As a business grows, so does its complexity. For a while, your current workforce can manage but eventually there comes a time when throwing more people at it isn’t, and shouldn’t be, the answer.
Tick if any of these are familiar in your business (multiple ticks allowed!):
- It’s hard to find good people
- Your team is at capacity – already stretched with routine tasks accounting for a large portion of their time
- Key individuals hold a lot of information in their heads – your operations are destabilized if they’re unavailable or something happens to them
- You’re surrounded by paperwork chaos – working from home showed how flawed physical paper trails can be but email attachments can be just as challenging
- Customers want better, and faster – they expect high levels of service and responsiveness, or they’ll go elsewhere
- Processes cross department silos (e.g., sales and finance) – requiring multiple staff and multiple touchpoints to complete the process
- Compliance is important – yet current processes are vulnerable to fraudulent activity and security breaches
- Additional profitability could be unlocked – the business needs to make better use of what it has rather than increasing labour costs
You’re certainly not alone if any of these relate to you. Fortunately, they can easily be tackled with Business Process Automation (BPA) and Robotic Process Automation (RBA).
An example of BPA & RBA working successfully together:
A call centre uses software to automate the process of logging a call through to issue resolution (BPA) while RBA presents the relevant customer information onto a single dashboard, so the call centre team member (a human) has everything they need to know about that customer and the issue in one place. Both result in a faster, more efficient, and more enjoyable experience for the team member AND the customer.
Business Process Automation has been on the rise for years. Research shows the “global digital process automation market is projected to grow from USD 6.77 billion in 2018 to USD 12.61 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 13.3% from 2018 to 2023”. The APAC region is expected to grow the fastest by 2023.
The Australian Government has identified the importance of digitisation and introduced tax incentives for SMB’s in the last Federal Budget. The Small Business Technology Investment Boost allows eligible businesses to claim 120% on business expenses and depreciating assets that support digital adoption. The current Government is yet to pass this into law but an earlier article of ours explains it in detail. “Boost your business with help from the tax office”.
So there’s no time like the present to ‘bite the bullet’ and step up your digitization efforts. Here’s a few of the benefits you’ll reap when you start mapping and automating your business processes:
Do more with the same – optimize labour allocation and reduce labour cost blowouts
Automation will improve employee efficiency at the same time as boost productivity in the processes, workflows, and workforce. Your team no longer need to perform mundane and repetitive tasks. By freeing up their capacity, they can focus on higher-value activities, and you no longer need to hire more people.
Capitalize on opportunities
A team that has time for higher-value tasks may also allow your business to allocate resources to other cost saving activities OR more revenue generating opportunities. The life cycle stages of a business, from start up to maturity, highlight that successful businesses have overcome inefficiencies and professionalized. These companies have the right people doing the right jobs with the right tools yet maintain a flexible and entrepreneurial spirit. Automation allows any business to leap-frog into efficiency and professionalism.
Scale accuracy, reliability, compliance and security
While the American scientist Paul Ehrlich said, “To err is human but to really foul things up requires a computer”, well implemented automation will do the opposite. Automation delivers repeatable, scalable and reliable outcomes. The automation software won’t take a sickie, defy compliance guidelines, forget to forward relevant information, or steal commercial in confidence data.
So, where do you want your business to be in a year’s time? Struggling under the burden of mundane process administration, or realizing a more successful future?
To learn more about the benefits of automation and where to start, register below for more information or go even further and book a process-mapping session with our team. Future you will be glad you did!
