Why you should Automate Business Processes

April 22, 2022
Peter Shields

Key takeaways

After reading this article you should have a good understanding of the following points:

The benefits of automating your business processes
How to identify what tasks should be automated within your business
How to choose the correct tools to automate your processes
How to get the most out of automating your business processes

Why automate business processes?

Why automate business processes? There are a number of benefits that many organisations look forward to with automation, and the true value of each will depend on your company’s industry, size, goals, and other factors. These benefits include:

Cost reduction. This is one of the main reasons why companies automate their business processes. Automation reduces costs related to labour and materials because it decreases the amount of time employees spend on routine tasks, cuts down on errors (less material waste) and increases productivity (higher quality goods in less time).

Improved efficiency. Business Process Automation (BPM) allows companies to work faster by eliminating or reducing redundant tasks that would otherwise require human attention at each step. For example, a company wanting to improve its invoice processing efficiency could eliminate the need for manual data entry by using optical character recognition (OCR) software.

Improved customer experience. Organisations can increase financial performance while also improving customer experiences through automation because they can both increase employee productivity while improving accuracy in delivering services to customers at lower costs.

Better quality management. Automation can help companies standardise their core business processes so they provide consistent results no matter which employee performs them or where they’re done: across all departments, locations or teams within an organisation. In turn, this improves overall product or service quality management by reducing human error and increasing consistency throughout your organisation’s operations from top-to-bottom — enhancing customer satisfaction as a result.)

What to automate?

So, how do you know which processes/tasks to automate? You should focus on the following:

Repetitive Tasks – Look at what repetitive tasks you do on a regular basis and see if there is any way that they can be automated. For example, did you know that it takes an average of 19 days to complete the recruiting process? With automation in place this process can be reduced to 5 days dramatically, reducing the time it takes to hire new staff.

Manual Tasks – Take a look at those processes that are currently done manually and see where technology could help make them easier or even obsolete altogether. For example, about 65% of businesses use Excel for their expense reporting. With Expense Management Software, this task will no longer require manual handling and will be completely automated, saving valuable time for employees as well as saving companies money due to its streamlined nature.

Tasks That Are Currently Done By Multiple People – If there is a process in your business that requires multiple people to handle different aspects of the same task or process then this is a perfect candidate for automation! It makes sense to have one system manage all the moving parts rather than have each person try and juggle their own part with everything else they need to take care of daily.

Which tools to use when automating business processes?

As you research different automation tools, you might be tempted to sign up for several free trials to get a feel for each one. However, this can be overwhelming and even counterproductive. One tool’s features may overlap with another tool’s features, or one tool may not work well with other tools you already use. As you try out each one, ask yourself the following questions:

Which task do I want to automate? Look up articles or guides that discuss the ins and outs of automating the processes of your choice. If a specific automation tool is mentioned in the article, note it down and prioritise it when choosing which ones to test out.

Does this particular tools work well with the other tools I’m using? If it doesn’t integrate well with existing tools you use at work, it’s best to find another option.

What kind of access do I need? Some platforms offer more robust customer support than others—if you’re a small business owner just getting started with business process automation (BPA), then robust customer support may be crucial in helping your team adopt and successfully implement new software or processes.

The Agility Workflow is an example of a business process management tool. The Workflow functionality provides organisations with the ability to automate their processes and create supporting modules to manage QHSE, inspection and HR subsystems.

How to get the best results - Technology, people and processes

You and your company can’t expect to get the most out of automating a process unless you have all three areas optimised. The right people, processes, and technology all need to be in place at the right time to ensure that the project is successful.

If a solution doesn’t fit into your current infrastructure, then it isn’t going to work well for you. This is where many businesses get tripped up when they go about implementing automation tools. Often their selection of tools are fine; it’s that they’ve assumed their organisation will adjust to using them without needing any additional support or changes.

Because there are so many different types of solutions on the market today, it’s important for you and your team to take some time during the selection process and make sure that everyone understands exactly what each potential solution does and how it does what it does before making any commitments or purchasing anything.

The Next Steps

At Agility System, we have over 25 years of experience in helping our clients improve, manage and automate their business processes. Arrange a demo of the Agility Workflow software today and our business analysts will demonstrate the benefits our process automation software can have on your organisation.

Peter Shields

With extensive experience of Quality Management, Risk & Compliance in the Energy, Nuclear & Defence industries since 1979, Peter formed BusinessPort in 1996 to specialise in Process-based Management Systems delivering both Performance and Compliance.