Workflow automation is an underestimated and untapped tool in the financial advisory wheelhouse.

Choosing workflow automation is smart because it boosts customer service, ensures nothing slips through the cracks, and removes the risk of one person knowing the firm’s process and leaving. Workflow automation is your digital office manual. Due to a lack of understanding about how workflow automation helps both back and front office, executives may not invest enough in solutions that could help financial advisors and staff if given the chance.

Let us debunk common workflow automation myths and explore how Docupace’s workflow solutions can drive productivity, client satisfaction, and overall business growth.

Workflow automation boosts productivity
It is no secret that tedious day-to-day tasks are stealing advisors’ time and attention at disproportionately high rates. The average investor spends more than two hours on back office tasks for every hour they spend in client-facing meetings.

When asked to list their top productivity challenges, advisors cited the following:

• 50% Lack of process mapping and documentation
• 50% Ineffective delegation to staff
• 41% Inconsistent procedures across advisors in the same practice

For advisors, improving productivity can lead to reduced costs, more time spent with clients, and less time spent on the everyday tedium that needs to get done, but it does not lead to improved outcomes. Automating workflows is a simple yet effective method for managing the day-to-day and focusing more on client relationships.

In fact, more and more wealth management executives are seeing the benefits of using workflow automation as a tool for optimising processes. An Accenture survey found that 93% of executives in the financial advisory space expect to have optimised their front-to-back processes across internal and external partners by 2025.

However, just 43% had their processes automated back in 2019, demonstrating a 50% gap between where executives were and want to be. As technology continues to evolve into better and better solutions, adopting improved workflow processes and automation tools now is key to improving productivity in the future.

Workflow automation improves client relationships and drives business growth
Another common misconception about workflow automation is that it is purely a back office optimisation technique. However, there are many use cases where improved workflows can lead to a better client experience, leading to improved business outcomes overall.

Consider workflow automation in the context of client onboarding. Which would your clients prefer: filling out mountains of paperwork by hand at your office or filling out paperwork completely digitally with auto-fill and machine-learning capabilities that speed up the process? PreciseFP saves an office more than 10 minutes here and there by taking data gathering paperless. In 2023 more than 33,000 hours financial plan hours were saved.

These small elements of the client relationship are not just nice-to-haves; they impact how clients see your firm, whether they stay or leave, and whether they invest more money with you. For example, 85% of clients consider the frequency and communication style of their advisor when deciding whether they want to stay on or find someone new. Plus, 70% of clients specifically select their advisory firm based on the digital experiences they provide.

Here is where workflow automation can move the needle on customer relationships and business growth. Docupace’s onboarding solutions, for example, provide clients with pre-populated forms, automatically synchronise data to reduce manual re-entry, and integrate with other tools (such as your CMS) to make reminders and updates easy and paperless.

By automating one workflow at a time, the saved effort and improved experiences compound over time, improving your firm’s offerings, your advisor’s workload, and your client relationships.

The Docupace difference with workflow automation
For firms looking to begin their workflow automation journey, Docupace CEO David Knoch advises to start small and then grow bigger over time. For example, automating Form CRS delivery and then moving into more complicated functions.

“Choose a partner who already has a range of solutions you can grow into rather than a roadmap of hopes and dreams,” Knoch said. “With a small opportunity and a big partner, you can begin a journey at your pace that, over time, creates a digital transformation.”

Docupace’s platform is the leader in workflow automation for documentation management and back office operations. Our workflow engine automates compliance and business rules with capabilities like:

• Standardisation and data synchronisation
• Intelligent routing
• Alerts and notifications
• Configurable digital operations
• Pre-built, easy-to-use workflows

Learn more about Docupace’s pre-built workflows, compliance and business process rules, and how to design custom workflows for your firm here.

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