When is It Time to Automate Some of My Business Processes?

Automation has been a business buzzword for some time now, and was a key facet for many businesses remaining open through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it seems like there’s no reason for it not to remain in use from this point on. Let’s examine a few ways that automation can and likely will be used moving forward.

First, let’s take a moment to define what automation is before we explore how it can be utilized to your business’ benefit from here on out.

What is Automation in the First Place?

Automation is, putting it simply, the act of taking the responsibility for a task off of an employee’s itinerary and having this task reallocated to a computing system. As machines can complete many tasks with far greater speed and accuracy than the average (or even above-average) office worker could ever accomplish, any task that doesn’t rely on human adaptability or flexibility to properly complete could feasibly be automated—at least to the point that your human resources could instead act as an overseer for your technology, allowing you to accomplish far more.in far less time.

Naturally, this is a good thing… but having said that, it is important that your automation efforts come at an appropriate time.

When is Automation the Right Move?

There are a few signals that automation is worth implementing that businesses should keep an eye out for:

Your Team is Spending a Lot of Time Moving Data Between Applications

There is possibly just one thing worse than data entry… data reentry. Mind-numbing and time-consuming, the chore of moving data from one place to another is just that—a chore. Automation can eliminate it entirely, saving your team time and effort and allowing that time and effort to be used more effectively.

The Task is Inherently Dull or Detracts from Your Priorities

If a task can be completed more or less mindlessly, all the while taking time away from the other responsibilities your team needs to complete, you probably don’t need to spend all that long on it. Automation can actively take such tasks off your plate.

The Task is Endlessly Repetitive, Regular, or Both

On a related note, how often does your team need to perform the same process, and how predictably does the process need to be performed? If you can confidently predict and/or plan for a process, you can successfully automate the process.

We Can Help You Automate Your Business Processes

We have the expertise required to help you take your processes and streamline them, allowing you and your team to accomplish more. If you’re interested in learning more about automation and what it can do for your business, give us a call at (217) 428-6449.