How NMIT automated their processes, creating an unstoppable process culture and collaboration
NMIT replaced unclear, paper-based processes with automated workflows built by the teams who use them – reducing bottlenecks, improving audit readiness, and giving everyone real-time visibility.
to build the first flow with no training
application to enrolment turnaround
collaborating across a single workflow
visibility over every process
Organisation
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT)
Industry
Tertiary Education
Region
Nelson / Marlborough, New Zealand
Products Used
Process Mapping →
Workflow Automation →
“Great system to use, easy to build flows and monitor progress. As a Flow Administrator, you can adjust the flow without having to rely on another department to amend it for you.”
“No longer are approvals sitting on people’s desks waiting for days to get done. Everyone can see where the process is sitting and process bottlenecks are reduced as a result.”
The Organisation
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) is a vocational education provider based in the Nelson and Marlborough regions of New Zealand, serving thousands of students each year across a wide range of programmes.
We spoke with Angela Scott, Information & Enrolments Manager, about how she used Flowingly to bring clarity, consistency, and real-time visibility to the enrolment processes she oversees.
The Challenge
NMIT’s enrolment processes involve large volumes of information moving across multiple teams.
Before Flowingly, there was limited visibility over where things were sitting, approvals went unactended for days, and individual steps in the process weren’t always clear to the people responsible for them.
“We were in a situation where we had both visibility and efficiency issues over a number of processes. There was a lack of clarity and responsibility at each step, and processing delays were impacting both students and the organisation.”
— Angela Scott, Information & Enrolments Manager, NMIT
Angela had already proven what good process improvement could look like – she’d previously led a project that brought application-to-enrolment processing down to five days or fewer, a critical pipeline for any education provider.
But without the right tooling, sustaining and scaling that kind of improvement across other processes was difficult.
Another department at NMIT had already trialled Flowingly and recommended it to Angela. She created her first flow in under an hour with no training and hasn’t looked back.
The Solution
Angela and her team used Flowingly to tackle two key areas first: Course/Programme Cancellations and Student Cancellation/Withdrawal processes. Both spanned the Enrolments, Curriculum Areas, and Finance teams – and both had the same problems: approvals sitting unattended and unclear process steps.
“Automating our processes in Flowingly has really allowed everyone to see what is required to complete a particular process, for example a student cancellation or withdrawal.”
— Angela Scott, Information & Enrolments Manager, NMIT
Using Flowingly’s process mapping, the team created a centralised, web-based reference point for staff. Using workflow automation, they turned those mapped processes into live, trackable workflows with assigned steps, reminders, and real-time visibility.
Because Angela owns the processes day-to-day, she could build and adjust workflows herself without relying on IT or another department – and deploy changes in real time.
“The manager or user of the process is the best person to write the flow, as they will also take this opportunity to improve the process – not just replicate what is currently happening.”
— Angela Scott, Information & Enrolments Manager, NMIT
Results
The impact has been felt across the teams involved. Approvals that previously sat on desks for days are now completed on schedule, with bottlenecks identified in real time rather than after the fact.
“No longer are approvals sitting on people’s desks waiting for days to get done. Everyone can see where the process is sitting and process bottlenecks are reduced as a result.”
— Angela Scott, Information & Enrolments Manager, NMIT
Step ownership has improved – each team now knows what’s expected of them at every stage of the process. The centralised digital record has also made audits significantly easier, with a complete trail of documentation and compliance built into every workflow.
As other departments across NMIT see the results, adoption is spreading. The Academic and Quality team is exploring Flowingly for policy and procedure sign-offs, and the Curriculum team is looking at using it for internal professional development approvals.