The low-code/no-code revolution enables exponentially quicker turnaround times in the development of software applications and accelerating business outcomes. At VB’s Low-Code/No-Code Summit, those advantages were on display. Leaders from Randstad and Pulpstream joined VB for a session called, “How the World’s Largest Staffing Company Generated 1000% ROI by Streamlining Risk and Safety Processes Using a No Code Platform.”

At Randstad, worker’s compensation is the second largest expense after payroll, explained Trey Braden, director of risk management, at Randstad Manual. On-paper processes were slowing down every part of the procedure, from intake claims to kicking off claim investigation, and even the work site evaluations that help prevent claims from happening in the first place, which is the ideal situation.

“We were paying about $50 million annually on worker’s compensation,” Braden said. “We realized that even a small percentage dent in that by eliminating a manual process could bring substantial ROI to us.”

They turned to Pulpstream, which helped the risk management team design a solution that digitized and automated their worker’s compensation workflows, improve the design iteratively, and bring it into production with minimal help from IT. The partnership yielded 1000% ROI, Braden said, dramatically improving not only speed but accuracy in the worker’s comp process.

“A no-code solution puts the business in the driver’s seat,” Braden said. “That’s revolutionary to where I think things are going in the tech industry. Not only are we getting more done and collaborating better, but we’re getting a better product as a result of just having the folks who have the requirements starting to get their fingers into the build and the product itself, making sure that you get something that you’re really going to value.”

Instead of buying an off-the-shelf solution and then customizing it, working with Pulpstream let them start from scratch, build blueprints for their processes and workflow and turn it into a digital solution, without writing code. The no-code platform brings the design and architecture decisions closer to the business, eliminating the necessary-but-bottlenecking translation in the middle from business analysts between the IT department and the owners of the project.

It’s a big leap from a process that’s paper-based to a process that’s digitally based, Braden said, and the traditional software development cycle can be slow. The no-code solution gave them a tremendous amount of flexibility as they designed a brand-new solution and a whole new way of working. They were able to evolve their idea based on how their implementation was working, and the feedback they were getting from their users.

“Because of the agility, we’ve been able to quickly adapt and make sure that our end product matches what is going to work best for us,” he said, “instead of sticking to something that we have to stick with because that was what we said we would do.”

Processes should never be cast in stone, Malviya said, and the platform has been designed to encourage that mindset. Along with a sandbox environment for design and testing, the platform also allows users to publish their changes immediately. That improves the speed of user testing and iteration, but he warned that you need to bring some discipline into those design and development processes.

Pulpstream is also continuing to develop and add more features to their platform, including their new set of templated solutions. Instead of starting from scratch, businesses can use the integrated templates to speed up the development of their process blueprint.

Braden also noted that they’re not done exploring the possibilities of Pulpstream’s no-code platform.

“It’s explosive, the future of the no-code platform,” he explained. “I’d like to tell you that those were the only processes we had that were manual, but there are certainly lots and lots, and I don’t think Randstad’s alone.”