How RPA helps companies improve user interface, reduce manual processing, and optimize white space
There are plenty of reasons a business may decide to employ Robotic Process Automation (RPA): to make their processes more efficient, to improve data accuracy and reduce margin of error, or to save the company resources. The reasons to use RPA are as varied as each organization’s processes and products. Automation can, when leveraged correctly, help organizations streamline and create efficiency across the spectrum. However, three themes continue to rise to the top as the most common reasons businesses opt for RPA rather than funneling their employees’ time and energy toward their most menial, repetitive tasks.
These three common themes are frequently cited among RPA users:
- Cumbersome process or UI
- Intensive manual processing
- Inefficient white space
Cumbersome Processes
No one likes busy work—but that’s exactly the type of work many employees end up doing, particularly in industries where large quantities of data are essential. The result is that employees find little to no satisfaction in their work, experience high turnover rates, and avoid using the very processes and systems that are designed to ensure accurate data and up-to-date records.
These processes are truly cumbersome, requiring tedious data entry and inefficient workflows.
Challenges
The challenges of these types of processes present themselves in a variety of ways:
Complex applications / processes are hard to train. When a process is convoluted, long, and cumbersome, it places an undue burden on trainers and muddies the onboarding process.
Super users are forced to rework frequently. These processes are frustrating and inefficient, which leads to dissatisfied employees and, ultimately, a high turnover rate.
Human involvement is not optimized. Rather than saving human involvement for high-level tasks that require critical thinking skills, problem solving, and collaboration, employee energy is wasted on tasks that could be automated.
Example
Field employees for large companies are tasked with filling out warranty data in SAP. This employee time has a quantifiable financial impact, and automating the tasks can save companies millions of dollars.
Opportunities
Streamline training
By using RPA, companies can reduce training costs and shorten the time needed to get new hires up to speed. Without cumbersome processes in place, their time can be spent on more valuable tasks.
Reduce errors
Automated tasks have hire accuracy rates and therefore cut down on process rework time.
Reduce financial impact
By enabling the existing workforce to use their time and energy on high value tasks, companies can avoid over-hiring and overspending.
Optimize human involvement
There will always be tasks that require a human touch—and with RPA, employees are freed up to tackle those tasks rather than menial ones.
A Note: Every rule has exceptions. With even the most repetitive data and processes, there are circumstances when a human touch is needed. This is why we recommend working closely with a consultant who can make recommendations on how best to utilize RPA for your particular needs.
Want help implementing RPA?
At AVIO Consulting, we partner with companies to use RPA as an essential business tool, helping businesses accelerate their digital evolution. Speak with one of our consultants today to discover how we can help your business succeed.
{{cta(‘e1b76224-8571-4557-8b6c-48f64a406ea9′,’justifycenter’)}}
Manual Processing
Many large-scale corporations require a high volume of processes that are document-intensive and repetitive, including claims filing, applications processing, and more. The components of these tasks are not only tedious in nature, they are often inefficient—thus wasting valuable company resources.
Challenges
Manual data entry lengthens processes
Often work cycles appear artificially long, simply because manual data entry requires hours of tedious and repetitive tasks. In reality, these processes could be shortened significantly.
The business can’t grow without hiring
Scalability is, of course, the key to growing a business quickly. But when processes are data-heavy and require employees to complete them, then the company must interview, hire, and train more employees in order to scale. People become more expensive than bots very quickly in this model.
System response time can slow the whole process.
When systems are slow to respond, employees are often left waiting around in order to complete their next task. This creates vast inefficiencies in personnel time. Meanwhile, RPA can work within legacy systems seamlessly.
Example
In one business case for loan origination and claims processing, the company saw a 40% reduction in personnel costs after implementing RPA.
Opportunities
Improve cycle time
With the help of automated data entry, business processes and sales cycles can move efficiently and quickly.
Use personnel time efficiently
Employees can offer much higher value for the company when they are tasked with solving problems and thinking strategically.
Increase employee satisfaction
Most people do not enjoy rote work and manual data entry. By increasing employee satisfaction, you can improve retention and financial efficiency as well.
White Space
In the world of process management, white space is any place where handoffs happen between departments that are siloed, working independently of each other. Whenever people must handle or pass on data, transfer data across application boundaries, or share data outside the organization, there is an opportunity to improve efficiency and streamline processes.
Challenges
Phone and email introduce inefficiencies.
Every time personnel interact via phone or email to share information, they introduce inefficiencies and the company loses valuable resources.
Collaboration is inefficient.
Collaboration is an invaluable tool for higher-level roles in organizations. But when it comes to repetitive processes, collaboration can cause inefficiencies.
Data quality is low.
The margin of human error often creates poor data quality and white space increases the chances that data will be conveyed incorrectly.
Example
By evaluating the efficiency of their white spaces, one organization saved $4.4 million annually.
Opportunities
Reduce headcount
With the help of RPA, companies can reduce their headcount or shift existing employ headcount to more high-value tasks.
Improve volume
With RPA, organizations can handle larger volumes of work whether or not their headcounts increase.
Reduce rework
Process rework is inefficient, wasteful, and costly. By automating processes, businesses can save time and money.
Improve accuracy
Automation reliably improves accuracy across business processes and data points.
Who Should Use RPA?
In most organizations, there is at least one team member who operates in a “swivel chair,” meaning they regularly spend time manually updating tasks between two systems.
Often, these two systems don’t necessarily integrate well together, and an employee must manually transfer data or complete additional tasks to help the two systems talk. This process creates the effect of swiveling back and forth between systems.
Further, if that same company needs to increase their volume of work, they likely must hire additional personnel to complete relatively simple tasks.
RPA as a Valuable Business Tool
It’s a new era in business, and automation is already helping businesses get ahead, maximize resources, and avoid inefficiencies. But even beyond speed, efficiency, and financial impact, there is a tangible benefit for the quality of life of employees and in reducing turnover rate for personnel. By automating cumbersome processes and offloading intensive manual processes, businesses can ensure employees are fulfilled and satisfied with their work—and avoid expensive hiring and training cycles.
By doing so, RPA helps businesses of all sizes and industries scale and grow efficiently and sustainably for the long-term.
Partner with AVIO
Are you ready to optimize your business’s efficiency? Reach out to one of our expert consultants today to learn about how AVIO can help you accelerate your digital evolution.
{{cta(‘954b0fd0-948e-4489-8d91-558bd81b430f’,’justifycenter’)}}