I recently jumped onto Advisely to answer all your questions about optimising your processes with Workflows in Xplan.
Here are five of your best questions that came out of this AMA:
Q: Threads are awesome but they can get quite complex with many different pathways. What is the best way/best program to use to make a visual representation of the thread so that it is easier to explain to everyone?
Miro, Visio, or Mural are great tools for mapping out your threads visually. Having said that, a whiteboard or butcher paper is also effective if you prefer a more tactile experience! If you find software/whiteboards too fiddly, you can do the same thing with sticky notes on a wall – this allows you to easily move the pieces around to get the right steps in the process.
I would also use a spreadsheet in conjunction to list out each task, outcomes, and activating conditions of each task. Number each task (e.g. “1. Book client meeting”) so it’s clear where you are in the process.
When designing a workflow:
- Start small, keep the workflow as short and simple as possible, then once you’ve road-tested the workflow in the business for a little while, look at what else needs to be built in. If the workflow is too complex and has too many tasks to start with, this may create unnecessary noise and become a hindrance.
- Consider who needs to receive notifications from a task. Would suggest only including those on a need-to-know basis to minimise noise.
Q: We currently don't have a detailed review workflow thread in place. We looked at this late last year with the intent to start this to streamline our processes better this year. However, we found so many pathway options. Would love some advice on where to start, that is easy for other staff members to follow.
laura.capozzi did a great piece on designing workflows.
To add to that, my advice is:
- Always build your workflow in a Case template. Even if you’re not using the Case benchmarking feature, you can easily incorporate them in the future if you want to. Conversely, if you build your workflow using normal threads and you decide you want to leverage Cases, you’ll need to rebuild the workflow from scratch in a Case template.
- Use a spreadsheet to list out each task, its outcomes, and the activating conditions of each task. Number each task (e.g. “1. Book client meeting”) so it’s clear where you are in the process.
- Start small, keep the workflow as short and simple as possible, then once you’ve road-tested the workflow in the business for a little while, look at what else needs to be built in. If the workflow is too complex and has too many tasks to start with, this may create unnecessary noise and become a hindrance.
- Consider who needs to receive notifications from a task. Would suggest only including those on a need-to-know basis to minimise noise.
- How do you want to kick off this workflow? Take a look at this blog to see what options you have.
Q: What is the easiest way to set up a thread to automate sending emails to selected clients every year to remind them to top up Super contributions by 30 June?
Scheduler's your friend! You can get Scheduler to search for clients that need to top up super (e.g. via client category or marketing/interests, or a Yes/No field you have on your site), and then to either just send an email, or also to kick off a thread for you to follow up and action.
See this blog for more details. Also, look out for laura.capozzi's upcoming blog on Schedulers!
Q: Is there a way to automate actions completed into a file note to meet licensee requirements? E.g. FSG gets updated in the admin section and also needs to be recorded as a note.
There are a couple of options. If this task is part of a workflow, you can have multiple actions built into the task outcome, so that action 1 is to update the FSG page, and action 2 is to record a file note (using a template if you like). If this is not part of a workflow, after updating the FSG of all clients, run a Scheduler to search for all clients with FSG updated on that date, then create a file note again using a template.
Q: We get bogged down in tracking large implementation strategies, currently using one task to list the recommendations, steps that need actioning and recording notes in the task as it progresses. This then needs to be saved as a note with all supporting documents for auditing. Is there a better way to keep on top of the deadlines and movements of implementation, and all supporting notes and docs in one spot, rather than double handling when file checking?
With tracking implementations, this is a complex problem, as you know, and the simplest solution I can think of is to use Cases with workflows linked to them. You could use a different Case template for each different type of implementation (e.g. Insurance, Super, Investment, etc.), then kick off a Case for each implementation item, e.g. Macquarie Super application, AIA insurance application. The Case benchmarks allow you to keep track of supporting material, and the workflow will help you keep track of deadlines.
Alternatively, you could use note templates and utilise the follow-up task functionality, so that all the required actions are captured in the file note, and the follow-up tasks created will retain the file note information, and you can set a due date.
If you want to know more about designing workflows in Xplan, head over to the discussion forums and ask a question—don’t forget to tag me at kenny.foo!
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