Why business process automation? Tips for achieving success.
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September 19, 2022Business process automation is a key element in digital transformation aligned with the culture, people, technology, and business strategy and goals.
Digital transformation is a continuous process in the organization. It should be analysed and designed according to the business strategy, goals, organization structure, and resources. The result will be a proposal aligned with culture, people, and company vision.
What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation can refer to anything from IT modernization (for example, cloud computing), to digital optimization, to the invention of new digital business models. The term is widely used in public-sector organizations to refer to modest initiatives such as putting services online or legacy modernization. Thus, the term is more like “digitization” than “digital business transformation.” by Gartner
One goal of digital transformation is to simplify the organization, bring a new way of working, improve communication and collaboration and intuitively allow people to focus on relevant things like clients, partners, business results, and business innovation. To achieve this simplification, it is essential to promote process automation. Process automation is more than applying new technology and share it with all teams. No, it´s an immersive study and organizational exercise to understand what you do right, what you can automate, and what you can improve aligned with market best practices and the technology available on the market.
What is digital business transformation?
Digital business transformation is the process of exploiting digital technologies and supporting capabilities to create a robust new digital business model. by Gartner
The process is critical and complex and, you don’t know how successful it will be. Now more than ever, the pressure, the economic and social crisis, and the competitiveness require you to make successful decisions. But how? McKinsey, on a Global Survey in 2021, distinguished three factors that can help you achieve success.
1. Make automation a strategic priority
The companies that defined automation as a strategic priority and placing automation high on the C-suite agenda are achieving better results. The automation is always present on the strategic planning process, and the priority status ensures that all company is committed to achieving the automation.
2. Focus on people as much as technology
People are the central resource in companies, and the companies are considering resources on three ways to improve automation.
First, they analyse and build the automation adjusted with the personal capabilities of their teams. They can identify the skills and gaps of their teams and training them in the future. Second, experience is an essential factor to learn and improve efforts. The strategy is to use a "human in the loop" to grow the platform with the practice and resources' insights. Finally, doing communication a priority across the organization to involve all teams in the automation process, including the HR function.
3. Develop an operating model that enables scaling
The automation process complexity requires a scaling planning to ensure the result and don’t create problems and hider performance. The operational model should coordinate the activities across the organization to allow the automation programs to properly manage the complexity of deploying automation technologies.
The companies say that “coordination across business units or functions is one of the elements that will have the greatest influence on automation efforts’ outcomes in the coming years.”
The experience reported on the McKinsey study can help organizations, that have started their journey of business process automation, achieve a consistent digital transformation. More than the solutions and the technology, strong sponsorship is crucial to drive a successful business process automation initiative.
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