SIGNS WHAT YOU NEED AUTOMATED WORK PROCESS
Why workflow automation?
Whether you're building a business or looking for ways to improve it, chances are you've heard of this topic.
If you look closely, you will notice that workflow automation is all around us:
- You can find it in the confirmation email you receive after purchasing online.
- It is found in an email requesting a review after the online purchase has been delivered.
- The chatbot answers basic questions before being directed to a support representative.
Now you might be wondering why you need to automate. We'll get to that, but first, let's define what workflow automation is.
WORK PROCESS AUTOMATION:
DEFINITION
- Workflow automation is the design, implementation and automation of business processes based on predefined logical rules. The goal is to automatically route tasks, data, and files between people, applications and systems, and to reduce repetitive and operational human labor.
Admittedly, it's quite understandable when doubts arise when dealing with this topic for the first time.
This happens for several reasons, including:
- The latitude of the term. Not all people think the same thing when they hear the word automation. The assumptions about what this entails differ depending on who you ask.
- Thought automation is only for engineers or other tech-savvy people (it isn’t)
- Convince yourself that you need to adhere to “The way you’ve always done it”
- Fear of trying new methods. As with anything new, there will be an initial learning curve and growing pains to bite into (and rewards to reap on the other side).
- Difficulty determining what to automate, or just don’t know where and how to start
There are several key points,
which should be considered if you want to go on this journey. In this article, we'll take you from scratch and learn how to start automating your workflow to help you create more value and get closer to the manufacturing excellence people talk about.
WHY DO COMPANIES USE WORK PROCESS AUTOMATION?
- Turning manual processes into self-contained “machines” allows business owners to strategically take their next steps.
Common reasons for automating workflows include:
- Speeding up data entry tasks
- Link people, applications and processes
- Collect Big Data to Make Smarter Decisions
- Spend less time digging in your inbox
- Free up time that is usually wasted on boring, low-value work.
- Avoid manual tasks that are performed by humans (and therefore prone to human error)
Workflow automation
represents one of the biggest performance leaps in our era, comparable to the advent of personal computers four decades ago.
INFLUENCE OF THE PANDEMIC
- Since Covid-19 has ruined our lives, companies have had to face closures, falling sales, and layoffs. New ways of communication, work and production had to be introduced almost overnight.
- In other words, the situation has served as a catalyst for the digital transformation. Consumers flocked to online channels and companies followed suit.
Now back to the original question: how do you know if you need automation?
5 signs you need workflow automation
- The following signs can help you determine if workflow automation is a viable next step for your work and business. Let’s dive in right now.
Your days are filled with hard work.
- Have you ever felt like you’re moving information around endlessly? What you do is necessary, but not necessary for you.
- Copying and pasting is the smallest waste of time and the surest sign that you can use workflow automation. Also, where people work, mistakes will be made. Fatigue can lead to incorrect data entry or data loss and even compromise data security.
- If the process of moving data is always the same, automation will likely save you the trouble of doing it manually.
- You may be tempted to think that this is not a problem, but it takes a lot of time and money. The survey found that U.S. staff members spend an average of 520 hours per year on tasks that can be automated.
- Consider onboarding employees, checking documents, manually resetting your password. If you take an average hourly labor cost of $ 30.01, this would result in an annual loss of $ 15,000 or more per employee on unproductive tasks.
Decreased customer satisfaction
- The data shows that “poor customer service” is the second reason why shoppers overflow to buy from a brand (“higher prices” is the main reason).
- The reality is that customers want quick responses.
- About 80% of people expect a response within 5 minutes when interacting with your company, regardless of the channel used.
- Needless to say, automation can help you respond faster to customer requests. But first, let’s get to the obvious: How do you handle incoming requests? Is every message being answered quickly or is something escaping attention?
- If your team is drowning in a lot of requests, workflow automation will be a good ally.
- For a more holistic approach to automating customer support, you can start by mapping the entire customer journey. This will allow you to identify where things are going downhill and automate the work according to your specific needs.
Heavy labor
- Do you have difficulty getting the job done on time?
- Where are the instances of manual reviews and reviews and what do they look like?
- Where are unfinished tasks slipping between cracks, causing unnecessary delays between starting and finishing work?
- Employees want to feel like they are making progress in their careers. However, this will not happen if they spend their days in frustration, waiting for approval from the next link in the chain.
- Your employees are wasting time, and you are wasting resources. Most importantly, we are surrounded by ineffective processes.
- Think about forms, for example. Do you have staff performing data entry tasks for form responses? Worse – are forms moving through slow channels like email?
- Create workflows that eliminate document sharing and uploading by email, and you save valuable time for your employees.
- Then there is the problem of employee burnout.
INFLUENCE OF THE PANDEMIC
A recent poll published in the Harvard Business Review assessed the state of burnout and well-being during COVID-19, and the results were overwhelming. 89% of respondents believe their work life is deteriorating and almost 60% believe that the pandemic has affected their work.
These are serious problems, but how can automation help? Let's take a look at some pointers:
- Multitasking: Humans are notoriously bad at this. The more projects they work on, the more time is wasted due to a phenomenon called attention balance. Automation can easily eliminate repetitive tasks and help employees focus on what matters most.
- Over-reliance on email: The average person sends and receives 121 business emails a day. Reading, processing, and responding to email can easily eat up a whopping 28% of the workweek. Fortunately, email is easy to automate. At a low level, this starts with automatically flagging, archiving, or deleting emails. At a higher level, this means using automation to save attachments to Google Drive, create Trello cards for specific emails, or receive notifications through other channels.
- Interruptions: The temptation to check your inbox or phone affects productivity and throws away mental energy. After each distraction, it may take about 25 minutes to return to the task. Automation can help limit the number of interrupts.
The list goes on, but the main thing is to see where employees are experiencing the greatest difficulties and start making their lives and work easier.
Your business processes are not clearly documented.
- Lack of visibility can lead to chaos and insecurity. Uncertainty about who is responsible for what, important tasks are ultimately overlooked.
- Remember, the solution is not to kill out-of-the-box thinking or attempts at innovation, on the contrary. By documenting processes, each person knows what is expected of him.
- Well-defined processes also make it easier to find ways to cut costs and optimize your business.
- You will be able to assess whether the processes make sense. Otherwise, workflow automation will be your salvation.
High cost, low profitability.
- If your operating expenses are on the rise, it’s important to take a close look at your business.
- Before experimenting with pricing strategies, consider optimizing your business.
- Reduce your costs by identifying wasteful spending areas and start automation to increase your bottom line.
CONCLUSION
- The hype surrounding workflow automation is real, and we understand what it would be like to stay out of trend. It’s not beautiful.
- However, abandoning workflow automation can have more dire consequences than momentary sadness. For many companies, this can result in a loss of competitiveness, talent and business.
- Again, this is not about disappointment, but quite the opposite. There are many reasons why automation is needed, as well as the solutions available.
- We have introduced you to the common signs indicating the need for automation. Once you’ve identified the potential benefits, automating your workflow is the natural next step.
Happy automation!
Now everything depends on you.