Functions That Every Organization Needs to Automate

Transforming your organization towards being more efficient and effective is the main drive for improving how you run your business. If we assess how well an organization is running its business, we’ll see that there’s always room for improvement, especially in this day and age of technological advancements where we rely on systems and apps to do things in a more natural and much better way.

Automation is critical towards achieving effective transformation, and the benefits are noticed immediately because, with automation, you will:

• Save tremendously on cost: having systems-while they might come at a high price- will save a lot of money in the long run especially when you realize the ROI
• Improve service quality: at the end of the day all organizations provide services; whether externally (to customers) or internally (to employees, departments, etc.)
• Increase customer satisfaction: this is a given since better service directly equates to happier customers that are served in an efficient and accurate way
• Enhance the quality of work done by employees: aiding employees with the right tools to do their job correctly will make them happier, more focused, and ultimately capable of performing in a better way. Ridding them of tedious, mundane and repetitive tasks can help them focus on what’s necessary both for their personal growth and for the success of the organization as a whole

So now that we’ve established the importance and benefits of automation, the next question is: What are we supposed to automate? This would widely differ from one or organization to the next, and in this blog, I will be highlighting three essential functions that need to be automated in organizations:

1. HR

The amount of time spent by HR employees in filling forms, updating employee information in databases, processing requests received and handling onboarding/offboarding tasks makes it difficult for them to focus on what’s essential; serving employees efficiently, promptly, and with little to no errors.

Therefore, automating HR processes is imperative to the satisfaction of employees in an organization, as well as HR employee improved performance and productivity. Some of the HR activities that should be automated are Payroll, Onboarding/Offboarding, Time and Attendance Reporting, Personnel, and Benefits Administration.

2. Finance and Accounting

The Finance and Accounting teams should be spending their time managing vendors and customers, as well as analyzing data. But instead, you find that they are drowning in invoices, papers, and calls from suppliers and vendors following up with them on payments. A bigger problem faced with lack of automation is no visibility on cash flow, spending trends, and overall financial health of an organization.

So if processes such as sales orders, collection, procure-to-pay, incentive claims and vendor payments are automated the Finance and Accounting team will reduce the overall time it takes to process something such as invoices by at least 60%.

3. Customer Services

Nowadays, it’s effortless to know which organization provides customers with a positive experience. Customers are becoming tech-savvy and very demanding so they have almost no tolerance for waiting in long queues to be served or staying on the line to speak to a customer representative (who will most probably put them on hold for a few minutes). Memorable customer experience is one that is accurate and fast.

Automating customer services through the use of Interactive Voice Recognition, helpdesk ticketing systems as well as FAQ pages on your website will reduce the effort expended by employees to handle customer requests, and provide the quality of service that would make your organization the customer’s preferred choice of a service provider.

We’re all in a race to be the best, and to be more efficient and effective. So if you’re an organization that has already automated a good portion of your functions, then you’re on the right track and will reap the benefits of this transformation. And if you’re an organization that is working towards that goal to succeed in this competitive era, then here are some ideas to keep in mind when embarking on the automation journey:

1. Start with the easy processes
2. Encourage your employees about the benefits of automation. Make sure they’re aware that this will not result in them losing their jobs, but instead making them more efficient and productive to excel and be better
3. Research and seek advice. If you’re new to the world of automation, then take your time in researching the best approach and best practices towards automation. Bring in some experts to help guide you, and with the time you’ll become experts
4. Pick the right technology. This will also take time and proper assessment on your end. Look out for partners or specialists who can provide you with the right technology that suits your business needs.