Functions and Features

Workflow Office is an e-Revolution to enterprises process and document management. There are four main functions and nine application features in this 1.0 version.

Functions

1. Workflow

The major function in the Workflow Office is workflow. Adopting the characteristics of workflow, we enable organizations to achieve:

a. Process Management and Control
Workflow Office helps you to redesign, simplify and improve the business process as well as efficiency. It enables workflow at every workstation in a streamlining process management. It governs processes by rules and procedures and provides information all along the processes for control and auditing.
The manual flow of documents in an organization is prone to errors. Workflow Office directs automatic routing of documents, information or task to users responsible for working on them, passing from one participant to another with timer to ensure documents and information move along at a prescribed pace and that the appropriate person processes them in correct order.

b. Paperless office
Paper documents can get lost or be constantly shuffled to the bottom of the in basket in the process and it also requires a lot of effort in edit, update and delivery. Workflow Office enables managing document and material resources in multimedia and electronic form instead of physical copies. It greatly enhances the effectiveness of information delivery, editing and storage.

The Workflow Office has the following components to support the workflow functions:

i) People Hierarchy Database
It contains the information of people in an organization that execute different roles in business processes. This is frequently updating by Workflow Office users.

ii) Workflow Engine
It is the backbone of the Workflow Office that supports business applications running on it. It is the control panel of the Workflow Office that defines routes of data transmission for each process following rules and procedures.
Workflow Engine supports multi-level of approval structure to over 200 levels and it support "and/or" and "what if" workflow routing condition to combat the most complex organization structure. It also stores the history of each process for close monitoring and auditing.

iii)Workflow Application Templates.
Each template may represent one business process. One template is formed by a series of related screens for process execution. For example, Leave Management Workflow Templates consist of interface of leave application, leave balance data, leave history etc. that related to leave information. One Workflow Engine can support more than hundreds of workflow templates.

iv) Email Routing Server
It is important for Workflow Office to send immediate notification via email to users on incoming tasks.

2. Enterprise Business Application Platform

Workflow Office is the ideal enterprise business application platform because it can:

a. Share the Latest People Structure with Other Functions
People form an organization. Workflow Office shares one people database with all workflow application templates running on it. It saves time and efforts to update multiple databases of other applications that also rely on same people information.

b. Build Cross Department Application
Workflow application templates can be interactive on the same information pool that you can build cross department business application on the Workflow Office.

c. Enable Inter-enterprise Business Activities
Workflow office is a web-enabled platform for inter-enterprises activities forming the ideal supply chain management and promoting B2B business.

d. Web-based business applications that allow remote access.
It is a platform of work for business application in web environment such as Internet and Intranet. This web-enabled platform facilitates business processes at anywhere and anytime. Therefore, it is most suitable to global business processes and activities.

e. Boundariless Workflow Application
Workflow Office is a web-application that destroys the physical barrier of organization business and management processes. Using standard Internet browser, Workflow Office favours the participation of many organizations to form a boundariless supply chain management.

f. Integrate with Other Business Application
Workflow Office is designed to base on industry standard development API's: ADO, ODBC, and MAPI & Vbscript that it enables integration with your existing business applications systems for data exchange.

3. People Database

IMA is specialized in people database application that we lead you to a new age of people management with this Workflow Office and its people management functions:

a. Web-based Human Resources Information System
A rational people database supports the routing of function of workflow. We build the web-based human resources information system on the workflow office that provides a rational people database. On Internet or Intranet, you can manage your global manpower effectively.
A human Resources function is the obvious area that links departments and employees together and support the interactivities of people. Workflow Office helps HR professionals to eliminate the routine, manual work but concentrate in people management consultancy role and provide higher level of HR service. Since the people information in the Workflow Office is frequently updated, it provides a structured people database for cross-department business process workflows and applications.

Workflow Office based on the most powerful but flexible Human Resources Database design from eHR2000 Enterprise Edition of IMA. By running iHR in Workflow Office, HR Professionals can :
i) improve the delivery of HR services
ii) eliminate process steps, approvals, and forms
iii) speed up and streamline workflow
iv) reduce administrative costs
v) improve manager access to vital data
vi) provide more time and enable strategic HR

b. Define Organization Hierarchy and Structure
The people database defines one's position and hierarchy in an organization and those of his subordinates, and superior. It forms the workflow routing channels for approvals and auditing by this defined hierarchy and structure.

c. Define different roles on the people's hierarchy
Upon the people's hierarchy in the people database, Workflow Office defines the roles of people for workflow and delegate appropriate right and responsibility to each user. The roles are mainly defined as:
i) Normal Employee
ii) Department Managers
iii) HR and Administrator
iv) System Administrator

d. Employee and Manager Self-Service
According to the roles defined, employees and managers will be assigned a user account for necessary information retrieval or data input. Employee and managers can achieve higher productivity with this self-service function of Workflow Office. By allowing the employee to become an integral part of the workflow process, data entry errors can be minimized and cycle time greatly reduced.

e. Define the Benefit Structure of Organization
In Workflow Office you can defines the benefit structures of organization for flexible employee benefit management planning and monitor the implementation of employee benefit versus its entitlement.

4. Enterprise Communication Center

Workflow Office is the centralized business application platform as well as enterprise communication platform. We achieve the best employer-employee communication with the functions such as:

a. Promote Industrial Relation and Staff Communications
It is always difficult to promote industrial relation in work place if you have numerous employee, or/and mobile work location or/and global offices. Workflow Office is a Communication Centre that offers you a place to "gather" all employees in the Workflow Office with its web-enabled and multimedia-enabled functions.

b. Enable The Best Resources Sharing
Workflow Office helps you to transform from managing paper document and material resources to multimedia and electronic information. It greatly enhances the effectiveness of message delivery. Materials can be accessed by many users at one time and kept in good condition always. Communication centre requires least effort in retrieving, storing and updating the resources.

c. Cost-Effective Information Management
The Communication Centre, replacing the traditional paper communication mean, always provides effective and cost-saving media for internal communication.

Application Features of Workflow Office

A variety of workflow application templates build on the Workflow Office. In the 1.0 version, we have:

1. iHR

People database supports the operation of Workflow Office and we build the iHR. It enable employee and manager self service in Employee Profile, Leave Management and Overtime Claims with Workflow, Employee Change of Information and Payroll Administration.

To facilitate the payroll in Workflow Office, there is a Payroll Server. It forms a centralized payroll administration centre of your global offices in the Workflow Office. Payroll calculation is no longer restricted by territories. You can administer the payroll in remote access.

2. Communication Centre

Users of Workflow Office will enter into this Communication Centre when login, it promote better communications. IMA builds a various communication tools that support multimedia:

Staff Communication:
i) News and Announcement
ii)Company Calendar

Resources Sharing:
i) Public Folder - The Document Manager
ii) Video-on-Demand

Information Management:
i) Task Assignment
ii) Phone Message
iii) Contact Manager
iv) Hot Link Manager

3. eTravel Management

It applies the corporate travel policy on the Workflow Office and provides useful and traceable information for auditing if necessary. Corporate executives can make travel request with workflow, plan their travel profile for approval and audit. Administrator can follow the approved travel profile for follow-up action such as hotel and air tickets booking. Travelers can make request for advanced cash for business trip and travel reimbursement when they come back from trip.

It supports complex travel profile that supports multiple travelers and destinations in one single travel request. With this web-based Workflow Office, executives can update of travel itinerary and diary at anytime and anywhere in the trip.

4. eTraining and Staff Development

Using the workflow and self-service function of Workflow Office, employee can access to updated training course information and request for training and fee subsidy with workflow.

Managers can check training budget before they approve a training request or nominate a training course to subordinate.

Training administrator can manage the training course enrolment by workflow with ease. They can propose training tutor appointment with workflow and prepare training course material and equipment by referring the online enrolment status. After training, they can make quick and data-rich training course evaluation and cost analysis with self-service of trainees and their managers.

5. eReimbursement

It is for all users to claim any type of reimbursement exclude travel reimbursement if you adopt eTravel Management in Workflow Office. Reimbursement process is backed with workflow and supports multiple levels of reimbursement approval on conditions. Approvers can make analysis on reimbursement claims easily without further furnish on the data. All data resulting from the eReimbursement can be integrated into accounting system and payroll system if necessary. Accounts and finance professionals can have more control on corporate cash flow with this eReimbursement.

6. eBenefit Management

Taking advantages of the self-service and workflow function of Workflow Office, cafeteria benefit management for employee flexible benefit packages become administration-free. Employees and managers can analyze the effectiveness of various benefit packages with online information provided.

Administrator, interoperating with benefit service suppliers, maintains and updates employee benefit packages that monitor the benefit execution with pre-defined budget. They can rely on the online actual benefit execution against entitlement to make decision on renewal or update. Re-selection eForm will be automatically routed to related personnel in event of promotion and transfer.

7. eProject Time Sheet Management

This application template helps managers to make structured manpower planning for projects. Employee can report the actual man-hour spent for different projects or clients accounts online that can finally produce manpower cost analysis. Finance professionals and project leaders to make project cost analysis against projects income.

8. Customer Relation Management

This application template handles both internal and external people. It helps you to handle enquiry and complaints from clients with workflow. You can easily measure the service quality of front-line staff and their response time. You will never miss important client feedback because it keeps detailed track records on each client for further analysis. You can have better problem preventive mechanism and more responsive to the market.

9. eBooking System

It builds electronic material inventory and library for the best resources planning and reservation for people. Resources material update and maintenance makes easy with self-service booking features for employee or customers. They can online check on their request status. With all these data input, you can have accurate cost allocation on material and resources usage to different individual/department/client account.

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