SharePoint Workflow Types and Benefits for your Business

22 November 2022

A workflow is a set of rules that describe the process of completing a task. Traditionally, workflows have been used in organizations that have many departments that need to work together to complete a task. However, SharePoint workflows are different because they are designed specifically for collaboration, and they make your life easier, save time, and increase efficiency by automating manual tasks. Keep reading to learn about the different types of SharePoint workflows and the benefits of using them in your organization.

What is SharePoint Workflows?

SharePoint workflow is a process that helps automate business processes by using a set of predefined actions. The workflow automates tasks and actions that are performed when specific conditions are met. A workflow can automatically send emails, create tasks, update items or documents, and publish information on a website. By automating business processes, workflows can improve efficiency and accuracy and reduce the need for manual tasks and manual approvals.

What are SharePoint Workflows?

There are five popular Workflows that can be set up within SharePoint.

Approval Workflow

The Approval Workflow helps define and automate the sequence of actions or tasks that need to be carried out to approve or reject a particular item or document. This type of workflow is typically used in situations where there is a need for content to be reviewed and approved by one or more individuals before it can be published or made live.  Approval Workflow can be used in a variety of scenarios, such as when a new employee join request needs to be approved by the HR manager, or when a new product needs to be approved by the management team before it can be launched.

Status workflows

Status workflows are one of the most commonly used types of SharePoint workflows. These workflows are used to automatically update the status of an item, such as a document or task, when it changes. For example, when a document is created, the status workflow can automatically update the status of the document to In Progress, updated, or Review.

Automation Workflows

SharePoint helps to automate business processes through Automation workflows, is a common Workflow used to automate various tasks. It is used to automatically create and update items in SharePoint lists, libraries, and content types. Automation Workflow can also be used to automatically send emails, create tasks, and update documents. Automation Workflow is a powerful tool that can save time and improve efficiency.

Notification workflows

SharePoint sites often use workflows to automate common site-related tasks. Notification workflows are one of the workflows in SharePoint that sends an email or other notification when an item changes. For example, a notification workflow can send an email to a site member when a task is assigned to them.

Custom workflows

Once the appropriate sort of process has been established, you will almost certainly employ more than one workflow, which may be a combination of all four workflows. SharePoint custom workflows enable firms to build their SharePoint mini-program.

Benefits of Using SharePoint Workflows

Simplify process automation

Traditionally, process automation has been a complex and time-consuming task for any business. SharePoint Workflows aims to simplify this process by providing an easy-to-use platform for automating business processes. SharePoint Workflow can save businesses time and money by automating tasks that would otherwise be completed manually.

Employee productivity and performance are becoming more visible

It isn’t always easy to identify areas of improvement in employee productivity and performance. This is especially true in larger organizations where there are multiple departments and teams. Workflows in SharePoint can help to address this challenge by providing a way to automatically track and report on employee performance. This can help to improve visibility into areas of potential improvement and identify opportunities for training and coaching.

Improved team collaboration

One big advantage of SharePoint workflows is that they improve team collaboration. With SharePoint workflow, teams will be able to have a history of their communication which can lead to better understanding and collaboration in the future. This technology can improve communication between employees and managers as well. SharePoint workflow can bridge the gap between the expectations of an employer and the actual work that is being completed by the employee.

Reduced risk of errors

There is a significant chance of human mistakes when business operations are carried out by employees. SharePoint workflows, on the other hand, display any item’s current status in real-time and remove employees’ chance to make mistakes.

Speed up the approval process

SharePoint workflow automation can speed up the approval process by automating the routing of documents for approval. By automating the process, documents can be approved more quickly, and the approval process can be monitored to ensure that all required approvals have been received. In addition, workflows in SharePoint can improve the accuracy of approvals by ensuring that all approvers have the most up-to-date version of the document.

Conclusion

SharePoint workflows make it simple to create, organize, and monitor processes throughout the company. It connects with current tech stack components to increase sharing and collaboration across systems, apps, and teams while removing data silos.

SharePoint allows your business to explore new options, and automating any component of your operation increases productivity. Do you require assistance with SharePoint Workflows? Contact us now to speak with one of our SharePoint consultants.