Top 7 Issues with Manual Case Management | Kissflow Workflow

Case management can be a dynamic and complex process for enterprises, requiring every stakeholder's communication and collaboration. 

CIOs gearing towards complete digital transformation already understand that case management isn’t something you can leave to chance. Mismanagement can cost your organization thousands of dollars.

Manual case management comes with its own list of issues and limitations. Businesses that use manual and outdated methods to handle their cases and incidents struggle with consistency and overall productivity. 

By identifying and resolving the main issues with manual case management, you can decrease errors, improve efficiency, and gain agility.

So, case management isn’t something you can leave to chance. Mismanagement can cost your organization thousands of dollars and can put the future of your organization in jeopardy.

Manual case management comes with its own list of issues and limitations. Businesses that use manual and outdated methods to handle their cases and incidents struggle with consistency and overall productivity. Given the uniqueness of each incident and the unstructured approach they require, using outdated tools makes handling a naturally complex process all the more error-prone and cumbersome.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at a few examples of the issues organizations face with manual case management.

Challenges of Manual Case Management

Ineffective Collaboration

Collaboration is central to effective case management. Tasks within the case can involve different individuals or even teams to bring about resolution. One of the biggest drawbacks of using manual case management tools is the lack of flexibility and coordination they afford. When people use different workspace systems, collaboration almost becomes non-existent. Delegation of responsibilities can prove difficult to manage and ad-hoc tasks may involve last minute reshuffling of priorities and unwanted delays.

Lack of Visibility

In sensitive and complex situations, it is important that case managers keep their customers or stakeholders informed and appraised of developments. This is an area of concern when it comes to manual methods—the sheer complexity makes it difficult to keep track of who’s working on what. And with the lack of visibility, case managers may not be able to gauge progress or make an estimation of when the case will most likely be resolved. And this can greatly impact the overall experience the customer has with the organization.

Time Management Issues

Cases are extremely time sensitive. At any given point of time, there may be multiple individuals or teams working on the same step. Case managers have to be able to delegate tasks seamlessly and bring about resolution in the shortest possible duration. Manual tools simply aren’t geared up to make this happen. And the lack of transparency only makes things worse. Duplication of work, inadequate action, inefficient data collection, and the lack of process structure are all realities that can cause time management issues and affect the overall outcome of the case.

Vulnerability to Errors

Let’s face it, humans aren’t perfect. The more manual the process is, the more they have to take care of and the more mistakes they will likely make. With manual tools, accurate documentation becomes difficult – contributors may create multiple amendments resulting in many versions of the same document ultimately leading to confusion. It’s very easy for contributors to accidentally switch details and end up with inconsistent or unusable data. And this information can not only prove detrimental to resolving the case but may not be useful for decision-making or analyzing trends.

Scattered Information

Effective case management requires timely access to important information. And case managers also have to drive context and take timely action based on the information they have in hand. With manual tools, the required information and data exist in silos. And this makes it incredibly difficult for case managers to access, contextualize, and derive actionable insights without having to refer to multiple sources and gather data. Not only is it cumbersome to begin with but it also makes the whole process a lot longer and more complicated than it needs to be.

Security

Nothing is as important to an organization as protecting its data and other valuable assets. Case managers deal with crucial and sensitive customer-related data. A security breach of any kind can not only put the whole operation at risk but can immediately throw trustworthiness of the company in doubt. Needless to say, this can severely impact the business and cause loss in revenue. Manual tools do not have filters on who can access information. There is no way to shield information or selectively granting access based on roles and responsibilities.

Lack of Customization

Every organization is designed in its own distinctive way. Processes and workflows are unique to the organization and these distinctions call for a certain degree of flexibility. Requirements may change based on how the organization handles their cases. Manual case management tools are not geared up to custom fit to the ways the company operates. And the inability to configure the right customization means the inaccessibility of features, resources, or being able to pivot whenever necessary. This can also mean a dramatic increase in operational costs.

The Need for Automation

Manual tools can massively fall short and may hinder scalability and growth. As the effectiveness of case management becomes a more important aspect of customer satisfaction, the need for a specialized solution is higher than ever. Companies have recognized the impact of automation and the need to move to a more effective, customizable, and easy to use solution.