The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency - Quote by Bill Gates
What is Business Automation?
Business Automation is the use of technology to autonomously execute everyday tasks that are part of your business. As technologies advances in this rapid-changing world, automated things are slowly merging into our daily lives. From UAV and household appliances to daunting office tasks that are time-consuming and repetitive.
Here are a few examples:
- Customer support
- Customer billing
- Social networking
- Inventory management
- Document approval
- Expense request
- Report and contract generation
- Signatures
- Email responding
- Employee Timesheet
- Recruiting new employees
Thereby, the key benefit of Business Automation is to eventually free up your valuable human resources and allow them to focus on core business activities that require a high degree decision makings.
Gartner predicts 69% of routine work currently performed by managers will be fully automated by 2024.
What is the Difference Between BPA and RPA?
Automation can be very powerful in helping your business to be efficient and error-free. Furthermore, when talking about automation people are likely to get confused with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Business Process Automation (BPA).
Business Process Automation is usually used for automating complex business processes and functions beyond single-step tasks such as data manipulation and record-keeping activities. Instead, BPA creates an entire workflow for core parts of your business. For example, when hiring a new employee in a company, it frequently requires a long hiring process. By automating these time-consuming recruitment tasks, it will decrease the time it takes to perform tasks such as candidate filtering, application verification, application email responding, employee data extraction and even creating new user accounts.
On the other hand, Robotic Process Automation allows users to configure one or more scripts to emulate selected tasks within a process. These may comprise manipulating data, passing data to and from different applications, or even executing transactions.
Your business will be greatly impacted from these pre-defined “bots” that automates repetitive tasks. It will also benefit your customers, employees, and business partners.
Next, we will talk about the 2020 top 5 benefits of applying Business Automation to your business. It will allow you to understand how becoming technology-enabled will provide your business with a way to giant step in performance and capabilities.
Top 5 Benefits of Business Automation
#1 - Business Efficiency Optimisation
Business efficiency optimisation is probably the number one key reason forward-thinking businesses adopt digital transformation in business process automation. By having these dreary repetitive tasks automated, it will eliminate the inefficiency of that in a human in performing highly routine activities. Instead, your employees will have more time performing tasks that require more critical judgement calls and innovative ideas to make your overall business operations more efficient.
Processes that could be automated includes but not limited to:
- Daily backup of data
- Scheduling tools that update your social media presence
- Customer support chatbots
#2 - Improve Customer Relations
The success of any businesses can be reflected in the happiness of their customers. According to American Express, 7 in 10 customers had stated that they prefer doing business with companies that deliver great services. As mentioned previously, technologies are slowly merging into our daily lives, customers are also becoming more tech-savvy and demanding. This is especially true for millennials that are growing up in this digital world. Hence, by going through the business process automation transformation you will benefit an efficient and error-free system which can be considered a must-have.
For example, by offering automated customer supports, constraints such as holidays, time zone differences, and queues can easily be eliminated. With the rise of Chatbots, more businesses have incorporated AI-enabled Chatbots as their first point of contact in customer support.
Thus, by surpassing customers' expectations with business automation, it will create a gateway for enhancing your customer relations.
#3 - Improve Employee Happiness
Many repetitive office tasks that would take an entire day to finish can be easily delegated by business automation. Employees frequently need to work over-time to finish these tasks in order to prevent any delays. Having to automate daunting repetitive tasks, you are essentially enabling your talented employees to focus on more strategic tasks that would provide more value to your business.
By awarding them with freedom, it will hugely increase their happiness and unleash their creativity. Ultimately, your business operational productivity will be improved.
Likewise, when employees feel valued and acknowledged for their contribution, they will find happiness in their job. Thus, leading to a higher retention rate.
#4 - Time and Cost Reduction
Automating your business processes means both reduction in time and costs. Many office work tasks that are currently done manually has opened up many opportunities for automation. Considerably, if a task does not require any analytical thinking or decision making, it can be automated. Elimination of the need to perform these repetitive processes means that your business will achieve the same output even with less manpower.
Each year companies drain thousands of dollars in correcting mistakes caused by human errors. Regardless of how big the mistakes are, it may produce a significant impact on your business. This opens up the opportunity for companies to adopt business automation, which will considerably improve both accuracy and efficiency.
Businesses who have incorporated business automation for customer support tasks have proven to save up to 30% in costs, according to Chatbots Magazine. Furthermore, Juniper Research had forecasted that Business Automation tool, "chatbots", will help businesses in cost savings of at least $8 billion dollars per annum by the year 2022. Moreover, research conducted by PWC also shows 34% of business executives had stated that the extra time freed up from adopting the Business Automation tools allowed them to focus on deep thinking and innovative work.
#5 - Implement Governance
The trail of documents generated from the automated processes can help your business in reinforcing governance. This allows managers to govern the project and delegate correspondingly. By having business processes automated, it streamlines the workflow and ensures consistency and reliability.
Conclusion
Process automation has becoming a crucial element for every innovative company that wants to take that giant leap to the next step. It will enhance your organisational management and improve the operational performance of your company which would lead to an increase in the retention of both your employees and customers.
Having to use technology to automate everyday tasks will certainly be the norm of the future. If you are ready to take your business to the next step, our Digital Strategists at Fonseka Innovations are here to provide you with our rich automation experience.