Transitions are an inherent part of every company’s growth. In this regard, automated solutions help to manage change in terms of the administration of technological resources and assets. However, many companies still are reluctant to open themselves to change and adopt business process automation as part of their strategy to expand operations.
Then let’s take a look on the reasons behind such resistance and join us to discover the contribution of business process automation to make change management an ally towards expansion.
Why companies usually find it so difficult to implement business process automation?
Among the reasons why companies find so difficult to implement business process automation we count the lack of projection in the long term.
In this order of ideas, many companies do not perceive themselves as agents of permanent change; and it’s easy to detect why: Legal frameworks generally change from region to region and, as a general measure; they tend to constrict the definition of company by size and scope according to sales volume; payable taxes; number of people employed and even infrastructure and technological platforms.
In other words, there is a powerful combination of rigidity and instability on the juridical frameworks in which companies in general are inserted. Such combination eventually ends up by making negative impact over budgets and over the human resources.
Under this scenario, it is not surprising that business process automation represents an uphill task for many managers. However, there are ways to implement them to the reality of each company, and they can be quite simple. Let’s see how.
What are the principles of business process automation?
Every employee of the company plays a role that ideally, should be well defined. Among their tasks and activities, there are always a few that invariably repeat over time.
Those repetitive tasks are perfect to be programmed and automated to allow your employees to engage in more important tasks. This basic principle is the foundation of business process automation.
Business Process Automation
Beyond this basic principle, what types of processes we actually have? They are 5:
1. Documentary processes
This is the company that entrepreneurs utopically conceive in their minds when starting operations.
You can find proof of such company in every document related to its founding (memoranda, emails, meeting minutes, charter, etc.). These documents, whether formal or informal, show the outlines of ideal processes that entrepreneurs aspire to when starting their operations.
However, there is always a lag between documentary processes and business actual processes.
2. Actual processes
Mostly for operational reasons, documentary processes and actual processes usually keep certain distances. Each company has its own dynamics and flows naturally under their own rules; which almost never follows to toe the guidelines of the documentary processes.
As a business person, you need to know the full extent of your ideal scenarios and your real scenarios to achieve process automation. In other words, identifying your company’s real processes is the phase of observation you need to establish realistic guidelines for improvement; and begin the process of change management.
3. Optimal processes
When defining job positions, the staff finally chosen to cover them are usually experts in their areas; or at least, they often know what to do better than managers; the staff in charge of Human Resources; and even more than the very founding partners.
This privileged position gives a clear knowledge about what each department needs to improve; and these aspects are rarely the actual indicators of change management.
However, this privileged position needs to respond to specific structures to eliminate bureaucracy and duplication. This coupling is what we know as optimal processes.
4. Desirable processes
As well as documentary processes usually don’t keep full relation to actual business processes; optimal and desirable business processes aren’t always twinned.
So, this is what it happens: Every organization has optimal business processes that are always subjected to the demands of the actual demands of the market you need to integrate and adapt to.
5. Achievable processes
Following, these are the real and palpable processes that ultimately result of all the above described variables. For reasons related to the SWOT matrix of each company within the market and its regulations; processes evolve to achievable goals that always keep differences ideal, imaginary, optimal and desirable processes.
Business process automation demands the incorporation of legacy systems. Integration is the basis on which the change occurs.
Other aspects needed to achieve business process automation
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Focus
No automation will take place without a knowledge base focused on the real business model. This involves defining and documenting role positions; scope and limits of their duties; and permissions and restrictions attached to their position. With them you will detect which tasks you can relegate to automation.
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Monitoring
By avoiding repetitive tasks, staff automatically focuses on productive tasks. All them however, need validation and release of the workload to optimize flow operations.
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Evaluation
There are tasks whose priority simply change insofar as projects develop towards conclusion. Similarly, tasks and activities can adopt new scopes that open the door to analysis; comparison; measurement and achievement of objectives towards change management.
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Integration
Business process automation demands the incorporation of legacy systems. Integration is the basis on which the change occurs.
What do we achieve by implementing business process automation?
With business process automation we achieve greater visibility in the market; competitiveness and reduce operating expenses; improving the quality of our products and/or services; increase productivity; uniformity of processes and continuous improvement.
In short, automating business processes is a multifactorial project. At first it’s a business project; second, it’s a technology project that finally impact on human resources.
So in summary, business process automation relates to the rationalization and optimization of key processes that help businesses to reduce costs by integrating technology solutions.
If you still have doubts about how to translate business process automation and project management towards expansion, contact us. We have expert staff waiting for your call to get into the specifics need of your company in your way to success.
