Workflows vs. Processes: Understanding the Key Differences

In the world of business operations and improvement, the terms "workflow" and "process" are often used interchangeably.[1][2][3][4] While closely related, they represent distinct concepts.[2][3][4][5] Understanding the difference isn't just semantics; it's crucial for effectively analyzing, managing, and optimizing how work gets done in your organization.[5] Getting this distinction right can unlock significant gains in efficiency and clarity.

So, what exactly separates a workflow from a process? Let's break it down.

What is a Business Process?

Think of a business process as the big picture. It's a collection of related activities or tasks, performed by people or systems, designed to achieve a specific organizational goal.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Processes define what needs to happen to produce a particular outcome or deliver value to a customer.[7][11] They often span multiple departments or functions and represent a strategic objective.

Consider these examples of business processes:

• Onboarding a new customer

• Developing a new product

• Fulfilling a customer order[9]

• Hiring a new employee[10]

• Closing the monthly financial books

A business process focuses on the overall objective and the major stages involved in reaching it. It answers the question: "What are we trying to accomplish?"

What is a Workflow?

A workflow, on the other hand, is more granular.[12] It represents the specific sequence of steps, tasks, or actions required to complete a part of a process, or sometimes, a simple process itself.[8][9][13] Workflows define how a specific piece of work gets done, often focusing on the movement of tasks, information, or documents from one stage or person to the next in a repeatable manner.[4][5][9][14]

Workflows are tactical and operational. They detail the specific path work follows, including:

• The sequence of tasks

• Who is responsible for each task

• The tools or systems used[8][10][14][15][16]

• The rules or conditions governing the flow[10]

Using the hiring process example:

• Process: Hiring a New Employee (Goal: Fill an open position with a qualified candidate)

• Workflows within the process:

  • Workflow 1: Posting the job description (Steps: Draft description -> Get approval -> Post on job boards -> Track applications)

  • Workflow 2: Screening applications (Steps: Review resumes -> Shortlist candidates -> Schedule initial calls)

  • Workflow 3: Conducting interviews (Steps: First round interviews -> Technical assessment -> Final interviews -> Collect feedback)

  • Workflow 4: Generating an offer (Steps: Decide on candidate -> Determine compensation -> Draft offer letter -> Get approvals -> Send offer)

A workflow answers the question: "How do we execute this specific task or set of tasks?"

The Core Difference: Scope and Focus

Here’s a simple framework to distinguish between them:

FeatureBusiness ProcessWorkflowScopeMacro-level, broadMicro-level, specificFocusStrategic goal, What needs doingTactical execution, How it gets doneNatureCollection of activities/workflowsSequence of specific tasksGoalAchieve an organizational objectiveComplete a specific task efficientlyLevelSystem-focusedTask-focusedExampleCustomer OnboardingApproving an onboarding document

The Relationship: Processes Contain Workflows

Processes and workflows are not mutually exclusive; they are hierarchical. A business process is typically composed of one or more workflows.[1][9][13][17] Workflows are the building blocks that enable the execution of a larger process. Sometimes, a very simple process might consist of just a single workflow, but often, complex processes involve multiple interconnected workflows.[13]

Why Does This Distinction Matter for Your Business?

Understanding the difference helps you:

1. Improve Clarity: Clearly defining processes and their underlying workflows eliminates ambiguity and ensures everyone understands the overall goals and the specific steps needed to achieve them.

2. Target Improvements: You can identify whether inefficiencies lie at the overall process level (e.g., a poorly designed sequence of major stages) or within specific workflows (e.g., bottlenecks in an approval sequence). This allows for more targeted optimization efforts.

3. Select the Right Tools: Business Process Management (BPM) software often focuses on modeling, analyzing, and managing end-to-end processes. Workflow automation tools, like Workflow86, excel at streamlining and automating the specific sequences of tasks within those processes. Knowing the difference helps you choose the right technology for the job.[8]

4. Enable Effective Automation: Automation is most effective when applied to well-defined, repeatable steps. Workflows, by their nature, are prime candidates for automation.[8][18] Identifying specific workflows allows you to implement automation strategically to reduce manual effort, minimize errors, and speed up execution within the context of your larger business processes.

Optimizing Both for Peak Performance

Improving business operations involves looking at both levels.[2][12][19] Process improvement might involve redesigning the overall flow, eliminating unnecessary stages, or changing the strategic approach. Workflow optimization focuses on streamlining the individual steps, removing bottlenecks, clarifying responsibilities, and crucially, leveraging automation.[20]

This is where tools dedicated to workflow automation become invaluable. Platforms like Workflow86 allow you to map out, execute, and monitor your specific workflows. By automating the routing of tasks, approvals, data collection, and system integrations, you transform manual, often error-prone workflows into efficient, reliable, and automated sequences. This directly improves the execution speed and consistency of your larger business processes.

Wrapping up

While often confused, processes and workflows serve different but complementary roles.[3][4][14][21] Processes define the strategic what, outlining the path to achieving major organizational goals.[2][10] Workflows dictate the tactical how, detailing the specific, repeatable steps needed to execute tasks along that path.[2][8]

Recognizing this distinction empowers you to analyze your operations with greater precision, implement targeted improvements, and leverage the right tools – particularly workflow automation platforms like Workflow86 – to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and drive better business outcomes. By mastering both your processes and your workflows, you build a foundation for operational excellence.