Document automation in business process management

About Charles Drayson

Charles is a UK lawyer who has used document automation for 20 years. He has worked for large law firms, corporate legal teams, and has automated legal and non-legal documents. He writes for Legito to share his passion for using automation to get work done. “I get a kick out of creating good content and seeing it used repeatedly and reliably by colleagues without fuss and bother”.

Document automation in business process management

About Charles Drayson

Charles is a UK lawyer who has used document automation for 20 years. He has worked for large law firms, corporate legal teams, and has automated legal and non-legal documents. He writes for Legito to share his passion for using automation to get work done. “I get a kick out of creating good content and seeing it used repeatedly and reliably by colleagues without fuss and bother”.

Charles Drayson

Apr 6 · 2 min read
Charles Drayson
Apr 6 · 2 min read

Legal teams used to be the significant users of document automation, so much of the published writing is about automating contracts and legal documents. Modern solutions like Legito extended document automation to include tools useful (probably more useful) for other business teams. We showcase seven examples to get you thinking.

Legal teams used to be the significant users of document automation, so much of the published writing is about automating contracts and legal documents. Modern solutions like Legito extended document automation to include tools useful (probably more useful) for other business teams. We showcase seven examples to get you thinking.

Automation in the HR team

Employment contracts, offer letters, and employee benefits: they all need to be tailored for the employee while meeting complex requirements, making them ideal automation candidates. The HR team must manage multiple processes for recruitment and exits, absence management, appraisals, payroll, pensions administration…the list seems to get bigger over time. Those processes involve a combination of workflow, documents, approvals, signatures and reporting – all core features of solutions like Legito.

Real estate management

Real estate is document-heavy, and it’s vital to manage the details and dates. Miss a date or misunderstand the terms, and you risk expensive consequences. Real estate heavily depends on related procedures: rent reviews, insurance obligations, renewals, maintenance programmes, and health-and-safety related requirements. Creating documents is useful, but using the data to drive reporting and workflow to manage the portfolio is a big value-add.

Automation for compliance teams

Organisations are typically exposed to at least one compliance regime that is business-critical and cumbersome. Compliance must be achieved, but must also be verifiable. Creating a regime is one challenge, but adherence is often the bigger challenge. Relying on pages of policy documents is rarely effective. Tools like Legito allow compliance documents and procedures to be deployed at the point of need, to make it easier for people to do the right thing.

Expert systems

Some organisations need to guide people through a long, complex process that is and not tolerant of errors. Consider the example of an appeals process for public services like welfare benefits, criminal justice, access to social housing. If you don’t follow the rules, the appeal process will be flawed, worsening a bad situation. Moreover, it’s often a document-intensive process. Tools like Legito can augment the work of case handlers to provide guidance, oversight, and information management.

Client intake and know-your-customer

Financial services and allied sectors must perform checks on new customers to comply with anti-money laundering rules, consumer-protection procedures, and fraud prevention. The rules might vary depending on the circumstances. Evidence has to be requested and stored. The data obtained might be needed for the services which follow. Failure to manage the process and keep evidence could result in sanctions even if no breaches occurred. Tools like Legito guide teams through the correct steps, keep track of the documents and decisions and make the data available for re-use.

Orders and product configuration

Did you ever try to buy a car online? You select the base model and then build the specification from the list of optional extras. Select the ‘cold weather pack’ and see how the system adds all the features like a heated front screen and remote cabin heating. Select the navigation option, and see how the system says you must also select the advanced entertainment system. It doesn’t let you build a specification with incompatible options. It calculates the price. It guides you logically through the choices. After the selection process, the system creates the Order to check and proceed. Legito can do this for products and services.

Creating product documentation

Like pharmaceutical aviation manufacturing, some industries require vendors to ship products with a set of tailored, prescribed documentation. The resulting pack is created by collating a list of documents tailored to the product. The content has to meet regulatory requirements and must be created from current versions. It’s safer to automate the document pack.

Automation in the HR team

Employment contracts, offer letters, and employee benefits: they all need to be tailored for the employee while meeting complex requirements, making them ideal automation candidates. The HR team must manage multiple processes for recruitment and exits, absence management, appraisals, payroll, pensions administration…the list seems to get bigger over time. Those processes involve a combination of workflow, documents, approvals, signatures and reporting – all core features of solutions like Legito.

Real estate management

Real estate is document-heavy, and it’s vital to manage the details and dates. Miss a date or misunderstand the terms, and you risk expensive consequences. Real estate heavily depends on related procedures: rent reviews, insurance obligations, renewals, maintenance programmes, and health-and-safety related requirements. Creating documents is useful, but using the data to drive reporting and workflow to manage the portfolio is a big value-add.

Automation for

compliance teams

Organisations are typically exposed to at least one compliance regime that is business-critical and cumbersome. Compliance must be achieved, but must also be verifiable. Creating a regime is one challenge, but adherence is often the bigger challenge. Relying on pages of policy documents is rarely effective. Tools like Legito allow compliance documents and procedures to be deployed at the point of need, to make it easier for people to do the right thing.

Expert systems

Some organisations need to guide people through a long, complex process that is and not tolerant of errors. Consider the example of an appeals process for public services like welfare benefits, criminal justice, access to social housing. If you don’t follow the rules, the appeal process will be flawed, worsening a bad situation. Moreover, it’s often a document-intensive process. Tools like Legito can augment the work of case handlers to provide guidance, oversight, and information management.

Client intake

and know-your-customer

Financial services and allied sectors must perform checks on new customers to comply with anti-money laundering rules, consumer-protection procedures, and fraud prevention. The rules might vary depending on the circumstances. Evidence has to be requested and stored. The data obtained might be needed for the services which follow. Failure to manage the process and keep evidence could result in sanctions even if no breaches occurred. Tools like Legito guide teams through the correct steps, keep track of the documents and decisions and make the data available for re-use.

Orders and product configuration

Did you ever try to buy a car online? You select the base model and then build the specification from the list of optional extras. Select the ‘cold weather pack’ and see how the system adds all the features like a heated front screen and remote cabin heating. Select the navigation option, and see how the system says you must also select the advanced entertainment system. It doesn’t let you build a specification with incompatible options. It calculates the price. It guides you logically through the choices. After the selection process, the system creates the Order to check and proceed. Legito can do this for products and services.

Creating product documentation

Like pharmaceutical aviation manufacturing, some industries require vendors to ship products with a set of tailored, prescribed documentation. The resulting pack is created by collating a list of documents tailored to the product. The content has to meet regulatory requirements and must be created from current versions. It’s safer to automate the document pack.

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