You hear a lot about workflow automation in the business world. However, there is one segment where it is also needed: your school.
How can workflow automation be applied to schools? The possibilities are really endless, but here we list just a few ways that workflow automation can help make schools smarter.
5 Ways Workflow Automation Can Help Schools Make the Grade
Schools are often burdened with the amount of paperwork that is required. Everything from enrollment forms and permission slips to employee PTO requests have to be filled out, filed, and retrieved later on.
There are many benefits of workflow automation in education. Let’s look at five of them.
1. Save Money and Time
We all know that school budgets are strained. Administrators have to make tough choices and the teachers and students often suffer because of it. One of the benefits of workflow automation is reducing the expense – and waste – of using tons of paper.
About 78% of waste in schools is related to paper (aka forms). Not only is printing all of those forms expensive, but it’s also bad for the environment. Automation reduces your school’s need for paper.
Here’s one example: A district with 2,500 students could save 1,250 hours a year by automating work order processes. Forms are converted to PDFs, which can then be emailed to parents, teachers, and staff. Automated systems also provide IT solutions for a safe way to store documents.
2. Improve Communication and Reduce Classroom Interruptions
Communication is essential in any school, whether it’s between administrators and staff or teachers and parents. Sending hand-written notes to a classroom requires the teacher to stop what he/she is doing in order to handle the matter.
Not to mention the likelihood that the note won’t make it to its destination when the person in charge of delivering it is a student.
It might not seem like a big deal to stop for a few minutes, but those minutes start to add up. With automation, things like requests, work orders, and approvals can be sent and submitted automatically.
Some systems can also send out triggered notifications to teachers or administrators whenever a form is submitted.
3. Make Student Registration More Efficient
Electronic registration forms help reduce the burden on administrators who are tasked with tracking enrollment for classes and programs. While electronic forms have been around in schools for some time, few have automated the process of submitting them.
Workflow automation in schools allows parents to complete enrollment forms online. The forms are then automatically sent to the right person.
4. Improve Maintenance Request Processes
Operations and maintenance costs are the second-highest expense for schools. Poorly managed transportation requests, maintenance requests, and mistakes in fillings cost precious time and money.
Automation removes the burden of filing maintenance requests and fulfillments. This makes the process more efficient and also helps track maintenance costs when it’s time to create a new budget.
5. Make Administration More Efficient
Vacation requests, sick days, and other PTO requests are all things that must be tracked by human resources. There may also be family emergencies or maternity leave requests, all of which require submission, approval and processing.
Automation can not only help HR administer benefits more efficiently, but it can also make it simpler for employees to make and keep track of their requests.
Automate For A Better Workflow At Your School
Paperwork is an unnecessary burden that gets an “F” in many schools. With workflow automation, you can reduce waste, save valuable time and money, and improve your paperwork grade. Contact us to ask about automation solutions for your school.