Automating internal business can create operational savings and improve productivity by freeing your team to do more meaningful work. And economic uncertainty and the continuance of remote work compound these benefits.
However, it can be a challenging task to identify which processes are right for robotic process automation.
These steps will help with identifying and prioritizing use cases for automation:
1. Get buy-in and support
The thought of automation makes some people nervous. Reassure them that the goal isn’t to replace them but to help them do their jobs better! Come prepared with use-cases from organizations like yours and clearly line out the benefits they saw from their automation journey. Without everyone on your team on board, the next steps will prove difficult.
2. Identify repetitive processes
What tasks do your human workers perform repeatedly at your organization? Can you identify the process from start to finish? It’s crucial to consider every step. The business case should be a rules-based process, with a strict set of steps. If a process can be clearly defined, happens the same way each time, uses structured data, and doesn’t require human interaction, it could be a good candidate for automation.
3. Rule out processes that require human understanding
Digital workers excel at repetition and routine, but there are tasks they just aren’t equipped to handle. Humans are skilled at decision-making, handling uncertainty, and emotion-based scenarios. If a task requires these, it’s probably not well-suited for automation.
4. Determine the benefit to the organization
Automating a process should have a positive impact on the business and its people. Start with processes that will have the highest cost reduction, time savings, increased accuracy, and the elimination of manual effort. This will give your organization a “quick win.”
