The adoption of automation technology in different industries has led to the emergence of jobs that did not exist. There is a lot of data to prove that automation does not eliminate jobs, but it creates new roles for people to move into. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are new career fields that result from the quest for automation.
Automation also affects productivity by enabling people to get more work done within a short period. People who previously spent a lot of time doing menial work can do more impactful work. Here are a few examples of automation changing a company’s productivity for the better.
1. Simplification of Document Storage using Automation Solutions
Two decades ago, offices had cabinets with tons of files and a dedicated person to organize them. Whenever someone needs a particular document, a staff member would need to scour through hundreds of files to retrieve it. However, automating document storage today not only improves information security but makes it easy to retrieve, share, and reproduce documents. Costly mistakes that happened with physical files stored in cabinets no longer happen as often as before and offices no longer have to employ multiple clerks to handle documents.
2. Easier Collaboration among Teammates
Automation improves productivity among teams. Using project management software, for instance, makes it easier to communicate on a common channel and share documents. This means that everyone can follow all the correspondence on a particular topic despite being in a different time zone. People can collaborate on the same document despite being in different locations. The time that was initially spent traveling for meetings can now be spent doing work that directly affects the company’s bottom line.
Being able to properly record information on projects can help companies build knowledge banks. These banks can then be used to train green employees. Having self-paced learning portals goes a long way in enriching the company’s human resource pool.
3. Creating Safer Working Environments through Automation
The warehouse automation market is set to double in value in the next 3 years. Automation can help companies develop safe working environments for their warehouse employees. Warehouses can be a risky place to work when items people have to move items manually. There is the risk of falling freight and stress due to repetitive work. However, engaging robots to move freight and to take stock counts can make warehouses safer places to work in. People can spend more time doing strategy and innovation work. People are also likely to feel more fulfilled when doing work that engages their minds rather than repetitive work.
4. Efficiency in Operations
Automating company operations such as warehouse management removes inefficiencies. For instance, automating stock level tracking in warehouses means that the management is always aware of how much of each item they hold. They can track the rate of consumption of different items they carry, which leads to better procurement decisions. Automation of such processes reduces errors associated with human fatigue.
When handling delicate or brittle items, automating the packing and moving process leads to less damage, which can otherwise be a major cost item for the company.
Automation of company processes opens the opportunity to use analytics for fast and accurate decision-making. Analytics can make demand predictions, which inform purchase decisions, hiring decisions, and so forth. Analytics can also reveal areas of inefficiencies by comparing data from the current period with previous ones or the industry average. For instance, the company can analyze how long it takes to deliver items to clients. If competitors take shorter, it can analyze its operations to find opportunities to improve and cut the time.
5. Automating C-suite tasks
Automation is not limited to manual tasks. It can also improve the productivity of C-suite officers. They can use automation to sort out their emails so they can deal with different issues at different times of the day. It’s also possible to automate the allocation of tasks to their employees. When certain tasks come, an AI decision tool can route them to the right person. Automation can also aid decision-making instead of waiting for the executive to make decisions that rely on programmable logic. Automatically representing data in an easy-to-consume format also aids in faster decision-making by executives.
6. Making Customers Happy
The productivity of a company should also be measured using how well a company is serving its customers. One way to improve customer satisfaction is by streamlining correspondence with them and responding to their queries quickly. Automation can help do both. Artificial intelligence-driven chatbots can respond to questions or set up tickets for customers, so they don’t wait on phone lines too long. The company can also have a dashboard from where customers can track progress on the resolution of issues they have. Such transparency drives customer satisfaction upwards.
Other Areas of that Can Improve Through Automaton
There are countless other ways through which automation can add value and productivity to a company. Financial forecasting can be more accurate and faster through automation. By making projections from numerous data points, it’s possible to make a fairly accurate prediction of what future market conditions will be like. The company can then make less risky decisions on project financing.
Automation in the hiring process can help companies pick a pool of the most qualified people to fill a position by scouring through their profiles. This makes the process of shortlisting faster and much more objective. The application of analytics in production can lead to a better quality of output through real-time monitoring of defects and taking corrective action.
How to Get Automation Right at Your Company
Indeed, automation can get you seeing better returns from your investment in human talent. When getting with automation, it’s best to think through your whole workflow and how automation at one point will affect the others. There might be other investments to complement the gains made from automation.
Automation should only begin with clear expected gains in mind. It should not be just a buzzword, but rather a deliberate effort to get a return on investment.
If your organization needs assistance in implementing automation of internal processes, Transcendent Software can help you get there. We will help your company identify and build automation solutions. We have over 20 years of experience helping companies get the best out of their IT infrastructure. Contact us for a free consultation today.