Meet Workflow Automation: The Invisible Engine Powering Elite Teams

The thing that slows most workflows down is not the work itself — it’s often those tedious, manual tasks that build up in the chain and back up deadlines. I’ve seen this firsthand — duplicated work, missed updates, delays caused by waiting on the next person in the chain. That’s where workflow automation comes in.

By eliminating repetitive tasks, minimizing delays, and cutting down manual updates, a workflow automation solution frees teams to focus on high-value work. Once automation is in place, I’ve seen immediate improvements via clearer accountability, faster progress, and processes that keep moving without constant check-ins.

In this article, we’ll explore how high-performing teams use workflow automation not just to save time, but to build smarter systems and reduce chaos. Let’s dive into how using workflow automation platforms like Wrike helps you stay ahead.

Table of contents

• What is workflow automation?

• Benefits of workflow automation

• Examples of workflow automation

• How workflow automation works

• Why invest in automated workflows?

• Who can benefit from workflow automation

• Best practices for implementing business process automation

• Features to look for in workflow automation software

• FAQs

What is workflow automation?

Workflow automation is the process of using software to automatically complete routine steps in a business workflow — like assigning tasks, sending notifications, collecting data, or triggering approvals. Instead of relying on people to push work forward via repetitive manual tasks, businesses can use workflow automation to handle the handoffs and admin work behind the scenes.

At Wrike, we use automation to streamline all our internal workflows, including everything from marketing campaign approvals to onboarding processes. Tasks get created, assigned, and updated automatically based on rules we’ve built around project stages, form submissions, or status changes, so there’s no “busy work” (like redundant copy-pasting or endless email chains) required.

Benefits of workflow automation

Automated workflows are such a hot topic for a reason. With the right workflow automation tools, businesses can reduce the routine tasks that clog up their day-to-day, improve accuracy, and give teams more time to focus on strategic initiatives. From managing service requests to handling client onboarding, automation supports smoother operations and better outcomes across departments. Let’s take a look.

In my opinion, the future potential of automation is significant.

As businesses face increasing workloads and more complex workflows, automated processes offer a practical way to reduce manual tasks, improve accuracy, and enhance productivity in project management across teams. Even small automation initiatives can lead to measurable gains, like faster response times, fewer errors, or better visibility into key performance indicators.

When combined with the right workflow automation software, these benefits scale across the entire organization. And as low-code tools and AI-powered automation evolve, the opportunities to streamline workflows and optimize business processes will only continue to grow.

But while automation becomes more accessible, the gap is widening between businesses that invest in optimizing workflows and those still relying on manual processes. Forward-thinking teams are embedding automation into their daily operations now ... Not just to save time, but to stay competitive as digital transformation accelerates.

Those that delay risk being outpaced by more agile competitors who can respond faster, scale operations efficiently, and focus their people on work that drives real value. So, perhaps the most significant benefit of automation is in the competitive, future-proof business advantage it brings.

Examples of workflow automation

With benefits like these, it’s no surprise that workplace automation has become a core part of daily operations across industries.

Nearly 40% of employees in the U.S. reported that some aspect of their work is now managed through automated systems. From automated schedule assignments (34%) to task allocation (32.4%), more teams are relying on workflow automation to handle routine processes and reduce manual tasks.

But what does this actually look like behind the scenes of U.S. businesses? Let’s explore how this looks in practice with a few real-world workflow automation examples.

Example 1: IT support ticket management

If you’ve ever worked in an IT department, you’ll know that support tickets have a tendency to pile up —not because the technical issues are too complex, but because manual processes slow everything down. Sorting incoming requests, assigning them to the right person, and keeping users updated often takes more time than actually resolving the issue. And when one critical person takes a vacation or a sick day, the whole system breaks down.

But by automating ticket management, IT teams can streamline how service requests are handled from start to finish.

For example, when a user submits a support ticket through a portal or email, automation software can immediately categorize it based on keywords or urgency levels. From there, the system assigns the ticket to the appropriate IT specialist without anyone needing to manually review or forward it.

Once assigned, automated workflows trigger real-time status updates to keep the requester informed — reducing the need for follow-up emails or calls. If a ticket isn’t resolved within a set time frame, escalation rules automatically route it to a senior technician or manager for faster resolution. After the issue is closed, a follow-up survey is sent out to gather feedback, all without requiring additional human intervention.

Teams save significant time by automating these repeatable tasks, and implementing this type of automation doesn’t require heavy coding or complex systems. Workflow management software offers drag-and-drop interfaces and integration capabilities with platforms like Zendesk or Microsoft Teams. This makes it easy for IT teams to build smart workflows that handle ticket triage, assignment, and escalation — turning what used to be a time-consuming process into a slick, automated system.

Example 2: Project intake and execution workflow

In project-based work, delays often happen before the work even begins — when requests are vague, stuck in email threads, or routed to the wrong person. This slows down planning, clouds visibility, and leads to rework before the real work even starts.

With automated project intake and execution workflows, teams can move faster and more confidently from idea to action. For example, when a stakeholder submits a new project request via a Wrike custom form, automation ensures the request is complete, properly categorized, and routed instantly to the correct team lead. The system creates a task or full project with all the critical context already filled in — including deadlines, collaborators, and dependencies.

From there, workflows guide the project through key stages using custom statuses and automated notifications. Stakeholders stay informed, nothing falls through the cracks, and PMs can shift their focus from chasing updates to driving outcomes. Real-time dashboards track progress against deadlines or SLAs, making it easy to spot risks and take action early.

It’s a better experience for both the requester and the team doing the work, reducing friction, increasing throughput, and letting project managers lead with clarity and confidence.

Example 3: Customer service request routing

In this example, I’m taking you behind the scenes at Wrike. This is our actual process automation for handling customer queries.

In our early days, customer feedback often came through informal channels like email, which made it harder to track, prioritize, and respond efficiently. By introducing a more structured workflow in Wrike, we’ve been able to route requests to the right teams faster, reduce manual admin work, and focus more energy on thoughtful, timely responses.

Now, the workflow looks like this: Using custom request forms in Wrike, our account management team can collect detailed information from customers. A new request instantly triggers automated task creation and assignment based on priority or request type. This alone reduces delays and helps balance workloads across the team. To keep customers informed, Wrike’s custom statuses then prioritize and track tasks through the whole workflow, while a dashboard provides real-time visibility into open cases, agent capacity, and SLA tracking.

By combining these features, our customer service team has eliminated those time-consuming tasks and dramatically reduced response times, too, keeping our customers happy and our customer service agents free to do what they’re good at — helping our customers get the most out of Wrike’s powerful platform.

How workflow automation works

Workflow automation connects tasks, information, and approvals through predefined rules, so work moves forward without manual input. When a task is completed, automation can assign the next step, notify the right people, update dashboards, or sync data across systems.

Here’s how you can begin to implement automation in your workflows:

• Review current workflows, roles, and responsibilities: Understand how projects get started, what triggers tasks, the criteria for completion, and where bottlenecks typically occur.

• Map out the workflow visually: Draft a clear outline to spot inefficiencies or breakdown points. Involve cross-functional teams to refine the process and identify unnecessary steps or manual tasks.

• Identify integration points: Pinpoint tasks that pull data from other systems. Make sure your workflow automation software supports these integrations, and adjust workflows if needed — sometimes splitting larger tasks into smaller, automated subtasks.

• Address common inefficiencies: Look for recurring issues like communication gaps, redundant approvals, or overdue tasks. Implement accountability measures and clarify how information should move between systems and teams.

• Set up automation rules in your workflow software: Define task sequences, assign roles, and configure visibility through tools like Gantt charts, calendars, or process maps, depending on team needs.

• Create automated triggers and actions: Use prebuilt automation templates or customize triggers to handle recurring tasks — like sending notifications, assigning tasks, or updating statuses.

• Monitor, test, and optimize continuously: Track key performance indicators (KPIs) using dashboards. Adjust automation rules to improve efficiency and resolve new bottlenecks as they appear.

• Train your team and manage change: Provide hands-on guidance to help teams adapt to automated workflows. Support adoption with clear communication and ongoing process reviews.

Why invest in automated workflows? 

The digital revolution has already transformed how businesses operate — and it’s accelerating. Our Dark Matter of Work report found that over 86% of enterprises are actively investing in technologies like AI workflow automation to reduce complexity and gain better control over their operations. Organizations that delay adopting automation face higher operational costs, slower decision making, and a growing gap between them and more agile competitors.

As teams manage more tools and hybrid work environments, complexity has become a silent productivity killer. Knowledge workers lose an average of 13.7 hours every week searching for information, duplicating work, or managing disconnected processes. For large organizations, this translates to more than $52 million a year in wasted time. That’s a massive cost that only compounds as inefficiencies go unaddressed.

So, here’s why automation has become a priority for leaders looking to maximize ROI and prepare for long-term growth:

• With teams using an average of 16+ apps daily, automation bridges gaps between systems and streamlines data collection and task management.

• Reducing manual processes cuts down on wasted time, prevents duplicated efforts, and accelerates project delivery.

• Automated workflows support business growth without increasing overheads or relying on additional headcount.

• Nearly 70% of workers experience stress from managing fragmented workflows. Automation reduces that burden, leading to more focused, engaged teams.

• With 84% of executives agreeing that hybrid work and digital operations are permanent shifts, automation plays a key role in building resilient, future-ready organizations.

The value of automated workflow management systems extends far beyond the ability to simply automate tasks. The real reason to invest in structured workflows is to unlock capacity, sharpen decisions, and help teams thrive in a digital world.

Who can benefit from workflow automation 

In my experience, nearly every team dealing with repeatable tasks, complex workflows, or cross-functional collaboration can gain value from automation. But certain industries and departments see the impact faster — especially when they’re juggling high volumes of work, tight deadlines, and manual processes that slow things down.

Here’s how workflow automation supports some of the key industries and teams I’ve worked with:

Marketing teams

Marketing departments handle a constant flow of campaigns, content approvals, and asset requests. Automation streamlines tasks like routing creative briefs, triggering approval workflows, scheduling social posts, and updating campaign dashboards. This reduces manual follow-ups and keeps projects moving — even when multiple stakeholders are involved.

For example, your marketing team could automate content review cycles by using Wrike’s request forms and approval triggers (like our customer service example above), so assets automatically move to the next stage once feedback is submitted.

IT & support teams

IT departments benefit by automating ticket management, system alerts, and routine maintenance tasks. This reduces response times, prevents critical issues from being missed, and frees up technical teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than admin-heavy processes.

Human resources (HR)

HR teams often deal with onboarding workflows, PTO requests, and compliance tracking — all of which involve repetitive, document-heavy processes. Automation helps standardize these workflows, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks while reducing manual data entry.

For example, in Wrike, you could use a template for employee onboarding and offboarding to track all associated tasks, trigger automated onboarding workflows when a new hire is added, assign tasks to IT, payroll, and managers, and keep progress visible in a shared dashboard.

Professional services & client onboarding

For client-facing teams, first impressions matter. Automating onboarding steps, contract approvals, and project kickoffs helps deliver a smooth client experience while reducing internal coordination efforts.

Use creative workflow automation to generate project templates when a deal is closed, assign tasks to account managers, and notify clients of next steps — all without manual setup.

Finance & procurement

Approval chains, invoice processing, and budget tracking are prime candidates for automation in finance teams. Mid-sized business and enterprise workflow automation reduces bottlenecks by routing documents to the right approvers and keeping financial data synced across systems.

Best practices for implementing business process automation

But before you jump the gun and dive head-first into automation, it’s worth taking stock of these best practices:

Features to look for in workflow automation software

Choosing the right workflow automation solution can make the difference between simplifying your processes and adding unnecessary complexity. From my experience, these are the key features to prioritize — all of which I’ve used effectively in Wrike.

• User-friendly, low-code interface: Look for platforms that offer intuitive, drag-and-drop automation builders so teams can create automated workflows without needing advanced technical skills. In many cases, low-code tools speed up adoption because business users can manage automation directly.

• Customizable request forms and portals: A good automation system should make it easy to standardize how work enters your workflow. Tools that include customizable request forms help reduce manual data entry and ensure tasks are routed correctly from the start.

• Strong integration capabilities: The best automation tools connect with your existing software stack. Wrike offers 400+ integrations, linking workflows with tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Google Drive, and more.

• Flexible rules and conditional logic: The ability to set triggers, actions, and conditions is essential for tailoring workflows to fit your processes. This flexibility allows automation to adapt as tasks progress, priorities shift, or specific criteria are met.

• Scalability: As your business grows, your automation platform should handle increasing volumes of tasks, users, and workflows without performance issues. Look for solutions that support both small teams and enterprise-scale operations.

• Prebuilt templates: Wrike’s library of customizable templates helps teams launch automated workflows quickly — whether for marketing approvals, IT requests, or onboarding processes.

• Real-time dashboards and reporting: Visibility is critical. Automation software should include dashboards and reporting tools that track workflow performance, highlight bottlenecks, and support data-driven improvements.

• Security and access controls: Make sure the platform includes robust security measures like role-based permissions, encryption, and audit trails — especially if you’re handling sensitive data or operating in regulated industries.

• Mobile accessibility: With hybrid and remote work now standard (and 84% of business leaders saying this shift is ‘irreversible’), it’s important to manage workflows and receive updates on the go. Many automation tools, including Wrike’s mobile app, support task management from smartphones and tablets.

If you’re still working manually, you’re missing an opportunity

Manual processes might get the job done — but they also hide inefficiencies, drain resources, and hold teams back from focusing on work that actually drives progress.

With Wrike’s workflow automation, businesses move beyond managing tasks manually. Whether it’s automating approvals, routing requests, or syncing data across tools, Wrike helps turn repetitive processes into streamlined systems your team can trust. And as your workflows evolve, you can refine, scale, and optimize — without starting from scratch.