Innovate & Automate Your Way To Success
Most of us would agree – technology has taken the world by storm. Businesses felt this effect for the first time back with the first wave of the industrial revolution, when machines started to replace human labor, the manufacturing industry being the cradle of this shift.
Fast forward to 2021; machines are still replacing human labor in the vast majority of business sectors, yet the impact they’re creating is far more greater and positive than it used to be. Although this article isn’t intended to be a piece of comparative writing, it is important to mention the fact that the industrialization of the 20th century was aimed at increasing business output and profit maximization. Now, however, businesses have realized their human workforce is not expendable. Rather, it can add more value to their operations when coupled with automation technology.
We believe incorporating automation in your business activities for better results. We encourage you to read below to find out more about the importance of the human touch within your industry driven by a tech-savvy workforce.
Types of automation
1. Basic Automation
Basic automation automates simple tasks. This level of automation focuses on digitizing work. It uses tools to centralize and streamline routine tasks. For example, a shared messaging system is used instead of information being stored in silos. Business process management and Robotic process automation (RPA) are examples of basic automation.
2. Process Automation
Automation of business processes to ensure uniformity and transparency is called process automation. This is usually handled by business apps and software. Process automation can improve productivity and efficiency in your business. It can provide new insight into your business problems and offer solutions. There are two types of process automation: workflow automation and process mining.
3. Integration Automation
Integration automation is achieved when machines mimic human tasks, and then repeat those actions when humans set the rules. The digital worker is one example. In recent years, digital workers have been defined as software robots that can work with humans to complete specific tasks. They can be “hired” and have specific skills.
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation
Artificial intelligence (AI) automation is the most advanced level of automation. Artificial intelligence (AI) automation allows machines to “learn” from past experiences and make decisions based on them. Virtual/Digital assistants can be used to reduce customer service costs and empower both customers as well as human agents. This creates an optimal customer experience.
Businesses that don’t know the difference between trivial and important tasks will not be able to achieve efficiency. Smart work is more valuable than spending hours on redundant tasks that can be automated. Companies expect their employees to be focused on productivity and efficiency and this is not alienated to just manufacturing or servicing industries, this is becoming the norm for ALL Industries regardless of your niche.
Prioritizing work is not enough to increase productivity and efficiency. Automation is a great tool because it frees up time and can be used to complete important tasks. Automation helps to maintain balance and eliminates repetitive tasks from daily workflow increasing the capacity of the team while providing accurate and expected results – a new experience! It streamlines the workflow so that you can focus on important projects and tasks.
How can **you* benefit?*
1. Synergy
There are times when a marketing team might have some good insights on nurturing leads that can be shared with the sales team to improve the process. However, these insights can get lost if the teams are not able to connect with each other on a regular basis.
Using automation, technology and establishing such connections is easier since both teams can raise automated alerts if either of them finds useful information on leads. This information can be reviewed, changed based on discussions, and saved in the same automation system for future use in real-time.
2. Effective Communication
Let’s say a customer raises a ticket. A representative from the service department responded and directed the customer to tech support as the issue was tech-related. Three days later, the same customer contacts us again. However, you don’t have any history or explanations for why the ticket has not been closed.
Automated & Cloud-Based communication eliminates this chaotic flow and centralizes it. The service rep can see if the tech team has responded and what he should do to move the ticket forward in case the customer returns. In addition to continuity, there is an update for every customer interaction and conversation under one system.
3. Streamlined Workflows
Multiple steps or people are required to complete a task. To make sure everything is tracked and continuous, these tasks must have a clearly defined workflow.
Automation makes this possible because now you can automate certain rules, alerts, and follow-ups. It is possible to track and review every task’s progress. Automating tasks can also help maintain consistency and make management easier. Automation allows you to check whether A has completed the task and passed it on to B. If B is satisfied with the outcome, B can complete it and send it to C streamlining workflows.
4. Better Accountability
It can be difficult to keep track of who is doing what, and who is responsible for what when there are multiple tasks. Imagine a task that should have taken three days to complete took five days to complete. Why did it take two days to complete the task? Automation helps you keep track of important conversations as such and provides you with a story on your workflows.
Automation software makes it easier to track deviations because it saves and analyzes all the behaviors and updates status regularly on different tasks and workflows. It is easy to see who is responsible, foster accountability, and revisit or explore details about deviations and/or extensions.
5. Process Optimization
Each workflow and every process is unique and requires equal automation in order to optimize efficiency and centralized capacity. Automation is essential to increase workload and eliminate redundant tasks. It would be difficult to determine if the current workflow can be automated or streamlined with a smaller workforce.
Automation makes it easier to manage the process. It can be used to analyze which parts of the process or workflow can be automated. After assessing and automating these parts, you can determine if the process or workflow needs more workforce or more time.
Automation is designed to increase efficiency, productivity, and eliminate errors as much as possible. Any and every business will benefit from automation because it allows them to optimize their processes and centralize data.
So, in conclusion, we are evolving into a new era where speed, reliability, accuracy, and data are becoming the most influential decision aspects of any business decision-making process. Are you ready to optimize and leverage the new technology and create more capacity for your workforce?