01 Jun, 2021 | Blogs
Days when business executives debated on whether to invest in robotic process automation (RPA) or not are a figment of the past. Today, RPA is expanding rapidly, and this momentum is likely to continue in the years to come. Reports suggest the global RPA market will reach USD 6.10 billion by 2027, experiencing an astounding CAGR of 24.9% between 2020 and 2027 (Global Newswire). However, this growth doesn’t necessarily complement the automation journeys of companies. When we look at companies traversing the digital transformation journey, the view is hardly monolithic. That’s because many companies haven’t been able to align their business strategy with RPA by a long shot. In this blog, we’ll look at the top five ways companies can sync their overall business strategy with this game-changing technology as part of a smart, long-term play.
What is Robotic Process Automation?
To begin with, RPA is almost always about achieving maximum operational efficiency by automating repetitive work through software bots. RPA bots mimic human actions to handle a high volume of mundane tasks. There are three main components while starting with these bots, including the “Designer,” the “Controller,” and the “Bot.” These three elements are required to define and schedule the tasks, which the bots execute as if a human would. RPA bots work 24/7 and are fast, efficient, as well as capable of handling a high volume of tasks in minutes.
How to Align Business Strategy With RPA
- Identify The Process
The first step is to ascertain if RPA is the right technology for your business. It can be done by consulting various process stakeholders, assessing their pain points, and then setting up goals to measure the impact of the technology. If this sounds overwhelming, then it is best to consult a professional who can help you understand how and where you can leverage RPA.
- RPA Implementation Vendor
Schedule a process discovery session with a trusted RPA implementation vendor. These companies help you understand how RPA will help improve your processes and identify the best-suited technology based on your needs. A few things to consider while select the right RPA vendor are your long- and short-term goals, price, security, scalability, etc.
Also read: Why to Choose an RPA Implementation Partner.
- Documentation
Once your RPA implementation partner has helped you identify the process that can benefit most from RPA, it is time to define the success parameters. Gauge your automation success by defining the metrics of automation at the forefront.
- Communicate with employees
Another critical step to align business strategy with RPA is to communicate the organizational change with the employees involved. RPA is known to disrupt the comfort level of employees when it comes to job security. Address those concerns by helping them understand how robots work as a hired hand that do all their mundane work while employees focus on exception handling and more strategic tasks. The communication must be transparent, especially with employees who will be working with the bots.
- Proof of concept
Don’t jump the gun and begin substituting everything with RPA. Doing a proof of concept to see how the bot will work in your business environment is critical. A proof of concept helps you understand how RPA will interact with your systems, and how well suited it is for your department’s needs. In other words, it helps test and validate the technology in real business scenarios.
Also read: Making a Case for Robotic Process Automation (RPA): Proof of Concept.
Conclusion
Once you have these steps in place, you’ll be in a better position to align your business strategy with RPA. The proof of concept will give you enough data to understand the performance of RPA bots and fix any issues or discrepancies. If you go ahead with implementing RPA, make sure you ask your implementation partner to assist in change management and provide training and post-go-live support. Once you’ve implemented RPA in one process, it can be easily scaled to other departments to help your company’s overall business strategy.