Automation. We’ve all heard about it (a lot), and it’ll likely remain a hot topic for centuries. But just because modern automation is a trend doesn’t mean it’s a new concept. People and businesses have been using automation for hundreds of years across all sectors.
The difference, however, is that automation only recently made its way into our daily personal and professional lives, causing mass confusion in offices and local convenience stores.
For example, Paula from accounting might resist learning to use automated software if her trusty Croxley book and spreadsheets worked perfectly for 30 years. In contrast, Barry from HR feels more productive now that the manual task of processing leave applications that would take hours is a frustration of the past.
Point is, every employee and customer will react differently toward automation, making the implementation process critical to the employee and customer experience.
All things considered, automation remains critically important in this day and age and can mean the difference between being competitive and falling behind in the evolving business landscape.
“What makes automation so important?”
Apart from enhancing business competitiveness, automation can:
Manual processes not only take longer but also increase the risk of human error. Manually capturing and storing data consumes hours of valuable time that could be spent doing other, more important tasks.
Benefits of automated data entry:
Reduces human error
More time to focus on urgent tasks
Increases productivity
Improves employee and customer experience
We live in a society where people want instant access to their purchases. While it’s challenging to speed up physical deliveries, automation gets the nitty-gritty admin and payment processing out of the way so staff can simply pack and ship orders. In addition, live chatbots allow customers to get help at any time without needing to contact call centres.
Benefits of automated customer service:
Streamlines sales
More time to strengthen customer experience
Increases brand reputation
Enhances product or service quality
Marketing teams are inundated with campaigns, posts, research, and scheduling, constantly racing against time to meet deadlines. However, replace repetitive tasks with automation, and your marketing teams will have more time and money to focus on innovation and creativity.
Benefits of automated marketing:
Supports marketing projects
Automates email and social media posting
Automates lead generation
More time and resources to drive user experience and business growth
Gone are the days of Excel spreadsheets and Croxley books (sorry, Paula). Accounting automation software streamlines invoicing, expense reports, and bookkeeping tasks, reducing human error and giving accountants ready-to-use data to compile and share insights and perform financial analyses.
Benefits of automated accounting:
Reduces human error
Provides “plug-and-play” financial data
Automates the billing process
Automates financial reports, insights, and budgeting
HR and payroll professionals have platefuls of responsibilities, including onboarding, training, company culture initiatives, policies, employee data capturing and processing, and more – talk about time constraints! Automated HR and payroll software alleviates many time-consuming tasks from your teams’ to-do lists, reducing stress, human error, and costs.
Benefits of automated HR and payroll software:
Recruitment: Automated job listings, talent screening, application tracking, etc.
Onboarding: Automated welcome emails, internal software access, company info sharing, etc.
Data analytics and risk management: Automated trends, risk patterns, need forecasts, employee KPI tracking, etc.
Training and upskilling: Automated training software, electronic training material, progress tracking, etc.
Payroll: Automated benefits administration, salary distribution, and other payroll calculations such as PAYE, UIF, tax, commission, etc.
Employee management: Self-service leave application processing, automated policy and legislation compliance, etc.
Automation is the engine powering the IT department’s race car – one can’t perform without the other. It helps automate server admin, network management, and cybersecurity. This enables more time for IT teams to support and upskill employees on cybersecurity, workflow automation, and software challenges.
Benefits of IT automation:
Automated software upgrades reduce downtime and improve hardware functionality
Workflow automation increases performance tracking while streamlining tasks
Saves time and money
Features multiple digital tools
Enhances cybersecurity and risk management
Implementing new systems and processes is no easy feat and shouldn’t be rushed. Don’t dive into a solution just because other companies use it. Ensure your business goals and desired outcomes match the solution, and try not to integrate too many features simultaneously.
The last thing you want is to confuse and frustrate your employees with a solution designed to help them. Take it slow and implement the system in bite-sized chunks to allow easy integration and employee buy-in.
Lastly, don’t give up. Automation can revolutionise your SME’s performance and budget while making your business a top contender in the market.
Finding yourself stuck in the process? Don’t stress; that’s what a Managed Services Provider (MSP) is for! Numata enables easy integration and support throughout the digital transformation process. Chat with us; we’ll help you set your business up for success.