Can you afford not to automate your business processes...?

Can you afford not to automate your business processes….?

Everything is becoming faster and more efficient nowadays, so why shouldn’t business processes do the same? They can when using a Data-Driven Approval Routing and Workflow solution to improve business processes…. solutions that are already changing how businesses operate.

Perhaps you have already had this on your agenda yet fret over the cost of implementing such a solution? While there is a cost, increased productivity, operational efficiency, and significant time savings for employees far outweighs the automation investment.

Can you really afford not to automate your business processes this year? Let us answer a few more questions about that.

What Are the Benefits of Saving Time?

Time, time is something that no one on earth can stop, slow down or get back. Time is probably the most valuable commodity we all have, yet regularly gets overlooked.

One thing business automation does is it takes on all the recurring, menial tasks that used to take hours to complete. Many of your employees likely complain about this, including how much time it takes away from them doing more important and/or ‘core’ job tasks.

If you manage or own your business, it likely means you are doing a lot of repetitive tasks yourself. Some projects probably take hours, especially when the responsibility is sorting through data related to finances, customers, or suppliers.

Few points to consider with business processes:

60% of occupations could save 30% of their time simply with the introduction of automation.
Some of the key tasks that can be automated to save valuable time include generating sales leads, approving paperwork and processing documents.
On average, professionals take 18 minutes to locate a document manually and 50% of their time searching for information.
CEOs spend almost 20% of their time on work that could be automated, such as analyzing operational data and reviewing status reports.

If we consider time, what could we achieve by saving time by automating business processes?

Well, the key benefits include,

Increased productivity, efficiency, and cost savings
Improved information quality and accessibility
Improve auditing practices and efficiency
Programmatically trigger process requests and events
Embrace best practices
Senior stakeholder visibility
Management information and reporting
Compliance and process conformance
Automated communication
Leveraging value locked up in existing information
Can replace legacy or old tech solutions
Enables remote or field-based workers
Minimizes human error and duplication
Supports planning and scheduling
Improves data security
Supports the customer experience strategy

Consider what this means in the extra amount of money you’d make. An investment in automation is basically paying to get a more substantial ROI later.

Enhance Productivity and Efficiency

Running a business is a lot of work, and the amount of productivity you need, needs better time management. Automation tools help save time, though also enhance productivity and efficiency because it lets you work on things requiring human intervention.

Some tasks are better suited toward a human doing them. Nevertheless, Forbes notes the use of automation usually means humans and AI working together to get certain tasks done faster.

It’s important to remind employees that automation isn’t there to replace their jobs. These tools are meant to augment. One particular task may require automation and employees working conjointly to speed up a certain process.

Automation isn’t going to mind taking on repetitive tasks too boring or time consuming for humans to do. Most business projects are now a combination of automation and humans working in tandem to solve a problem faster than ever.

What is the Cost of Not Automating Your Business Processes?

The amount of money you could lose is tremendous if continuing on the same path you’ve always been on. Venture Beat reported that business process automation was creating 400% ROI a couple of years ago. It only continues to climb year after year.

Imagine how devastating it would become to see you lose 400% of potential profits for your business. This is a staggering reminder of how using automation is a new essential, despite the initial cost always causing temporary concern.

With a 400% ROI, you’re more than getting back what you’re investing in automation technology. These numbers reflect what happens in just the first year of using automation in a business.

Increase Flexibility in Adapting to Change

COVID-19 turned the business world upside-down this last year. As such, it was proof technology is needed more than ever to adapt to unexpected business changes.

A pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) where staff were/are encouraged or forced by law to stay indoors and work from home if able to do so. Organizations need to be flexible enough to embrace that kind of challenge, and change in just a few days’ notice, otherwise, it could bring a company to its knees.

Having up to date automated business processes that enable staff to access and work from any location; on or offline; with any device be it a desktop, laptop or even a handheld device enables a business to be flexible and adapted to what goes on in the world.

Many business processes done at home only become more laborious without having automation tools available. As Forbes notes, automation is already starting to reinvent Work From Home situations, ranging from managing procurement, updating to call scheduling.

The industrial revolution is now in its 4th stage and with new worldwide challenges, businesses should be updating their processes to keep operating efficiently and to perform productively. Organizations that achieve this level of flexibility and adaptability will be the ones that survive and thrive in the future. Your business processes are going to improve exponentially using Data-Driven Approval Routing and Workflow automation.

So, can you afford to automate your business processes, or can you afford not to?

Contact us at ISS Group to learn more about improving your business processes with Data-Driven Approval Routing and Workflow and how to integrate this technology in your organization today.