Why it matters<\/b><\/p>\n
Business leaders are prioritizing technology investments that drive efficiency and productivity, and business automation is at the top of that list. Companies that take a broad view of automation (beyond simple, task-based desktop automations) have saved hundreds of millions of dollars and increased productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n What your company can do<\/b><\/p>\n Want to learn more? Here\u2019s a deeper look<\/b><\/p>\n Automating tasks makes workers happier and more productive<\/span><\/p>\n Many knowledge workers waste a lot of time manually entering and retrieving information between multiple systems as part of a multi-step, manual process. This is not the best use of a person\u2019s time, and could erode morale and employee engagement.\u00a0\u201cAutomating rote tasks gives workers empowerment to focus on the more strategic things they want to do, the reason they took the job,\u201d said Joe Surprenant, sales leader across Deloitte\u2019s artificial intelligence (AI) and data ops practices. \u201cLeveraging automation keeps up the energy and the enthusiasm of the workforce, which is a huge imperative given the talent crunch. Automation is playing a major role in\u00a0workforce engagement.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He said it even starts before someone is hired. When HR processes are automated, it sends a positive signal to prospective employees that the company is digital-first.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How can companies identify opportunities for automation? Matt McLarty, global field chief technology officer and vice president of the digital transformation office at Mulesoft, said one large financial services firm did it by asking employees a simple question: What\u2019s the dumbest thing you have to do every day?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey made it into a contest, with prizes,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople were so frustrated about wasting their time on this stuff that they volunteered all this information, which created a groundswell for the company to automate those things.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Business automation can be applied anywhere, and everywhere<\/b><\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to understand how automation works. You just need to understand its impact and how powerful it can be. Here\u2019s how different departments can use automation to reduce manual processes, cut costs, reduce inefficiencies, and serve customers and employees better:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Finance and accounting<\/b><\/p>\n Automating financial planning and accounting functions frees up time for more strategically important things like analysis, strategy, and collaboration with stakeholders. One example, accounts payable. Data capture is automated (no more digging through miles of spreadsheets), invoices are automatically matched to relevant documents, and approvals are routed. This is not only more efficient, it reduces the risk of errors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Marketing<\/b><\/p>\n There is no value in having to press \u201csend\u201d on every email, campaign, or social-media post you create. By\u00a0automating marketing, you can target customers with automated messages across multiple channels. The best tools help you identify your audience, design the most relevant content, and automatically trigger actions like offers based on schedules and customer behavior. These efforts can then be aligned with a\u00a0customer relationship management (CRM) system.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Customer service<\/b><\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t take a human to answer basic questions like \u201cHow do I reset my password?\u201d or \u201cWhere\u2019s my order?\u201d Chat bots, voice bots, and self-service are already in wide use, freeing up agents to help customers navigate more complex service situations. Next-generation service automation, using AI, augmented reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT), can predict service events and resolve them through digital channels. And it can give customers a total view of\u00a0 service activity for self-service support and automated monitoring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Human resources<\/b><\/p>\n HR systems can automate a wide range of tasks, from job application processing, response tracking and interview scheduling to job offers, onboarding and offboarding, payroll management, and benefits administration. Using analytics, these systems can also provide insights into workforce sentiment, productivity, and engagement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sales<\/b><\/p>\n One management consultancy estimated about\u00a0one-third of all sales tasks can be automated, yet many business decision makers don\u2019t take advantage of the capability. Sales strategy and planning, lead identification and qualification, configuration, pricing and quotation, order management, and post sales are all areas ripe for automation. Early adopters, the firm noted, consistently report increased customer-facing time, higher customer satisfaction, and efficiency improvements of up to 15 percent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA bot can sell a product or service,\u201d said Tim Cortinovis, author of several books on automation. \u201cA higher-value salesperson is selling and forging a connection between the customer and the business, which is more valuable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Leaders need to consider business automation a strategic asset<\/b><\/p>\n Like other digital transformations, the success of end-to-end automation relies on cultural changes driven from the top and executed in each function. Training, incentives, and key performance indicators are all essential.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Spending on the two primary types of business automation, robotic process automation and intelligent process automation, is\u00a0expected to hit\u00a0$19.3 billion this year, up from $13.6 billion two years ago. The impact is profound, affecting the way we work, compete, innovate, and serve customers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a strong leader and strong head of the functional area to have the vision to say, \u2018I know it\u2019s tough and it\u2019s going to be disruptive to our business to change the way we work, but if we don\u2019t, we are going to lose talent, we\u2019re going to lose to our competition, and we\u2019re going to be left behind,\u2019\u201d Surprenant said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Blog sourced from Salesforce.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row rt_row_background_width=”default” rt_row_style=”default-style” rt_row_borders=”” rt_row_paddings=”true” rt_bg_effect=”classic” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”cover” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_bg_video_format=”self-hosted”][vc_column rt_wrp_col_paddings=”false” rt_border_top=”” rt_border_bottom=”” rt_border_left=”” rt_border_right=”” rt_border_top_mobile=”” rt_border_bottom_mobile=”” rt_border_left_mobile=”” rt_border_right_mobile=”” rt_bg_image_repeat=”repeat” rt_bg_size=”auto auto” rt_bg_position=”right top” rt_bg_attachment=”scroll” rt_padding_top=”30px” rt_padding_bottom=”30px” rt_padding_left=”30px” rt_padding_right=”30px” rt_bg_color=”#0099df”][vc_column_text]\n\n
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