Do you want to give your business a boost this year? Consider using business process automation (BPA).
About 90% of businesses already use technology to automate business processes. About 73% of these businesses are satisfied with the benefits they've experienced.
Don't worry; BPA won't steal work from your team. In fact, 88% of businesses believe automation will improve human achievement. Another 79% say automation is most effective when it complements humans.
What is business process automation, exactly? What benefits of BPA can you experience firsthand? Keep reading to find out!
What is Business Process Automation?
Before we talk about the benefits of BPA, let's review what business process automation entails.
BPA uses technologies to complete recurring processes and tasks. Repeating these tasks manually can take up valuable time and effort. Instead, you can leave a program to automate these tasks for you.
Automation can boost your productivity and efficiency. It can also streamline your business processes and minimise unnecessary costs.
To use BPA, you'll need to review your current workflow. What tasks do your employees repeat regularly? Which tasks can you complete without human intervention?
Software applications can automate these processes for you. You can use BPA across every department in your business. Instead of focusing on individual tasks, BPA improves your overall process.
There are two different business functions you can consider: core and support.
Your core functions help you generate income for your business. These are the primary reasons your business exists.
Your support functions, on the other hand, are activities that support your core functions. Many companies already outsource their support functions.
You can automate steps in both your core and support functions to improve your efficiency.
BPA Examples
You can choose which processes you want to automate, including employee onboarding.
Hiring employees requires multiple tasks. You'll need to:
- Complete employee information forms
- Schedule induction sessions
- Schedule training sessions
- Set up bank accounts
- Collect the necessary documents
- Assign mentors/managers
Without automation, your team's productivity could drop. You might notice signs of employee dissatisfaction, too. Human error can also lead to skipped tasks.
Meanwhile, you'll have to worry about the endless paperwork involved.
You can use business process automation for smooth employee onboarding.
How often do you handle purchase order requests? For many companies, it's a recurring process. You can automate purchase orders to avoid:
- PO approval delays
- Incomplete records
- Errors in the PO
- Low productivity
- Errors in accepting deliveries
BPA can boost your data recording, transparency, and accountability. It can also improve your process-related communication.
What processes are you outsourcing? You can stop outsourcing these tasks to cut costs. For example, you can also use BPA for:
- IT and technical services (automated self-service reports, status reports, ticketing problems and resolutions)
- Marketing and sales (automating marketing emails, campaigns, sales tracking and reporting)
- Administrative duties (HR functions, automated payroll, employee benefits enrollment)
Choosing different processes to automate throughout your business can improve your entire team's productivity. You can streamline different processes and take your team off these tasks. Then, you can have them focus on bigger projects that demand more brainpower.
The Benefits
Now that we've answered the question “what is BPA,” let's talk about a few ways it can support your business. Here are seven advantages of business process automation you can start experiencing today.
1. Eliminate Paper
Paper accounts for about 26% of all waste in landfills. Meanwhile, 42% of all global wood harvested is used to make paper.
In fact, 50% of waste from businesses is composed of paper. US offices use 12.1 trillion sheets of paper every year.
Instead of wasting paper (and money), consider BPA. You can digitise your documents and easily store your digitised data. Digitising can cut costs and make it easier for you to search for vital pieces of information.
2. Boost Productivity
Wasting valuable time on simple, repetitive processes can steal your team members away from more important tasks. Their productivity could drop as a result. Instead, consider the benefits of BPA.
You can take these repetitive tasks off your team's shoulders. Instead, they can use their talents for bigger projects. You can use your team's creativity to boost your business.
As their productivity improves, your bottom line will, too.
3. Identify Other Sources of Waste
Before you can start automating, you'll need to consider every step of your current processes. Reviewing your current process can help you identify areas where you're potentially wasting time and money.
You can even detect your under- or overused resources. Then, you can repurpose these resources to improve your current process.
4. Make Better Projections
Without technology, making projections requires a lot of uninformed guesswork. You might not realise you lack enough manpower or resources. Maybe you're wasting your resources instead.
BPA allows you to monitor every aspect of your business. You'll have the tools you need to make accurate projections. Then, you can predict your business' needs, before you need them.
5. Identify Assets
Remember, you need to review your entire business process before you can start automating those processes. This process will require you to identify every asset at your disposal.
Improving the visibility of your assets will help you gain a better understanding of your business. You can determine how to best utilise your assets to boost productivity.
6. Save Money
When you stop working to sleep, you stop making money, too. Of course, you need sleep to remain healthy! BPA will give your body a break and allow you to make money.
With BPA, you can manage your operations around the clock.
7. Standardise Operations
Automating will allow you to streamline your processes. You'll gain valuable insights that you can use to make smarter decisions moving forward. Your faster turnaround times will improve your bottom line, too.
Meanwhile, you can standardise processes. You can show customers you're reliable and efficient.
Your customers will take notice. You can start meeting and exceeding customer expectations. Increasing customer satisfaction can help you retain long-term customers.
Customer retention can improve your ROI.
Automating certain activities can decrease human errors, too. Removing these errors can help you save time and money.
Business Process Automation: Your Guide to Streamlined Success
Want to give your business a boost this year? Consider these advantages of business process automation. By using BPA, you can streamline your processes and set yourself up for success.
Looking for more ways to set your business up for success? We're here to help.
Consider Jumpstart! Schedule a call today to get started.
