RPA Benefits – Do you want them all?
Any investment in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will be made to get the potential benefits.
An ROI will have been essential to get the Finance Director to approve the implementation.
The benefits – Do you want them all?
It may seem like a silly question, why would you not want all of the benefits?
Optimise Process then Automation
As RPA technology started to provide an Automation option for business process activity on computer systems, there has been a lot written by “Process Experts” about the need to Optimise first.
The logic promoted by the “Process Experts” is that a process should be optimised to reduce waste and once efficient, it can be automated.
In many scenarios optimising first is a strong argument. In some situations, it may not be the best route for a business.
A process exists and meets the needs of the business. It may not be optimised but it works.
There will be a cost to operating that business process. There will be change to the operation from the implementation of RPA whether that is before or after a change to optimise the process.
Automation delivers many benefits including a lower cost of operation.
The balance is between :
- Change for optimisation plus the change for automation
- Change for automation plus the on-going lack of efficiency in the processing
After the Automation, the cost to the business of missing out on the optimisation can be small, as it is often just extra Computer processing.
Case by case analysis has to be done to determine the overall difference, but it is often an “Ideal” position versus a “Practical” approach. “Perfect is the enemy of good” quote by Voltaire, can be relevant in such analysis.
Better Quality
RPA delivers consistent activity. Yes, the whole RPA process can be stopped if something changes, but when it executes it is consistent.
Any human operating a process will make human errors due to concentration, etc. Studies have demonstrated that on repetitive tasks the human error rate is circa 4%.
For every error, there is an impact that needs to be resolved and a cost of fixing the issue. The benefit to the business from eliminating such errors can be significant.
There are some examples where errors generate opportunities.
When things work perfectly, customers take them for granted. When an error occurs, there is the opportunity for a “Moment of Truth” as some business consultants argue.
It is the time when the way an error is resolved can transform a customer into a major fan, by resolving the issue. It is the things people remember and tell others.
Errors can sometimes lead to innovation. An example is the “Post It” note, where the plan was to make a strong glue but it turned out to be a weak glue and somebody saw the opportunity from the error.
I believe the RPA benefit for improved quality is better for most businesses.
Freeing staff from repetitive work
Implementing RPA is typically driven by the opportunity to enable tasks to be completed by Software Robots to save the valuable time of staff so that they can perform more complex tasks.
The benefit from gaining time for staff with business knowledge to work on other tasks is generally viewed as positive for the business and the individuals.
There are some people who enjoy performing repetitive tasks. They like the certainty and the clear measurement of results from their actions. Such people are a good fit for the tasks, so automating the activity can put such people in a more difficult situation as they can be required to perform more complex less well-defined tasks that have a variety of outcomes.
Junior staff and trainees are often assigned tasks that are repetitive as takes relatively little effort to train them to undertake the task. There is an argument that junior staff learn about the business by performing the work. There is clearly an element of logic in such arguments but whether very much knowledge is gained by performing the tasks 100, 500 or 1,000 times is probably open to debate.
When RPA completes a range of tasks for a business, there is a situation where the operational staff may no longer know what the Software Robots deliver. It just becomes invisible to the staff activities. In many situations that will not matter, but what happens when RPA is not available for whatever reason. Do staff have the knowledge to operate the tasks manually in a contingency situation?
Work performed overnight and weekends
Once a process is automated with RPA software robots, the tasks can be performed anytime that there is work available.
By removing the constraint of people being available in the office to undertake activities, the potential to get work completed at a better time of day for the business becomes a reality.
Although re-scheduling the work using RPAs ability to work 24 x 7 can seem attractive, the real benefit from this capability can only be realised where the outcomes from the automation can be utilised by subsequent processes in the business.
The operation of a business will involve many processes that are inter linked and have a variety of dependencies. Changing the timing when automated tasks are performed may serve to highlight a bottleneck or a dependency in another part of the operation.
Eliminating Bias and ensuring Confidentiality
Sometimes the forgotten benefit of an RPA implementation is that the data is processed by software robots, so staff do not see it.
RPA typically automates repetitive work that is often performed by junior staff.
When staff work with the data they see the values, which could mean they are aware of “Sensitive” data values (e.g. A customer who is an MP) or they may exert bias in the way the data is processed.
RPA means the Junior staff do not see any sensitive data. Consistent processing means there is no bias.
As with any automation, the lack of people involved does potentially give an auditor more concern as there would be less people involved in the process should something fraudulent or discriminatory be being undertaken.
Benefits Balance
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) offers benefits in a number of areas, but like most change there can be impact from the changes. For most businesses, the benefits from RPA are much bigger than any potentially lost benefits from the change.
For more information on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as well as Agentic Automation and the journey to implement automation please see our website: https://www.ether-solutions.co.uk/.
Manager’s Guide to Automation: https://www.ether-solutions.co.uk/managers-guide-to-automation-using-software-robots/
#businessbeyondautomation
Article Author
David Martin
Managing Director, Ether Solutions
https://www.ether-solutions.co.uk/
