Process automation uses technology to automate complex business processes. It typically has three functions: automating processes, centralizing information, and reducing the requirement for input from people. It is designed to remove bottlenecks, reduce errors and loss of data, all while increasing transparency, communication across departments, and speed of processing.
Process automation streamlines a system by removing human inputs, which decreases errors, increases speed of delivery, boosts quality, minimizes costs, and simplifies the business process. It incorporates software tools, people, and processes to create a completely automated workflow.
Benefits of Process Automation
With such bespoke, holistic solution, process automation should deliver a raft of positives for any organization that implements it correctly.
Transparency in Management:
The day to day business operations can quickly become all that management notices; the overarching strategy and process can get lost in the minutiae of running the organization. Sitting down, going over process workflows, and implementing process automation allows owners to truly see and understand the business. Clearly defined systems allow for deeper insights into the business and possibility for greater improvements in the future.
Improve Productivity:
Business process automation continues to be the key to improving productivity for organizations. RPA alone has helped to improve productivity in businesses by 86 percent. Removing bottlenecks, taking manual, time-consuming tasks away from people, and seamlessly integrating everything into one automated workflow increases productivity dramatically for companies.
Increase Compliance:
Whether with internal policy and standards or external governing bodies and agencies, process automation systems increase compliance. As all processes automatically happen, there are no cutting corners, no missed steps, and no forgotten steps in a process. If a business has governance, risk, or compliance concerns, process automation should be a vital part of their day-to-day operations.
Reduce Costs:
One of the most attractive benefits of process automation is a reduction in costs. Businesses have reported a reduction of costs of 59 percent, which allows businesses to create more income, reinvest in the business, or grow. Return on investment was reportedly achieved in less than 12 months.
This is due a range of factors:
Better Utilisation of Staff:
While staff are busy with tedious, repetitive tasks, they are not being used to their full potential. By removing these tasks and allocating employees to more valuable and interesting parts of the business, they will be more satisfied, increasing positive business outcomes.
Fewer Errors:
Errors can be disruptive and create problems within a business. While getting an order wrong or having an incorrect address are problems that can be resolved, it takes up valuable time. If those problems start to affect customers, it can negatively impact the entire business, contribute to churn, and create more work for staff in the long term. Automation means much less capacity for errors.
Like any process or software, automation has a number of challenges.
Difficult to Scale:
This problem can be broken down into a range of contributing factors:
Many businesses have not embraced process automation due to these challenges.
Solution
Many problems are resolved if the research phase is completed correctly, and there is excellent staff approval of the new system. However, the dynamic nature of business and software means that the system needs to be consistently checked for problems and upgraded as required. Automated software testing should be completed to ensure no break-down in processes, and regular oversight from senior IT or management is needed to keep processes in place or advise when upgrades or changes need to be made.
Errors in Implementation:
One of the most important steps when creating a process automation is breaking down all the steps of a process. While a step in the process may be ‘hand file to Sarah,’ there could be multiple steps in that part of the process. Is the file purged of irrelevant documents at that point? Is that when the employee manually enters the file number into the system? If steps are missed, the system will not work.
Solution:
In the research phase, each tiny incremental step in the process must be broken down. There is no room for ambiguity or assumptions; the process must be incredibly detailed.
Trying to Implement Everything at Once:
Trying to overhaul a massive system all at once will not work. It requires all employees to be trained at once, all software and hardware to be operational, and can lead to confusion, disappointment, and push-back from employees.
Solution:
Automate one task at a time. It can even be a small part of the process; for instance, if an organization is changing the accounts payable process, start with automating the statements before moving on the debt collection. This allows for small, incremental changes, better training, and gives more chances for success. If small tasks are successful, complex business processes and more dynamic solutions are more likely to succeed.
No Goal Management:
Those goals and key performance indicators that were set up at the start of the project are often let go. Once the system is running, checking in on those workflows and continued goal achievement becomes a task that may be dropped or ignored. However, this is when processes become un-automated. An employee realizes a step has been missed and decides to manually step in each day to complete a function. Or the task becomes so slow, that a goal of a two-day process slides and turns into a five day process.
Solutions:
Monitoring and continued management of the system is required. It is possible the system will need to change or adapt once implemented; being open to the dynamic nature of the business is important for success.