Digital operations are about people too!

Business leaders should consider and assess the impact of robotic process automation (RPA) and its potential to revolutionise traditionally manual processes.

RPA involves the use of software to replace repetitive business tasks to then effectively free-up employees’ time, who can, in turn, get on with tasks that provide more value to a business, are more engaging and require a ‘human touch’.

Speaking with our clients, we find that one of the most common downfalls they find with regard to repetitive tasks is when the whole workflow process slows down due to either a mechanical or a manual mistake. With the RPA implementation, an effective electronic process could consistently manage almost unlimited levels of workload, producing not only consistently but also reliable outcome.

RPA governance

There are many misperceptions about RPA. It’s important to understand that RPA should be perceived as business-led rather than IT-led. Companies often think about initial automation project being IT orientated but forget that ultimately RPA delivers a “virtual workforce” that allows the business to task robots. This means a shift from IT to business governance. Same way as IT is not in charge of a current workforce nor it should be when the workforce becomes a virtual one.

This is where back-office employees need to step in and train, develop and maintain the processes.

Some pitfalls

A recent report from professional services firm Ernst & Young suggests that between 30% to 50% of RPA projects initially fail. There could be many reasons for it, including lack of a business or difficulty to identify which tasks or processes could or should be automated. These temporary failures often lead to greater learning for an enterprise’s overall digital transformation journey, their aims, objectives and ultimate goals.

In today’s hyper-competitive world, the only choice enterprises do not have is to not make a move at all. This could mean a ‘game over’ for enterprises which are not implementing any digital transformation efforts.

Right people and right skills

It is also becoming clear that both robots and back-office staff need to work and be planned, monitored and managed together. This is where right people and right skill-sets are crucial. Breaking down the silos and re-organising workers into multi-skilled, result-oriented teams should make the process more holistic and help organisations achieve the desired outcomes.

OPX

Here at Corporate Modelling, we’ve developed OPX, a one-stop solution that digitally transforms back-office operations, supports RPA and integrates with front office processes.

Highly modular and quick to implement, OPX supports the end to end processes of back-office operations from the digital capture of incoming work, back office workforce optimization, robotic process automation to the automated output of customer communications.

For more information, please contact us today.