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From Manual to Automated: Where to Start With Workflow Automation
By Jason Wade
Manual tasks slow you down, create inconsistency, and drain your team’s energy. The good news? You don’t need a full digital overhaul to start automating. By identifying small, high-impact opportunities, you can begin building momentum toward a more efficient, scalable business. Here’s where to start.
Identify the Pain Points That Waste Time
Every business has repetitive tasks that burn hours — think manual data entry, report generation, email follow-ups, or approvals. These are perfect candidates for automation. Start by talking to your teams: where are the bottlenecks, the double-handling, the spreadsheets? Then map out the steps of these processes. Even if they’re not fully automatable right away, breaking them down reveals where improvements can begin. Prioritise processes that are rule-based, time-consuming, and prone to error. These low-hanging wins build confidence and free your people to focus on higher-value work. Automation isn’t just about speed — it’s about removing friction from your operations and setting the stage for scalable growth.
Use What You Already Have in Your Tech Stack
You don’t need new tools to start automating — just better use of what’s already there. Microsoft Power Automate, Google Apps Script, HubSpot Workflows, and Zapier are all great examples of platforms that let you automate workflows with minimal coding. From auto-generating documents to syncing data between platforms, these tools offer ready-to-deploy templates and drag-and-drop logic. Start simple: automate meeting scheduling, lead handoffs, or document approvals. The key is to experiment with small automations and measure their impact. As confidence grows, you can begin linking systems and building more complex workflows. The value isn’t in having fancy tech — it’s in using your tech to solve real problems faster.
Build an Automation Culture, Not Just Projects
Automation works best when it becomes part of how your business thinks. That means encouraging teams to regularly challenge “the way we’ve always done it” and look for process improvements. Appoint automation champions across departments, and make it easy for staff to suggest ideas or pilot new tools. Just as importantly, provide basic training — even a one-hour workshop on Power Automate or Zapier can unlock massive efficiencies. Over time, you’ll shift from fixing isolated issues to embedding a mindset of continuous optimisation. Workflow automation isn’t a one-time project — it’s a long-term strategy to scale operations without scaling costs. And it starts with a single process.
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