How Utah DHHS Accelerated Contract Approvals and Simplified Compliance

The Challenge

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services, with over 6,000 staff across 150 offices, is committed to improving public health and community well-being through vital social programs. With a focus on modernization, the organization sought to replace outdated tools and streamline its processes.

Before adopting FlowForma Process Automation, the organization faced challenges such as:

• InfoPath Deprecation. The organization's processes were heavily reliant on InfoPath, necessitating a swift replacement.
• Manual, Paper-Based Processes. Many processes were still manual, leading to inefficiencies and delays.
• Budget Constraints. As a public body, cost efficiency was essential.
• Complex Approval Workflows. Contracts had to pass through six levels of approval, often taking months due to manual emails and coordination.
• Resistance to Technology. Adoption required buy-in across divisions.

A Process Automation Lead at the organization was tasked with finding a new solution. They collaborated closely with the FlowForma team on a Proof of Concept, thoroughly testing the FlowForma platform alongside several other options.

The Solution

FlowForma Process Automation was selected for its no-code, user-friendly interface, which empowered non-developers to build and manage processes efficiently. Key reasons for choosing the FlowForma Process Automation platform included:

• Integrated Features. Unlike other platforms such as Power Apps and Power Automate, which required separate purchases for forms, workflows, signature packs, and document generation, FlowForma provided an all-in-one solution.
• Cost Efficiency. FlowForma's pricing model fit well within the organization's budget, avoiding the high costs associated with separate tools.
• Ease of Use. The no-code interface empowered users across different departments to build and modify processes.
• Support for Complex Processes. The FlowForma platform enabled the organization to design and manage complex, cross-departmental workflows with ease.

Processes automated

Since deploying FlowForma Process Automation, the organization has successfully automated critical processes, including contract management, grant revenue management, a purchasing system, travel management, and risk assessment and compliance. Group gatherings, statements of work, API and legislative reports were also digitized.

The Outcome

The organization's contract management process was one of the most painful bottlenecks. Previously, contracts had to go through six levels of approval, often taking months due to manual emails and coordination. Now automated via the FlowForma Process Automation platform, approval times have drastically reduced.

The organization's internal audit office requires comprehensive records of all contracts, including who approved each step and when. With FlowForma's audit trails, the organization can easily track every step of the process, ensuring full compliance with internal policies and regulations. The ability to capture and report on metadata, such as approval timelines and user access, has been a game-changer.

The organization has currently automated about 30% of its processes, with plans to expand much further. By starting with cross-departmental processes, they've created champions in each division who are eager to adopt the platform and automate their own workflows. Additionally, the platform's ability to provide management with real-time insights into process timelines and bottlenecks has been instrumental in gaining executive support for further automation initiatives.

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Our contracts used to take months to get signed, now they're approved within 1 to 5 days. As soon as one director approves, it sends a notification to the next. It's so much faster.