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Did you know that 94% of employees state that they perform repetitive and time-consuming tasks? This alarming statistic is a clear sign that the majority of employees are wasting their talents. Not only will this lead to employee frustration and burnout but also to draining of business funds. Although not everything can be delegated to a software solution, there is an abundance of tools that will alleviate some of that burden. Using business process automation services, you can reduce expenses, improve working conditions, and increase productivity across the company. No matter how big or small your business is, automating mundane tasks will bring significant benefits. In this article, we’ll dive into the advantages of business process automation, identify use cases, and explore the step-by-step guide to digital transformation.
Business process automation is a technology-driven approach to eliminate manual, repetitive, and multi-step business transactions. These tasks range from inefficient workflows, correspondence, and administration to compliance management and more. Using various software, businesses can streamline activities that normally require manual effort. While some tasks can be completely replaced by an algorithm or tool, others can be simplified. As a result, companies can significantly reduce costs, increase productivity across departments, and improve data security.
There are various methods of automating business processes depending on your needs and requirements. Here’s a list of some of the most common BPA tasks:
Automating tasks refers to removing manual tasks that can be handed over to software. For instance, scheduling meetings, generating reports and other documents, updating user data, collecting information, and more.
Automating workflows is a process that allows businesses to streamline a series of tasks that comprise a certain workflow. For example, the process may include crafting an email based on the user’s profile information, sending it to the customer, and capturing the reply. Although the first two steps can be fully automated, a human agent might need to step in during the last stage to process the response. In other words, tasks associated with decision-making and critical thinking require an actual employee.
Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technique that employs specialized bots. Repetitive tasks like data entry do not require decision-making and can be outsourced to an algorithm.
Intelligent automation is a holistic approach that incorporates all of the above types of BPA. Using advanced technologies like AI and Big Data, companies can automate high-level tasks that involve making decisions.
Enterprise automation is a major driver of productivity, efficiency, and cost savings. In this section, we’ll explore how leveraging BPA tools can improve your business and customer experience. What are the benefits of automation of processes?
One of the main reasons for employing process automation is to increase the productivity of your employees and the business in general. When it comes to routine tasks, there is only so much time people can devote before hitting a wall. Leveraging employees’ analytical skills, creative acumen, and critical thinking will yield much greater results rather than forcing them to perform mundane tasks. To allow your staff to focus on complex issues, you can allocate repetitive procedures to a software product.
Another perk that comes from utilizing process automation is securing your data. However, simply digitizing your assets will not suffice to ensure data protection. You need to implement various techniques to safeguard sensitive information. For instance, multi-step authentication and complex passwords are useful practices to ensure the safety of your assets. Furthermore, using a specialized tool for record-keeping allows companies to track every step of the process. Whenever someone logs in and accesses files with confidential information, the system will keep the log data. This aids in promoting accountability and data security as well as simplifies audits.
The next on the list of business process automation benefits is streamlined compliance management. Depending on the industry, your business may need to comply with specific industry regulations and laws. The most common governing body that companies need to be in line with is GDPR, the data protection law. Business tools for process automation can assist you in preserving and accessing the records pertaining to regulations. Moreover, you can limit access to confidential data thus preventing potential leaks. Finally, automated data deletion will help you meet the legal requirements for data retention.
Business process automation activities allow businesses to allocate their valuable resources toward more complex tasks. By delegating routine procedures to an algorithm, you will alleviate the burden on employees. This prevents wasting resources and minimizes operational costs. Instead of paying a data entry clerk to copy and paste information, you can outsource this task to software. As a result, you can reduce overhead costs and increase potential earnings in the long run.
Whether from incompetence, oversight, or burnout, humans make mistakes. When it comes to routine tasks, the best way of minimizing errors is to remove humans from the equation. Software solutions do not forget or get tired from hours of work. Delegating mundane activities to an algorithm will help you eliminate chances of an error and allow your business processes to run smoother.
Establishing standardized processes and practices is vital for any business across industries. Companies that deal with sensitive customer data need to be especially on top of their game. However, it can be challenging to ensure adherence to guidelines on the enterprise level. As a result, you will end up with discrepancies and inconsistencies that might lead to serious issues in the future. Automation tools facilitate a very rigid process that follows the same steps every time. These programs will not allow users to stray from the guidelines, which ensures consistent and transparent procedures.
The aforementioned compliances and standardizations drive the atmosphere of transparency. Moreover, utilizing BPA tools offers access to reports, dashboards, and KPIs to generate valuable insights. Having up-to-date information about business performance can unlock areas that need improvement and help you enhance processes across departments.
Benefits of process automation include improved operational efficiency. Not only can BPA tools minimize human effort, but also identify potential errors and bottlenecks. Operational efficiency comes from both process automation and the capacity to detect and correct issues. These benefits eliminate the need for constant human supervision and facilitate improved performance for the entire office.
The improved compliance and data protection prevent delays, breaches, and poor user experiences. When a tool tracks the end-to-end processes from production to delivery, this leaves no room for errors. Additionally, you can employ chatbots to optimize customer support services. These AI-driven tools help companies provide 24/7 help, automatically resolve handfuls of inquiries at a time, and collect important user data.
Business process automation benefits employees by facilitating better working conditions. A study from Business Wire shows that employees waste up to five business hours per week on repetitive tasks. Automation erases monotony and gives workers an opportunity to focus on more interesting and challenging activities. On top of that, improved efficiency and reduced errors can drive employee morale and make your company a more pleasant place to work.
BPA tools can be task-specific or broad and cover multiple areas. In this part, we’ll delve into several business process automation examples and use cases that showcase how to leverage automation software.
One of the most prominent examples of automation in business is the human resources and recruitment department. From scanning resumes to sending out emails to potential candidates, automation tools can take on a handful of HR activities. For example, HR management systems help specialists optimize tasks associated with hiring and onboarding. They facilitate a smooth and straightforward process of scheduling interviews, assigning mentors, collecting data, and more.
Using a specialized BPA tool, employees can swiftly submit time-off requests without filling out multiple forms. Workers often struggle to find the right form or properly craft a letter. Having an easy-to-use system in place allows your employees to submit requests and receive answers a lot faster.
HR specialists can also utilize automation tools to improve overall communication and collaboration across the company. Their job is not limited to hiring and onboarding and includes solving conflicts and ensuring healthy working conditions. Using BPA systems, HR experts can automatically respond to employees’ emails, send out reminders, create reports, and conduct surveys. Overall, the department of human resources can significantly benefit from automation.
Financial departments are another business process automation example. As the area that deals with sensitive data, it can greatly benefit from automation and optimization. For example, creating budget approvals can be a tedious task that requires a lot of back-and-forth with other department heads. An automation tool will give you access to customizable forms for approvals to minimize the chance of a mistake. The software can also automatically send out reminders to executives regarding budget approvals to avoid backlogs.
Managing expense claims is another application on our list of business process automation examples. Using BPA systems, employees can rapidly upload their receipts and fill out the pre-designed form. This will minimize human errors and prevent falsifications. Additionally, workers can get reimbursed for their expenses a lot sooner which can reduce their frustrations.
Another burden that the financial department carries is report generation. Dealing with finances requires robust documentation, advanced analytics, and rigorous data collection. Specialized software programs allow employees to easily make financial forecasts and keep track of expenses. On top of that, the tools can automatically distribute reports across the company to inform everyone.
Sales staff can also improve their processes with BPA tools. The benefits of business process automation in sales include forecasting, resource distribution, and administrative tasks. A common example involves quote pricing, a process where potential customers inquire about the pricing structure of the service. A relevant software system can allow sales representatives to swiftly put together quotes for the requested services. This helps reduce waiting times and provides all the important information as soon as possible.
One of the best-known business process automation examples is a customer relationship management (CRM) system. A highly widespread tool, CRM systems allow sales managers to capture customer data, segment their user base, and create automated responses. Moreover, they act as centralized databases that can be accessed by other departments. Having customer data in a consolidated form allows employees to make informed decisions and improve customer experiences.
In marketing, there are also areas that can benefit from a BPA system. For example, a marketing automation tool can collect reviews and comments pertaining to your product. Gathering information from various social media platforms and review sites can allow you to gain a comprehensive overview of what people like and dislike about your brand and services.
Customer service is the face of the company and can significantly impact the brand’s reputation. Automation can be highly useful when it comes to customer support. Automating business processes in customer service can improve user experience and facilitate brand loyalty. Chatbots are primary examples of automation in customer support. Advanced AI bots can answer user inquiries 24/7 and provide high-quality experiences across channels. Moreover, modern chatbots can be trained using existing interactions and tailored to your users’ needs.
Automation programs can also aid customer service agents in collecting feedback. These systems allow them to swiftly create questionnaires to survey the user base and capture information in one place. Using the gathered data will enable you to improve the services and establish a closer bond with the client base.
Use cases of BPA stretch across various departments and tasks. For example, your employees can leverage automated file transfers, scheduling, emailing, and more. Specialized automation tools can help you generate personalized emails and send them in bulk to a concrete group of receivers. Such programs can also take on the scheduling efforts by automatically choosing suitable dates and sending timely reminders.
Adopting business innovation technologies benefits businesses across all industries, including marketing, banking, healthcare, retail, telecommunication, etc. Whether you’re a small startup or a large corporation, eliminating manual jobs will unlock a major resource. In the end, employees are the ones that shape the success of the company, and assigning them interesting tasks will increase their productivity.
Now that you’ve learned what business process automation is and how it can benefit your company, let’s dive into the implementation guide. Digital transformation is a lengthy process, but you need to start somewhere. Within the business process automation methodology, we can identify four main stages: analysis, implementation, integration, and maintenance. In this part, we’ll explore the entire process to help you ease into this challenging journey.
Before investing in any BPA programs, it’s vital to identify the areas that require automation. This can include sales, payroll, customer support, and more. Look at the metrics and identify which areas will benefit the most from automation.
It sounds easy enough but can actually be a complex task that requires an in-depth understanding of the business and industry. A best practice that will help you recognize which activities can be optimized is creating a visual representation of the current processes. Compile data from different departments to create an overview of KPIs and figure out which areas are underperforming.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) describe each role in detail, including responsibilities and primary duties. This task will allow you to see which actions can be eliminated or replaced with a software tool. Having a clear overview of each role in the company will enable you to reevaluate positions and reallocate resources in the most beneficial way.
After the first two steps, you’re likely to have a long list of tasks that can be outsourced to a BPA tool. To alleviate stress, the next stage is to prioritize the areas for automation. Consider operational savings, user experience, and staff benefits when choosing which tasks to handle first. Ideally, begin with the tasks that will have a holistic positive impact on employees, businesses, and customers.
Now it is finally the time to launch your enterprise digital transformation and make your business more efficient. You can either choose an off-the-shelf solution that fits better within your company or build your own automation system. You can also do both and employ an existing tool for customer management, like a CRM system and create custom software for marketing.
If you decide to make your own business automation tool, consider outsourcing this task to an IT vendor. Make sure you’re working with a reliable service provider who understands your business needs and industry trends. Additionally, check the company’s portfolio and digital transformation success stories to see if they have experience in your area.
Choose a small group of users within the company to test the solution. Don’t forget to check the tool from different perspectives to make sure it can cover everyone’s needs. If something is missing, utilize customization features to ensure the software meets your goals.
After configuring the software and making it effective for different roles, it is time to train your staff. Bring in someone with experience in digital transformation to battle the expected resistance from employees and communicate the benefits. Also, explain the functions of the software to the workforce and make sure everyone knows how to use its features to perform the necessary duties.
The final yet important part of the business process automation methodology is maintenance. Once you have successfully implemented the new software into the workflow, don’t forget to keep track of KPIs. Collect employee feedback to make necessary changes in the future and improve their experiences. Continuous monitoring will aid you in identifying bottlenecks and unlocking more areas for improvement.
The benefits of automating business processes speak for themselves. Removing repetitive assignments will improve employee morale, streamline customer services, ensure enterprise-level compliance, and reduce human errors. Why pass on the opportunity to cut costs and enhance efficiency? If you want to identify your growth potential but feel the need for a professional consultation, reach out to NIX specialists. We’re a company of business and technology experts with decades of experience. Share your goals and needs with us to create a custom business process automation tool to solve your unique problems.
Julia is a high-skilled IT consultant using her vast experience as a project manager and sales expert to help CEOs and founders of tech companies assemble and scale engineering teams to build quality IoT solutions and drive business growth.
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