In every organization, there are numerous tasks that are important but tedious and repetitive. Employees do not particularly enjoy doing them and the organization spends more on labour compared to the value of such tasks. Automation of these tasks not only saves the organization money, but it also increases employee satisfaction but assigning people meaningful work. In addition, automation results in quicker and more efficient work, with fewer clerical errors.
Here are examples of tasks your organization should automate if they are still manual.
1. Scheduling of Meetings
There are many meeting scheduling tools available off-the-shelf today. The tools can be synchronized with people’s calendars so that no meeting is scheduled when a participant has other work planned at a particular time. These scheduling tools send reminders to participants when a meeting is about to start. They also automatically send notifications to participants when a meeting is cancelled or its timing changes. Automating of meeting scheduling eliminates the need to write on paper every time people have meetings. People will miss meetings less and the calendar synchronization problem will be solved.
2. Gathering Customer Information
Your organization can automate the process of gathering and organizing customer information through the various points of contact with them. For instance, you can avail a form on your website where customers can sign up for your services, submit queries, or give other forms of feedback. This information can categorize customers according to the products they want or where they are in the sales funnel. Streamlining of information gathering will aid your marketing efforts through better targeted messaging.
3. Invoice Handling Automation
Manual invoice handling can take up thousands of labor hours that you can save through automation. When each invoice comes in, it needs to be compared to the purchase order and delivery notes for verification of accuracy. This process can cost between $12 and $30 per invoice, depending on the organization. Automating the process will not only facilitate faster payments of suppliers, but it will also rid the process of human interference, which can cause errors. Whenever an invoice is flagged for an error, a ticket is created and routed automatically to the right person for handling. This further adds to the efficiency of the process.
4. Screening and Onboarding New Employees
When your organization advertises for a position externally, it may receive hundreds or thousands of applications. It’s a tedious process to go through each invoice to come up with a shortlist of potential candidates. An automation solution can populate a database from the resumes that applicants send. From the resumes, the hiring team can filter a shortlist of candidates who have the requisite experience, academic qualifications, or other criteria. Automation in hiring not only saves time but it also makes the process more objective.
You can standardize and automate the onboarding process through an employee portal. Through the portal, you can provide employees with the necessary company materials or resources they need to familiarize themselves with the company history, structure, and code of conduct. The employees can in turn upload the necessary documentation and personal information to the HR department.
5. Email Responses Automation
Setting up automated email responses is a great way to let people know that you are not ignoring them, but you will respond to them when you can. When customers sign up for your products, you can send them an automated welcome message. This can save you a lot of time because you don’t have to draft an email whenever there is an event in your business. Automated responses are a symbol of efficiency in your operations.
6. E-signatures
E-signature tools available today eliminate the need to send documents over for different parties in a contract to sign. They can digitally send sign the documents and greatly expedite the execution of contracts. E-signature services work well with reminders and calendars so that people get a nudge when they stay too long without returning documents sent to them for signing. Surveys also indicate that people are more likely to respond quickly to emails compared to mail sent by post. Digitizing the process of signing, therefore, ramps up the speed of doing business.
7. Placing Orders
When a company has already negotiated contracts with suppliers to procure certain items from them, it’s possible to automate the ordering process. When re-order levels of inventories or office supplies are reached, an order can be automatically sent to the relevant vendor. Automation prevents stock-outs while also ensuring placement of orders only when necessary. IoT sensors on machines, such as printers, can trigger orders for such things as ink.
8. Scheduling Contractors
If your business outsources certain tasks to independent contractors, it’s possible to automate the process of assigning them tasks. You could have a system that synchronizes with the contractors’ calendars. This way, contractors only receive tasks when they are available. The contractor gets a notification each time the company assigns them work.
A similar system works well for a field service company with its own in-house technicians. When a customer requests a service, a technician receives a dispatch message, and the customer receives a notification that a technician is on the way. The customers should also have a platform where they can provide feedback after the technician makes the visit. This way, the company can aggregate feedback about the performance of individual technicians and their entire team.
9. Getting Automation Right in Your Business
There are numerous other tasks in your business that you can consider for automation. Generating weekly sales reports, collecting feedback from employees, and automatic time-off booking are just a few examples.
When implementing any automation solution, it’s important to consider how it may affect your entire workflow. It is advisable to seek consultancy services to help figure out the effects on cost, morale, and efficiency.
If your company is seeking to implement automation solutions to improve efficiency in its workflow, Transcendent Software can help you set up such solutions. Transcendent Software is a fully-fledged IT services company that helps businesses get the best out of their technology architecture.