How to Use Task Mining to Drive Continuous Process Improvement

by Daniel Raymond · April 24, 2025

Do you want to make your business run smoother, faster, and smarter? Certainly not one of the small companies. Every business, be it big or small, is eager to find ways they be made better. This is why there’s Task Mining: making you understand what people do on their computers during work and what can be better done concerning those tasks.

Table of Contents

In this blog post, we intend to discuss what Task Mining is, how it works, and how to take advantage of it for the application of Process Excellence and leverage continuous improvement. And don’t worry about it; we’ll keep it simple and practical.

What is Task Mining?

Task Mining is an intelligent way to learn about how employees spend their time finishing their day’s work on their computers. It gathers information about what applications they open, what actions they take, how much time they use, and where they encounter lag. After that, it applies this information to provide you with lucid insights.

Think about having a video replay of each task, such as making an invoice, refunding a customer, or maintaining customer information. Task Mining records action but not an individual’s personal information, and then gives a report on how to simplify or streamline.

Like having a microscope, it has revealed the micro-steps of your business processes so you can repair broken pieces, eliminate waste, and streamline flows.

Why Task Mining Matters

Most firms concentrate on large processes, such as how to move a product from the warehouse to the customer. But small tasks matter too. They build up and can cost time, money, and customer trust.

Here’s why Task Mining matters:

Saves Time: It shows which tasks take too long and why.
Reduces Errors: You can spot common mistakes and fix them early.
Improves Tools: It tells you if employees struggle with outdated or confusing software.
Drives Process Excellence: It helps create smoother, faster, and more reliable processes.

All of this leads to better customer experiences, happier employees, and smarter business decisions.

Task Mining vs. Process Mining – What’s the Difference?

These two often go hand-in-hand, but they’re not the same.

Process Mining looks at how entire processes flow through your systems. It studies the data in your tools, like CRM or ERP software.
Task Mining focuses on the human side—what people actually do on their screens during daily tasks.

Think of it this way:

Process Mining is the big picture.
Task Mining zooms in on the fine details.

Together, they give you a complete view and help you reach true Process Excellence.

How Does Task Mining Work?

Here’s how a basic Task Mining setup works:

Install a Tracking Tool: Small software agents are installed on employee computers. They record actions like mouse clicks, key presses, copy-pastes, and app usage.
Capture Activities: The tool gathers data from different tasks over time. It doesn’t record private messages or sensitive info—it only tracks work-related actions.
Analyze the Data: The tool uses AI to organize the steps into clear task flows and compares how different people perform the same task.
Find Insights: You see where delays happen, which steps are repeated, and which tasks can be automated or improved.

The result? A clear, easy-to-understand map of how work really happens in your company.

7 Ways to Use Task Mining for Continuous Process Improvement

Ready to use Task Mining in your business? Here are seven smart ways to make it work:

1. Find Repetitive Work

Many employees waste time on copy-paste jobs, manual data entry, or switching between apps. Task Mining helps you spot those boring tasks, so you can automate or streamline them.

2. Identify Bottlenecks

Sometimes, a task that should take 5 minutes ends up taking 15. Why? Maybe there’s a slow system, or maybe employees don’t know the best way to do it. Task Mining shows you the delays clearly.

3. Improve Training

If one employee completes a task in 3 steps and another takes 7, you know there’s a better way. Use this data to train your team on the best methods.

4. Support Automation Projects

Thinking about using RPA (Robotic Process Automation)? Task Mining tells you exactly which tasks are perfect for automation, saving time and money.

5. Fix Software Pain Points

Employees often waste time because the software is slow or hard to use. Task Mining shows which tools cause trouble, so you can upgrade, replace, or simplify them.

6. Boost Employee Productivity

When you remove repetitive steps, provide better tools, and train smarter, you help employees do more in less time. This improves morale and efficiency.

7. Measure Results Over Time

After you make changes, Task Mining can show you if your fixes are really working. You can track progress and make continuous improvements.

Real-Life Example: Task Mining in Action

Let’s say a company processes 1,000 invoices a month. Employees copy invoice data from emails into their accounting software. It’s slow and prone to errors.

Using Task Mining, the company sees that:

40% of the time is spent switching between screens.
25% of entries have manual errors.
Some employees take twice as long as others.

With this insight, they decide to:

Automate the data entry using RPA.
Create a one-screen view to avoid switching tabs.
Train employees on faster methods.

Result? 60% faster invoice processing and a big drop in errors. That’s Process Excellence in action.

Tips to Start with Task Mining

Thinking of trying Task Mining? Here are a few simple steps to begin:

Have a Clear Objective: Select one process or task to focus on without attempting to fix everything at once.
Choose the Right Tool: Find software that caters to your own needs and budget. The most popularly used tools are Celonis, UiPath Task Mining, and Soroco.
Talk to Your Team: Make sure that employees understand why you are using Task Mining. It is not some sort of spying; rather, it is there to help them perform better.
Act on the Findings: Do not just collect data. Instead, implement it for improving tools, smarter training, and waste elimination.
Keep Improving: That is what continuous improvement means: making things better, step by step, every day.

Final Thoughts

Task Mining may sound too heavy on technology and buzzwords; however, in reality, it is a clever way to understand what goes on behind the curtains in your business. It aids your movement toward Process Excellence in the small, yet very powerful steps-smoother, faster, and smarter.

That means, in a world where every second counts, being able to tell how exactly your team works-and how they can work better- will really turn the scale for you. Thus, from a startup founder perspective or a manager from an old-school big business, Task Mining is your sharp-and secret-growth weapon.