Our ways of working have changed, and technological devices have made it easy to deliver quality services or products. 

Automation is when we incorporate technology into business processes with less human intervention, keeping in mind that the human touch is still critical to customer experience. It is a proven way to reduce errors, maintain consistency and increase visibility in business processes. In this article, we share the benefits of automating your business processes with some examples.

Improved Visibility and Control

Before automation, you must first simplify, standardize and document your processes. Automation helps leadership and management be in control of business processes electronically. It is easier to track the progress of tasks and carry out an audit of all processes electronically. Tracking is possible as a result of data generated and stored by systems.

Automation has made managing human resources in businesses simpler and less time-consuming. Recruitment and selection tools have reduced human intervention enabling Human Resource Management (HRM) to concentrate on decision-making for customer gain. Automation facilitates the acquisition of the right skill and talent from the market pool. Taleo, for instance, is an HRM tool that considers unique needs in terms of skill and talent and incorporates them into the system. Taleo facilitates candidate analysis using reports generated during the onboarding to assess progress. Automating the recruitment and selection process gives both the candidates and the business a positive experience.

Business Agility

Automation of business processes helps a business remain competitive in the marketplace. By being able to respond urgently to customer needs and demands, we build customer loyalty. For instance, in customer service, chatbots have made it easy for customers to get instant feedback and hastens their decision-making process. Automation enables a business to take advantage of new opportunities in the market by having the right tools in place. 

Customer-facing roles involve meeting and attending to customer concerns. Handling many customers can be overwhelming. The use of technology in handling repetitive tasks is made easy through chatbots. Customers get instant feedback which hastens their decision-making process. In addition, the cost of follow-up calls goes down because the system can answer queries from numerous customers in different geographical locations. Safaricom, for instance, has control of its customer service using Zuri. Zuri system can answer questions from customers and take them through the purchase process. Automating the customer service process is one of the reasons why Safaricom has a competitive edge in Kenya.

In conclusion, process automation helps customers engage more easily with your business. When you’re ready to automate tasks, first document them. As you do, you will identify tasks to automate and those that need human involvement. If done right, when you automate tasks, you can immediately improve how our business works.

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Lucy Moragwa is a Business Process Analyst with dynamic experience spanning construction, technology, retail, media, advertising, and branding. She specialises in helping organisations develop operational efficiency and increased revenue, improve business processes and use root cause analysis to identify issues and develop process improvements. 

Her core work is to help organisations achieve cost savings through exceptional planning and implementation of business processes.