As the COVID-19 crisis started, organizations worldwide needed to adapt and innovate swiftly. Our developers and engineers quickly got to work, automating the temperature and questionnaire screening process. The trust and collaboration placed in us by our customers turned this challenging time into a magical experience. We effectively automated the monitoring of COVID-19 symptoms for visitors and employees.
The pandemic has taught us all valuable lessons, one of the most crucial being: AUTOMATE DIGITALLY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Now that the COVID-19 crisis is receding, it has left organizations with new challenges:
Tight labor market
Increased operational costs
The desire to ‘do more with less’
A pressing need to digitize processes
If you're contemplating how to navigate this new landscape or wondering what tasks automated, certain criteria can be will guide your decision-making.
Repetitiveness: Digital automation thrives on tasks that require the same steps to be performed repeatedly in a predictable pattern. For instance, data entry, report generation, or routine customer inquiries can all be automated to save precious human time and resources.
Rules-Based: Any process that can be defined entirely by a set of logical rules or formulas without needing human judgment or decision-making is ideal for automation. In other words, it’s an automation candidate if the steps to complete a task can be pre-determined and do not change based on variable factors.
High Volume: Automation shows its real power when applied to tasks that must be executed numerous times. High-volume tasks such as invoice processing or bulk email delivery can benefit significantly from automation, where cost and time savings become most apparent.
Digital Input and Output: Processes that take digital input and give digital output are ripe for automation, as they can easily be integrated into an automated workflow. However, tasks that require a lot of physical or manual input might not be the best candidates.
Stability: Processes that do not undergo frequent changes in rules or steps are better for automation. Frequent changes necessitate regular updates to the automation scripts, which can be costly and time-consuming.
Low Complexity: While complex processes can be automated, it is typically easier and more cost-effective to automate simple tasks. Highly complex tasks might require advanced AI or ML solutions, potentially increasing implementation time and cost.
Error-Prone: Tasks, where human error can lead to significant consequences are great candidates for automation. Once programmed correctly, machines eliminate the scope for mistakes, enhancing accuracy and efficiency.
Non-strategic: Tasks that do not require strategic thinking or creative problem-solving make good candidates for automation. Processes that don’t significantly benefit from human involvement can be automated to save time for more strategic work.
Scalability: Automation is most effective when it enables scalability. If a task’s volume can increase without requiring a proportional resource increase, it’s ideal for automation.
Time-Consuming: Tasks that consume a lot of time, especially when that time could be used more productively, are good candidates for automation.
How does the journey toward automating your processes begin?
We are fortunate to share fruitful partnerships with our clients, often beginning with intriguing dialogues. It’s not unusual to encounter queries like, “Could you possibly automate ‘X’ for us? We’re facing issues with ‘Y’.” To this, our response is almost always emphatically, “YES, WE CAN”. It’s important to remember that successful automation is contingent upon certain criteria, as outlined above. So, if your process is repetitive, rules-based, and of low complexity, the path towards digital automation is wide open.
Automation isn’t just about replacing humans with machines; it’s about freeing up human resources to do what they do best: innovate, create, and strategically guide the business. As we enter a new era post-COVID, leveraging digital automation will undoubtedly be a key driver for organizational success and resilience.
What is the cost for automating the process?
You’re probably pondering over the costs associated with automating a process. Our common response is, “It shouldn’t be about the cost, but rather, how much it’s going to save you.” We do acknowledge that the question often refers to the initial setup and programming work involved. Of course, the actual expense hinges on how many distinct workflows there are and how many different applications we are integrating with.
Regardless of these variables, we can confidently share that the return on investment (ROI) for automation can range from one to five months’ worth of an employee’s salary. More often than not, we see the savings multiply threefold or even more. In essence, the cost to automate a process pales in comparison to your current operational expenditures. Automation is an investment that significantly reduces your long-term costs and amplifies productivity.
If you’re contemplating the potential of automation and have identified a process that fits the criteria, the next logical step is within your reach. We invite you to reach out to us to schedule a 30-minute consultation with one of our workflow specialists. Together, we can explore your automation possibilities, ensuring your operations are as efficient and streamlined as possible. Embrace the digital automation journey with us – the future is just a conversation away.
