We could talk about the benefits of process automation until we are blue in the face!
But, that doesn’t mean you should start automating absolutely everything in your business right now.
You want to ensure that things you are automating make sense and that they either create efficiencies for you or add to the experience for your customers.
So, let’s see how you can get process automation going in your business by exploring the what, when and how of automation and how to make sure it’s done effectively.
Process Automation: How To Get It Going In Your Business
The What, When And How Of Process Automation
The What
Process automation can be a game changer for your business. It helps to create efficiency, reduces the risk of human errors, and can save you a whole bunch of time (and moolah!)
So, what is it?
Process automation is when you use technology or specific software to undertake routine tasks in your business. Yep, it means you can let the virtual robots look after certain business tasks without the need for human intervention.
Instead of you or your team having to manually perform these processes, you can let specific software do the heavy lifting for you. Obviously, this will save a lot of time. But, it can also improve the quality and consistency of your work, and increase productivity as you can focus on more complex or strategic tasks with the time you save.
The great thing about process automation is that it can be utilized in a wide range of industries, locations and business structures.
The When
So, when should you start trying to automate your business processes? Well, would it sound too cheesy to say the answer is yesterday?
Regardless of what stage your business is at, you can benefit from some sort of process automation. Whether you are a startup or an established brand, there are plenty of ways you can create efficiencies from day dot.
If you want until you are too busy to manage your workload, then it becomes a HUGE task to implement process automation. However, if you start as you mean to go on and continually introduce various automated processes, you will make consistent progress towards streamlining your business.
The How
Right, now is the time to get that automation humming. So, how can you get started?
Here are the steps you should take:
Step 1: Identify Places For Process Automation
Reconnaissance is your first objective! Take a close look at your current processes and identify the areas that are time-consuming, repetitive, or have a high risk of error involved. These are the best places to implement automation. Some popular areas are:
- Finances: invoicing, bill payments, reporting and chasing payments
- Email: email templates, auto-responders, email sequences, client communication and follow-ups
- Social media: post scheduling, content sharing, analysis
- Payroll: wage calculation, pay run generation, payday filing
- Customer service: web chat, chatbots, email updates, system integrations
- Appointment scheduling: scheduling software to book appointments, send reminders and manage cancellations
- Inventory management: track stock levels and forecast demand for products
- Website: online ordering, appointment booking and content updates
- Data Entry: Apps to pull info from invoices, receipts or other docs; dictation or transcription
Step 2: Choose The Right Tools
This is the part of the automation process that stumps a lot of businesses – choosing the right tools for the job. There are a lot of options available, so you want to get clear on what you need each of your tools to do and research whether they will fit into your workflow and budget.
There is everything from a simple software program to complex integrated systems. For a comprehensive list of the apps your business needs, check out our recent blog here [link app blog]. And to get you started, a few of our favourites are Xero, Hubdoc, Payhero, Lightspeed and Mailchimp.
Step 3: Start Small
It is not necessary to automate your entire business overnight. In fact, it’s better to start small and automate one thing at a time so that you can ensure it is operating correctly before moving on to the next aspect.
Pick the simple tasks to tick off first so that you are able to get familiar with the tools. This will minimize the risk of errors and downtime. Then, gradually work your way toward the more complex processes.
Step 4: Train Your Team
While automation will make life easier for you and your team in the long run, there will be some things to get used to in the short term.
Train your team on the relevant systems so that understand what they need to do and what the automation will handle for them. Training and support will help everyone adapt to the new tools and processes.
Step 5: Monitor And Measure
Automation can be amazing, but if it isn’t set up correctly or you haven’t selected quite the right method, then it can end up causing problems for your business. That’s why it is essential to monitor how your automations are going and make changes if necessary.
Keep track of the impact your automation is having. Look at efficiency, effectiveness and improvements in quality or customer satisfaction. Measuring the results will also help you to see where you are saving in your business. And will also give you an indication of where you can further improve your processes and how to fully optimize your automation tools.
Let’s Get Automated
Want to introduce useful process automation into your business but not sure where to start?
Then, have a chat with our team today. We are experts in streamlining businesses and can make suggestions for where to get started on your automation journey. Better yet? Why not let us implement the new automation processes for you?
Book a time to chat with us about process automation now.