Time Savings Newest Trend | Process Transformation

There’s a new way to save time, one that’s criminally underused and extremely powerful. No, it isn’t just about changing habits. It goes a step further and gets to the underlying problem: workflows. Yes, I’m talking about automation, but not just automation. Why not go bigger than that? Why not utilize the power of a process transformation. Don’t get me wrong, automation is game-changing, but going through a process transformation yields something bigger than the sum of its parts. The best part is… people are just finding out how great they are, giving you the chance to get in early and step ahead of your competitors. 

People often discount technological advancement, claiming it’s “not usable yet,” “impractical” or “just too confusing.” Fortunately, that isn’t the case here. Microsoft’s Power Platform is the key to process transformation, and all the resources you need to get started live on the Power Platform Website. Process transformations live and breathe practicality as they can free up hours of your time and make each day more engaging. There are a few ways to implement them and plenty of resources at your disposal that make the process both simple and accessible. Not to mention anyone can contribute to the transformation by building solutions with these tools—even without a coding background.  

The Power Platform is changing the way we do business and by using it in your process transformation, you’ll gain back time for the tasks that matter. Gone are the days when repetitive or mundane workflows make your job feel robotic. 

 

Saving time: issues hidden in plain sight 

We all strive to save time, and to do so, it’s important to understand where you’re losing it. Here are two of the main culprits that are likely holding you back: 

     1.  Context switching:

This is when you stop doing one task, do another and then come back to the original, and it happens all the time, for example, switching between one app to another. Now, this may seem like a small issue, but within a day it adds up. Unfortunately, when this happens, we incur longer completion times or make more mistakes, almost as if we get a switching penalty. According to Qatalog and Cornell University, it can take up to 9.5 minutes to get back into a productive workflow after switching between digital apps. Whether you realize it or not, context switching is eating away at your time, 40% of it to be exact. 

     2.  Poor workflows

It’s no surprise that poor workflows are huge time wasters. Bad workflows have you spending time on tasks that could be completed in a smarter, more efficient way. How many times have you spent way too long searching for or rearranging files? Restraints to important tasks not only affect you but also make the organization less competitive overall. They’re a true blocker in the workplace. What’s even more unfortunate is that overcoming them isn’t a Sisyphean task. It’s usually just inertia or discounting the issue that ends up preventing organizations from beginning a process transformation. 

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The digital transformation disruption: 

Now, we’ve mentioned process transformation as this magical key to achieving greatness, but what is it? 

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a rise in the use of ‘digital transformation.’ It’s a broad term, but essentially it involves integrating digital solutions to areas of business. This can refer to many things, like IT modernization, digital optimization or even the invention of new digital business models. You can think of process transformation as a sub-trend. It focuses on streamlining workflows to automate and enhance tasks to boost productivity and engagement. This will look different for every company, but that’s what makes it so powerful. It isn’t one size fits all—you can tailor it to meet your needs. 

Process transformation: the origin story 

Process transformation has been around for a long time, but was never as powerful, practical, and accessible as it is now. It was originally viewed as a response to changing times, but now with the Power Platform, it’s changed from reactive to proactive. It gifts the opportunity to get ahead.  

It includes five apps: Power Automate, Power Apps, Power Virtual Agents, Power BI and Power Pages. Using the apps together allows you to create solutions for any context switching or workflow-related issues you have. For example, you can: 

  • Consolidate and visualize all your data in one spot 
  • Automate mundane tasks to run in the background while you work  
  • Create apps to streamline workflows and minimize context switching 
  • Create bots to help with customer & employee queries

Adopting the Power Platform is a great way to save time and ultimately improve your organization as a whole. Employees can work efficiently, making deadlines easier to hit. They also get to spend more time on problems and ideas that require human thought. When people spend time doing meaningful tasks, they perceive their work as impactful. This sense of purpose can improve performance by 33%. Not only do you save time, you unlock a refreshed work ethic, it’s a win-win situation. 

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How to harness its power?

If you’re as intrigued about process transformations as we are, you’ll be happy to know that the Microsoft Power Platform caters to everyone, from citizen to pro developers. The Power Platform takes a no/low-code approach, meaning zero developer experience is needed to get stared. You can use the out-of-the-box building blocks to begin. 

List of Power Automate Templates available to users

Start with templates or from scratch to build solutions without typing a line of code. And to those pro developers out there, yes, you can pop the hood and code your heart out as well. 

Another widely used method when starting out is working with an IT consultant to build solutions with you. It’s much quicker than learning by yourself, and they’ll spot risks and opportunities to help you make informed decisions. The hands-on guidance provided helps to solve business problems unique to you. We can review your workflows and give you a planning document outlining the next steps. Receive a free 30-minute consultation to help kick off your process transformation. 

Measuring productivity and success 

Whatever the case, managers can use the admin centre to explore their organizations solutions. It allows you to manage all your tools and view organizational metrics, like who’s creating or using solutions and how often.  

Setting up a centre of excellence also helps smooth out the experience.  A centre of excellence is a collection of tools and reports you can install on your tenant to assist with governance. It enables you to provide training, enforce standards, and scale solutions. Think of it as the guard rails that keep your process transformation on track. 

Saving time can be a tough issue to overcome, but there has never been a better opportunity to tackle it than now. The early nature of the power platform enables you to become a time-saving and process transformation pioneer. Getting the jump on context switching and poor workflows puts you in the position to gain back time and work on meaningful tasks. 

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