It’s widely understood by business managers that having business processes that aren’t streamlined can create frustrations for employees as well as cause an increase in time and cost, which can hamper business growth.
It’s not uncommon for companies to be portraying a sense of calm to their customers, but instead be akin to a duck on water, as they’re paddling frantically beneath the surface to keep moving. This is often the same reason companies struggle to be able to invest the time required to investigate how they could run a more efficient operation. Often, a business needs to take a few steps back to devote resource into streamlining their processes before they can take giant leaps forward.
Investing in Business Process Automation (BPA) software and consultancy can enable a company to dedicate resource to analysing and optimising their business processes, to increase the quality and efficiency of their operations. The end result being that the business has more time to focus on being more competitive and growing their profits.
The first stages of a Business Process Automation project are modelling and analysis, however business process automation software goes beyond this and can solve problems which are not able to be manually controlled. This could be through automation or by removing the need for human intervention.
Let’s explore what we believe to be the top 5 advantages of implementing Business Process Automation:
- Speeds up process completion
Manually, there is a limit to how fast business processes can be completed. Automation software can reduce this time significantly since it allows tasks to be completed simultaneously and can automatically progress tasks through a pre-defined workflow. In addition it can prompt users to any actions required in advance of deadlines.
Unnecessary tasks can increase the overall time that it takes to complete business processes. Business Process Automation uses modelling to get rid of these tasks and optimise the flow of information. This allows companies to realign their priorities and streamline their day to day operations, decreasing the overall time that it takes to complete vital business processes.
- Improves tracking, monitoring and reporting
Businesses often have to make decisions based on best ‘guestimates’ that are devised from a mixture of experience, common sense and gut feel. The problem with this type of manual process and decision flow is that it is unable to automatically calculate accurate and up-to-date data. Therefore, the business is not being presented with the most accurate information of which to base their decisions, tactics or strategy.
For this reason, one area that is increasingly attracting investment is Business Intelligence Software. This is able to make smart decisions based on data generated from gathered information. Process automation routinely collects and processes data. This data is then available to businesses for monitoring and analysis, giving companies the ability to make more informed decisions. Business Process Automation enhances the manner and speed in which management can report on regular activity as records are automatically collected and interpreted.
- Eradicates the risk of human error
It’s inevitable that people will at some point make mistakes when working manually, particularly when workload is extremely pressured. A key benefit of Business Process Automation is that it helps reduce human error by making checks and performing high-quality tasks regularly behind the scenes.
There is no place for human error within individual stages of work because each stage is automated. It gives computer aided data to check for logical errors, which can significantly improve levels of accuracy within the workplace. This ultimately means less time is spent having to rectify issues or settle customer complaints which also often have a financial impact on a business.
- Decreases workload
Businesses can experience growth issues due to manually completed work which can take an unreasonably long time, particularly when it is complex. It makes sense to decrease the manual workload of employees to best utilise their skills and focus on their core competencies. Business Process Automation software allows information to be gathered quickly from different sources and systems, which can be easily collaborated to automatically generate reports.
From spell checking to complex calculations, application software can help employees to get the work done, but Business Process Application software frees them completely to undertake different responsibilities and work more efficiently within the business. Through implementing intelligent exception management alerting, employees can channel their focus on the important issues within the business.
- Makes compliance easier
Businesses need to ensure that they are compliant with ever evolving and increasing legal standards, for example, there is intensifying pressure on companies to prove that they are operating in accordance to minimal corporate social responsibility and ethical standards.
Companies must train each employee in compliance so that they can take responsibility legally in the case of something going wrong. There is significant room for error which could lead to complications where rules are not adhered to. Business Process Automation software can alleviate the concerns a business might have with regards to non compliance, since the automated process enables that all rules are enforced. It can also provide a traceable record of activity which can support the business in proving their efforts towards compliance.