AIIM Open Forum

 View Only

A Walk Through the FI: Unique Workflows Don’t Have to be Complicated

By Cameron Marks posted 11-09-2022 12:20

  

Workflows are unique to each process and institution, but the automation potential can be felt throughout the organization, regardless of the department.  FASTdocs has developed functionalities specifically to speed processes even further, remove more manual, error-prone efforts, and enhance internal and external interactions. With FASTdocs’ “Event Driven” workflows, users gain even more automation through workflow initiation and processing.

Before we explore the capabilities of these workflows by looking at different use cases, let’s recap FASTdocs’ existing workflow functionality, “Checklist” workflows. These capabilities are great for involved, repetitive, processes that are manually initiated.  
 
Let’s start our walk through the FI with a stop at John’s desk, who needs to complete a routine expense report. Typically, John would submit the expense report with a checklist of supporting documents, receipts, perhaps a lost receipt form, and some sort of approval - as a full package to be considered complete.
 
With FASTdocs’ Checklist workflows, John could automate his checklist process and remove manual interactions.  John may electronically create a checklist, let’s call it "Expense Processes," and each supporting document would have its own unique steps. When captured and stored electronically, receipts and the lost receipt form would trigger workflows based on the prior.  If John submitted a receipt that exceeded a pre-determined value, it could be automatically routed to his manager for approval.  A workflow could also be initiated on the entire checklist itself. For example, the complete expense report checklist could be sent for routine approval or, if routed for a secondary managerial approval if an exception was found – all based on custom setups. 
 
For another example, let’s visit Sue in finance who needs to begin the repossession of a vehicle due to non-payment. Traditionally, this could include more than 20 steps over the course of 30 days, tracked manually on paper or a spreadsheet.  With FASTdocs’ Checklist workflows, Sue would simply create a workflow with each of the steps and electronically move through the process, storing documents along the way, removing manual processing altogether.   
 
FASTdocs’ Event Driven workflows behave a little differently since there is no checklist to setup and is intended for smaller, discrete actions around a single document.  
 
Now, let’s talk to Pat in accounting, who processes invoices from vendors routinely, but requires a manager’s approval for larger amounts due. With Event Driven workflows, Pat and team would automatically trigger a workflow if an invoice met that exception criteria, notifying his manager of a pending approval task, and ensuring all policies are consistently and automatically applied. In addition to meeting internal compliance guidelines, the organization benefits from an audit trail of all actions.
 
This new level of automation can be applied to other teams within the FI, as well. Here within the HR department, a “resume folder” is maintained within FASTdocs, where team members store incoming applicant information. When a resume is later moved to a different "status" folder, the workflow can automatically trigger an email to the candidate with specific information, removing manual efforts for employees. Your imagination is the limit. 
 
Event Driven workflows are triggered by specific sources, actions, or index values.  Documents can be entered manually from a teller station, through FASTdocs' BatchScan or File Import Studio modules, or via the FASTdocs API.  You can also trigger a workflow based on the source, paired with different actions that can be performed on a document based on its unique criteria - create, update, read, delete, and more, based on your setups and needs.  Each of these actions can also trigger a workflow, enabling you to combine the sources and actions so that you maximize automation capabilities: for example, “run X workflow when Y document is created via the API.” These are great for simpler, discrete actions that you routinely perform on a per-document basis.
 
Linking these two workflows delivers even more automation to the institution. An Event Driven workflow can trigger a Checklist workflow, eliminating prior manual steps to initiate the other.  Let's revisit the HR team, who implemented a multi-step Checklist workflow for a new hire, requiring an employment application along with other onboarding documents to be considered complete. By storing the employee’s signed acceptance letter in the HR tree within FASTdocs, the hiring manager and HR team can now trigger the full Checklist workflow to being without any manual interactions.
 
Benefiting all departments and processes, FASTdocs, Alogent's enterprise content and information management platform (ECM / EIM), relieves the pressure of everyday manual processes, while simplifying and enhancing the user experience for John, Sue, Pat and all other employees and account holders. Take advantage of Alogent's 'user first' approach and gain a streamlined and uniform workflow. Supporting industry best-practices, FASTdocs turns data into business intelligence. This powerful workflow platform sits at the heart of a strong digital ecosystem, delivering more than document management, but enterprise workflows and information management throughout the bank or credit union.

Click here for an eBook about FASTdocs

 

0 comments
9 views