Process automation: the benefits and disadvantages
Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2024 4:13 am
We are no longer faced with a paradigm that questions the power of technology in business or everyday life. Technology is already part of the daily lives of any person, company or business. Today, the question is how to optimize the use of technology, in any scenario. And in process automation? What is the role of technology?
Process automation and the role of technology
As the name suggests, process automation consists of the correct use of technology that makes it possible to automate processes that are mostly carried out by human resources, with the aim of simplifying them and optimizing their operation, with the inherent improvement of the results in the execution of these processes.
What are the advantages of process automation?
The automated execution of processes creates the opportunity to evolve ivory coast whatsapp number database business processes in order to optimize interaction with human resources.
Thus, we can identify two benefits for process automation: process simplification and operational improvement.
Process simplification
It results from one of the essential stages of the automation process: process analysis. The process automation action in an organization should always be preceded by an analysis of the processes that are intended to be automated, in order to verify whether they are being carried out in the most efficient way, whether they take advantage of the information available in the organization and whether they can be optimized in terms of execution phases.
Operational improvement
It is largely associated with reducing errors and optimizing execution time. Eliminating repetitive and unmotivating tasks performed by human resources that, in some situations, present a certain degree of complexity – as they may have to associate different sources of information –, without the need for complex decision-making, definitely contributes to optimizing the execution of processes and the expected results. With this optimization of execution and the reduction of possible errors, a cost reduction is also naturally achieved.
We can also associate this operational improvement factor with the availability to carry out processes . In fact, the automatic execution of processes enables continuous and uninterrupted execution, which is not possible when these processes are carried out by human resources.
Productivity
The fact that process automation eliminates the need for repetitive and unmotivating tasks can be a motivating factor for teams and, of course, the guiding principle for increasing productivity. The possibility of allocating the potential of each human resource to actions and tasks of greater relevance in an organization, removing them from monotonous tasks, contributes to greater involvement and commitment of teams in the evolution of an organization.
Security
We all know that one of the biggest points of failure in information security is associated with human error. In this situation, if we reduce or eliminate human intervention, we also contribute to improving information security.
Clearer view of processes
The data that can be systematically obtained from the execution of processes and that, when properly analyzed, allow us to know in greater detail how the processes are being executed, their execution time, the most frequent errors and their bottlenecks. In this way, it will be possible to continuously optimize the processes, based on the information collected from monitoring and control, thus enabling correct decision-making regarding their functional evolution.
What about the disadvantages?
Naturally, when we are adopting a certain technology or promoting a more disruptive change, some less positive factors may always arise.
There are essentially two less positive factors in process automation : the initial investment that is necessary – in terms of analysis, implementation and testing of the processes that are intended to be automated – and the lower flexibility for the execution of processes .
What types of organizations and sectors can process automation be adopted by?
When we think about process automation, our attention is usually focused on sectors of activity that have a greater procedural burden, such as Insurance or Banking. However, we can consider that any organization, in any sector of activity, can consider adopting this technological evolution.
All organizations have employees, customers, suppliers or business partners in their universe. Business processes or functional flows are defined in all organizations.
The technology that enables process automation can be used for both internal and external processes. Therefore, any process that an organization identifies as having the potential to be improved can be automated, in its entirety or at least in part.
As an example, we present some processes in which automation can be used:
Distribution/Logistics - Automated shipment routing, labeling and tracking.
Marketing and Sales - Automated email marketing, sales proposals, sales tracking and reporting.
IT and Technical Services - Automated maintenance and status reporting, ticketing and troubleshooting, and automated reporting.
Administrative obligations – Some automated HR functions, such as employee benefits enrollment and automated payroll, from time tracking to tax withholding calculations and payment processing.
Are there any requirements for implementing process automation?
The main requirement that an organization must meet is to know its processes and identify what it wants to achieve with its automation. By ensuring the first point, it will be possible to identify:
The most appropriate processes to carry out automation;
Functional evolution/change;
The information sources and applications involved in each process with their respective integrations;
Exceptional situations and how they should be handled;
The desired performance and operational levels;
The areas of knowledge and technologies in which it will be necessary to invest.
To obtain this information, it will be necessary to involve the teams that best know the business flows/processes and who can contribute to a critical analysis and optimization of these.
Process automation and the role of technology
As the name suggests, process automation consists of the correct use of technology that makes it possible to automate processes that are mostly carried out by human resources, with the aim of simplifying them and optimizing their operation, with the inherent improvement of the results in the execution of these processes.
What are the advantages of process automation?
The automated execution of processes creates the opportunity to evolve ivory coast whatsapp number database business processes in order to optimize interaction with human resources.
Thus, we can identify two benefits for process automation: process simplification and operational improvement.
Process simplification
It results from one of the essential stages of the automation process: process analysis. The process automation action in an organization should always be preceded by an analysis of the processes that are intended to be automated, in order to verify whether they are being carried out in the most efficient way, whether they take advantage of the information available in the organization and whether they can be optimized in terms of execution phases.
Operational improvement
It is largely associated with reducing errors and optimizing execution time. Eliminating repetitive and unmotivating tasks performed by human resources that, in some situations, present a certain degree of complexity – as they may have to associate different sources of information –, without the need for complex decision-making, definitely contributes to optimizing the execution of processes and the expected results. With this optimization of execution and the reduction of possible errors, a cost reduction is also naturally achieved.
We can also associate this operational improvement factor with the availability to carry out processes . In fact, the automatic execution of processes enables continuous and uninterrupted execution, which is not possible when these processes are carried out by human resources.
Productivity
The fact that process automation eliminates the need for repetitive and unmotivating tasks can be a motivating factor for teams and, of course, the guiding principle for increasing productivity. The possibility of allocating the potential of each human resource to actions and tasks of greater relevance in an organization, removing them from monotonous tasks, contributes to greater involvement and commitment of teams in the evolution of an organization.
Security
We all know that one of the biggest points of failure in information security is associated with human error. In this situation, if we reduce or eliminate human intervention, we also contribute to improving information security.
Clearer view of processes
The data that can be systematically obtained from the execution of processes and that, when properly analyzed, allow us to know in greater detail how the processes are being executed, their execution time, the most frequent errors and their bottlenecks. In this way, it will be possible to continuously optimize the processes, based on the information collected from monitoring and control, thus enabling correct decision-making regarding their functional evolution.
What about the disadvantages?
Naturally, when we are adopting a certain technology or promoting a more disruptive change, some less positive factors may always arise.
There are essentially two less positive factors in process automation : the initial investment that is necessary – in terms of analysis, implementation and testing of the processes that are intended to be automated – and the lower flexibility for the execution of processes .
What types of organizations and sectors can process automation be adopted by?
When we think about process automation, our attention is usually focused on sectors of activity that have a greater procedural burden, such as Insurance or Banking. However, we can consider that any organization, in any sector of activity, can consider adopting this technological evolution.
All organizations have employees, customers, suppliers or business partners in their universe. Business processes or functional flows are defined in all organizations.
The technology that enables process automation can be used for both internal and external processes. Therefore, any process that an organization identifies as having the potential to be improved can be automated, in its entirety or at least in part.
As an example, we present some processes in which automation can be used:
Distribution/Logistics - Automated shipment routing, labeling and tracking.
Marketing and Sales - Automated email marketing, sales proposals, sales tracking and reporting.
IT and Technical Services - Automated maintenance and status reporting, ticketing and troubleshooting, and automated reporting.
Administrative obligations – Some automated HR functions, such as employee benefits enrollment and automated payroll, from time tracking to tax withholding calculations and payment processing.
Are there any requirements for implementing process automation?
The main requirement that an organization must meet is to know its processes and identify what it wants to achieve with its automation. By ensuring the first point, it will be possible to identify:
The most appropriate processes to carry out automation;
Functional evolution/change;
The information sources and applications involved in each process with their respective integrations;
Exceptional situations and how they should be handled;
The desired performance and operational levels;
The areas of knowledge and technologies in which it will be necessary to invest.
To obtain this information, it will be necessary to involve the teams that best know the business flows/processes and who can contribute to a critical analysis and optimization of these.