When life gives you lemons…
Amid the crisis of Covid19, a silver lining emerged. The increased implementation of business automation has helped them cope and grow. A report from Deloitte surveying 441 executives from 29 countries showed that 68% of business leaders used automation to respond to Covid.
With lockdowns and quarantines, businesses had to reinvent themselves and rethink how they worked.
Businesses have discovered the benefits of robots, chatbots, and autonomous vehicles, but Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has been the leading disruptor. Companies have relied on these software robots, endorsed with AI, to learn and execute business processes just like an employee, but better…thanks to their 0% margin error and a continuous and faster workforce.
It is no wonder that nowadays, 73% of companies worldwide implement automation technologies – such as robotics and machine learning. Not only did automation help companies cope during the pandemic, but it also helped them scale up their business. Here are five reasons you should not wait to implement automation to take your business to the next level.
1) Work less, earn more
Whether investments towards the cloud, digital transformation or data integration, automation can help you work less whilst driving more revenue. Leveraging automation is critical for a business willing to scale up. It provides your customer with a smoother experience and improves overall sales productivity. Automation helps you work less and more efficiently as you can achieve more, faster, leaving no room for human error.
Numerous research organisations studied the positive impact of automation on businesses. Research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research in partnership with Snaplogic produced compelling results, showing a 5-7% increase in UK companies’ revenues. Independent consultant Cebr also surveyed 1,000 companies in the US and UK on their automation strategies, initiatives and results. The survey showed that within the next three months following the implementation of automation, UK companies registered a $14 billion a month year-on-year increase in revenue.
2) Work less, create more
Time is a limited resource that you should use wisely. Responding to emails, chasing up customers, and backing up data, all of these tasks can be repetitive and burdensome and create a bad employee experience. You can make the most of your time and skills by automating them and minimising your manual efforts. How much more would you achieve by focusing on high-value tasks and revenue-generating activities?
Here is the good news: the more repetitive the task is, the more automatable. Your creativity can be quickly overwhelmed when powered off by tedious repetition. Unleash your creative potential, and focus on decision-making and strategy.
Every industry and job can leverage automation to streamline tedious business processes and prioritise added-value tasks.
- Human resources can thus use automation to screen resumes or job applications.
- Marketing can target advertising campaigns with intelligent algorithms.
- Customer service can rely on chatbots and virtual agents.
- Sales can optimise forecast, data entry and calls analysis.
- Accounting will hugely benefit from all-in-one accounts receivable software like Kolleno to alleviate the burden of collection and invoicing.
3) Scale-up, skill up
Scalability goes hand in hand with automation, as automation enables companies to provide more services to customers without increasing their dependency on human resources. However, even though automation widely spreads across businesses, the fear it generates that it might replace human workers is still prevalent. A balance between cost-saving technology and valuing human creativity can counteract this risk.
A recent McKinsey survey showed that the number of business executives who invest in retraining and “upskilling” current workers is increasing. The key seems to be to fill skill gaps related to automation to reach scalability thanks to retraining. Digitalisation will drastically change roles within companies, so much that 34% of workers will have to retrain.
McKinsey’s survey exhibits eloquent numbers, with 23% of workers acknowledging changes in their role and organisational behaviour because of disruptive technologies. Among existing retraining programs, process skills (active listening, critical thinking) and cognitive abilities (creativity, problem-solving) are the most valuable to counteract skill gaps. Automation is not a threat to workers but an incentive to a more forward-looking approach to their role, enhancing their responsibilities and skills.
Take away
The list of pros is compelling when it comes to implementing automation within your company. It is your secret weapon to increase your revenues and strengthen your productivity and creativity whilst decreasing your workload. It is the recipe for scalability. The narrative around automation has always been dystopic, conjuring up unemployment and skill gaps. Nonetheless, the pandemic exhibited the beneficial effects of automation implemented alongside good practices like retraining the workforce.
Now, the surrounding narrative has changed. A study led by Wharton has proved that far from reducing job offers, automation could make the job market bloom by creating more opportunities, resulting in more hiring. Indeed, companies need more workers to meet the rising demand by becoming more productive.
Are you looking to centralize your payments, collections and reconciliation in one place? Book a demo to learn how Kolleno helps businesses to free up resources and focus on core priorities.
July 05, 2022 
