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Is automation the answer to your daily grind?

Posted by Dale Metherell in: process

No matter what industry you're in, most businesses are faced with necessary tasks that need to be performed regularly. These can often be time consuming and you may find yourself asking "Isn't there an easier and faster way to complete this?" Have you considered how many of these tasks could be automated to make your company more efficient?

Is automation the answer to your daily grind?

System Automation allows you to streamline your business processes and operational tasks, while improving efficiency. Offering a plethora of benefits, automated software gives you the power to:

  • Standardise processes across your business
  • Provide accuracy, minimizing human error and inconsistencies
  • Save your company time and money
  • Ensure that all steps in a process are met
  • Validate that information is correct
  • Enable better reporting

In time, an additional benefit to automation is that it provides accurate historical business data which can be used for BI reporting which will provide greater business insight to make strategic decisions and highlights process improvements that may be required.

It's hard to deny the merits of system automation, but every business operates differently and has varying needs. So how can you be sure that automation is a smart move for your business? If you answer 'Yes' to the following questions, it's definitely worth considering:

  • Do you have a mature and established manual process in place?
  • Are your users frustrated with your current processes?
  • Are your manual systems causing a 'bottle neck' in your work flow?
  • Does 'human error' threaten your business?
  • Would you benefit from format consistency across the board in your processes?
  • Is there pressure for your business to become more time-efficient?

For custom system automation to be really successful, it is necessary to have a business champion on the inside, someone who can spearhead the process internally. In order to create software that really adds value to your business, we rely heavily on the intellectual understanding of business users themselves. This gives us the insight to customise a system that really suits the end user, and not the other way around.

As with everything in life, there is a flipside. It's important to consider some of the risks upfront:

  • The success of system automation relies on willingness and adoption from employees.
  • If a company does not have a mature manual process, you can expect a longer analysis time in order to define the exact requirements of a system.
  • Without an established manual process, there can be greater transitional costs. As users start engaging with the system, it's likely that they'll come across new 'what ifs' and 'buts' that need to be considered to make the process user-friendly; these changes can be costly in terms of time and money.

There are many pros and a few cons to consider, but at the end of the day automation software can give you the power to claim back hours in your workday. Through flawless precision, this technology can capture and execute your most time-consuming, repetitive tasks at the touch of a button. Which makes you think… perhaps it's time to put those time-consuming tasks on auto-pilot?

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