Five Tips for Introducing Automation into Your Business

Automation

Automation may sound like the latest buzzword in business. But it’s a very real thing that can save your company oodles of time and money.

We’ve covered the benefits of business automation in a previous article. But you can’t experience those benefits if you don’t implement automation into your business effectively. Here are five tips on introducing automation into your business.

Tip #1 – Involve the Entire Team

There are a lot of horror stories that your team can conjure up about upcoming automation. They may worry that it will lead to some of them losing their jobs, which can make it all the more difficult to get them on board with the process. And a team that doesn’t support the idea makes it all the more difficult to implement automation successfully.

To remedy this, be transparent with your team from the off. Discuss why you’re looking to bring automation in and involve the team in every step of the process. Ask for their feedback and help them understand how automation benefits them, as well as the company.

Tip #2 – Define Success

Without an end goal, every plan is doomed to failure.

It’s the same for automation. If you don’t know what you want to achieve from the process, there’s no point trying to implement it. You’ll just be firing into the dark in the vain hope that you hit a target.

Automation only works when you know what you want to automate and what the process needs to achieve for you. Define these two things and you’ll have a much better chance of a successful implementation.

Tip #3 – Plan Well Ahead

Automation isn’t just something that you can adopt with the flick of the switch. As with any wholesale business process change, it requires several months of planning. Remember that automation may change the way that your people work. They need to know what they’re doing, which usually means they need training.

The key is to plan well ahead. Create a defined schedule for implementing automation and ensuring that everyone in the company adapts to the new processes. Many choose to stagger the implementation so that they can introduce their people to some new processes before unveiling the entire system.

Tip #4 – Don’t Only Look at Broken Processes

You may have a few processes in mind for automation that you can easily define as broken. They’re slow, clunky, and lead to mistakes.

That’s the obvious stuff. What isn’t so obvious is how you can use automation to drive efficiency in a process that actually works well. The old saying of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply with automation. There may be a chance to improve a good process with the proper use of automation.

Tip #5 – Prioritise Security

Automation means the introduction of an array of new security protocols into your business. You’re likely using new systems, which gives malicious people a chance to cause issues if you don’t understand them correctly.

Proper security starts with your supplier. Make sure that they understand the system, the security features that it needs, and how to teach you more about it. Don’t skimp on security. Remember that automation makes things easier for you, which makes things easier for attackers when you’re not prepared to defend your new systems against them.

Of course, the best advice is to work with a company that understands business process automation and can help you to define what you need from it. That’s where Imobisoft can help. Call our team today to learn more about how you can use automation to your advantage.