is easy, but first, you have to choose the right payment gateway. Browse the providers in our gateway credit card processing comparison chart to find the best option for your business. Then sign up for Formstack Forms, customize your payment forms, and start collecting profits in minutes.

Online Payment Gateway Comparison Chart

NOTE: These amounts reflect the monthly subscription for the payment provider. Formstack does not charge a fee to integrate with any of our payment partners.

FEATURES
Authorize.Net
Bambora
Chargify
First Data
PayPal
PayPal Pro
PayPal Payflow
Stripe
WePay
Monthly Fees
$25
$25
$149+
Contact First Data
$0
$25
$0-$25
$0
$0
Transaction Fees
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
N/A
Contact First Data
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
10¢
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
Countries
5
8
Based on payment gateway
50+
203
3
4
25
USA
Currencies
11
2
23
140
25
23
25
135+
1
Card Types
6
13
Based on payment gateway
5
9
9
5
6
4
Limits
None
None
Based on payment gateway
None
$10,000
None
None
None
None
Form Payments
Recurring Billing
Mobile Payments
PSD2 Compliant

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Business success depends on a number of factors—with process efficiency near the top of the list. If your business workflows are disorganized and congested, you are going to struggle. Process bottlenecks can result in stressed employees, wasted time, unhappy clients or customers, and lost revenue due to low-quality outputs.To turn it all around, you must identify the bottlenecks in your business processes and work to rectify them. These bottlenecks may stem from flawed equipment, practices, or people. And they often occur at the administrative level—where tasks like scheduling, project management, company communications, and documentation fall.If you’re looking to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and return focus to more high-value work, you can get started today. Simple process automation can do wonders for your business. Here are 3 bottlenecks you can tackle through automation:

#1: Communication Barriers

Some of the biggest roadblocks to organizational efficiency result from communication barriers. Whether a prominent person in the business is unresponsive due to a busy schedule or inaccessibly, or there is no precedent for effective communication across departments, communication barriers can surely lead to process bottlenecks.To tackle communication barriers at your organization, first consider which communication channels are most appropriate. Does the information you need to convey require a voice-to-voice meeting? Or is it best to have a written record of the communication via email or another messaging system? Then, make sure everyone involved understands his or her role in the communication process. Does the manager of one department need to follow up with a manager in another department before the project can move forward? Once you’ve answered the necessary questions, set up some process automation to streamline tasks. If it makes sense to have a weekly meeting, use a responsive online calendar (such as Google Calendar) to set up an auto-recurring meeting invite for all involved parties. If important emails get buried in your flooded inbox, set up filters so you can easily find and address prominent messages. If you have a process that could benefit from an automated flow from stakeholder to stakeholder, use an online workflow management tool.

#2: Lengthy Approval Processes

In most businesses, there are processes that require some sort of manager or executive sign-off before they can be completed. For example, a hiring request might require approval from the CEO, HR, and finance before a job can be posted. And a piece of marketing content might require approval from a copy manager, a design manager, and a marketing VP before it can be published. If anyone involved in these approval processes falls behind, bottlenecks occur.To combat approval bottlenecks at your company, first consider who absolutely needs to be involved. The more people involved, the higher the chances of process delays. Pair down the list of approvers as much as possible to boost efficiency.Then consider how approvers are notified and how they indicate their approval. Do you let people know their approval is needed by word of mouth, email, or instant message? Do you keep good record of who has approved?Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of your process, implement process automation to improve and streamline approvals. If it would help to have a more standardized system that sends automatic email notifications and documents approval progress, use a data management tool with approval functionality.

Learn More: Simplifying Processes with Formstack Workflows

#3: Too Many Paper Forms

Administrators are typically tasked with gathering information from or for employees, customers, clients, patients, or the like. From registration paperwork to contracts to inventory information to invoices, there is a lot of information to track. And if it isn’t collected efficiently (i.e., it’s collected through heaps of paper forms), bottlenecks are bound to form.To reduce your business paperwork bottlenecks, first consider whether the information you are collecting is essential to business operations. Perhaps you’re asking employees to complete more surveys than you have time to analyze or you’re requesting irrelevant information. Eliminate forms that are unnecessarily bogging you down.Then, make sure you aren’t duplicating your data collection efforts. Is your data collection system disorganized and causing you to send out the same form multiple times? Or are you collecting the same information on multiple forms? Try to consolidate a few scattered forms into one organized, useful form.Once you’ve reviewed your data collection efforts and worked to reduce general inefficiencies, implement process automation via an online form building tool. Taking your paper forms online saves time and effort and allows you to keep your data more secure and organized. You can also take advantage of helpful features, such as form hubs that group related forms together and track user completion.

Tackling administrative bottlenecks is important work that will put your business on track for success. If you’d like to take a closer look at specific ways you can streamline processes across your business, click below to dive into four infographics that illustrate easy workflow solutions.

Abby Nieten
As Senior Manager, Content Strategy, Abby leads an amazing team of marketing content creators toward a shared content vision. She's been growing with Formstack since 2015 and spent several years as a professional editor before that.
More Articles
Meet The Host
Content Marketing Manager
Connect
Lindsay is a writer with a background in journalism and loves getting to flex her interview skills as host of Practically Genius. She manages Formstack's blog and long-form reports, like the 2022 State of Digital Maturity: Advancing Workflow Automation.