The tech pace has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow. This is what is going on today: the COVID-19 pandemic is creating havoc in almost every industry. Businesses are moving towards digitization and preparing themselves for adopting new ways of operating and serving customers once they reach a safe situation.
COVID-19 is radically accelerating the digital future. Companies are migrating towards digital practices, following agile ways of working, outsourcing product development, improving customer experiences and promoting remote working.
This is amazing. Isn’t it?
But, on the flipside, we become slow too. Startups are shutting off in response to the current crisis. The sudden economic shift from physical to digital, leaves businesses with enormous loss and no revenues.
The pandemic changed the way we live, do work, do business and whatnot. It is accelerating the Digital Revolution, fuelled by smart technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and mobile supercomputing.
A Glimpse Of Business Automation
Business Automation, also known as Business Process Automation, is the digitized automation process to run repeating tasks or processes in a business where human effort can be replaced.
You can streamline business processes with greater efficiency, achieve digital transformation, improve service quality, enhance service delivery, minimize cost.
The benefits of Business Automation can be achieved by utilizing business automation tools such as Zapier, IFTTT, active campaign, leadformly, and so on.
By automating business processes, following advantages can be enjoyed:
- Increased Productivity
- Better Customer Service
- Greater Efficiency
- High Accuracy
- Better Job Satisfaction
The best business automation tools like Zapier, IFTTT, and leadformly help businesses streamline work processes in less time, increase revenues and take your business to the next level.
A Look At Sales Automation
Sales automation also helps businesses improve efficiency, streamline recurring activities, and ensuring nothing will be mishandled during the sales process.
Sales automation is a smart digital way to enhance productivity with increased sales and revenue. It eliminates time-consuming and redundant tasks using Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other digital tools.
Check out some of the advantages of Sales automation discussed below:
- Maximize productivity and sales performance
- Improves accuracy
- Ensures your sales leads don't fall
- Streamlines the quality of your sales tasks
- Reduces response time which can increase customer satisfaction
- Make sales data consistent
According to Forrester research, automation can minimize operating costs up to 90 percent by Business Process Automation.
Why should businesses automate processes?
Let’s dig out a few reasons why businesses automate business processes.
A way ahead to Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation is all set to transform the way products develop and processes work. Business process automation is considered one of the key aspects in the rapid adoption of digital transformation.
Clarity
The automation process needs a specific amount of clarity about the processes right at the designing stage. If you don’t know the tasks involved and the team responsible for running the process, you can’t design and automate the workflow.
Process mapping can be used to provide clarity to all employees and serve as a training resource as well. The real-time insights help you analyze the gap between your process as is and as it should ideally be.
Streamlined processes
One of the reasons for a business automation system is streamlined processes. The benefits like clear accountability, customizable notifications, valuable insights, and faster turnaround times make it easier to eliminate irrelevant activities and focus on core tasks that add value.
Compliance
Business process automation facilitates recording every detail of a particular process. The information can be presented to demonstrate compliance during audits.
Standardization of operations
A consistent standard of outcome is expected every time you automate a business process. Standardization helps to make your organization as reliable, which ultimately helps increase your customer base.
Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is considered the most vital factor for any industry type. Customer expectations can be fulfilled by focusing on process efficiency and operational excellence. When you meet promised standards, customers are more likely to develop preference for your company.
Source: McKinsey
Migrating To Smart Systems-Redefining The Future Of Work
The rapidly increasing significance and deployment of automated systems in the workplaces is not a new phenomenon, but with every passing year it is gaining more attention and topic of debate. These technologies hold a lot of exciting potential.
Numbers of organizations are migrating towards integrating intelligent automation systems which are considered as a critical component of their business model.
The new-aged entrepreneurs are ready to adapt and innovate for the new normal. By adopting evolving automation technologies such as AI, blockchain and vision systems, organizations can make big profits.
Only the companies that respond fastest will enjoy the benefits such as recruiting, productivity, innovation and customer satisfaction.
According to a study, more than 4 out of 10 workers (around 44%) have the opinion that digital evolution will have a positive effect on their current jobs, while 20% feared a negative impact.
Automation Impact On the Workforce Of The Future
Businesses are all set to drive innovation with the comprehensive set of innovative ideas, new products, right tech stack, and so on. But, what about our workforce? Are they ready to transform themselves into the way we work in the future?
Automation helps you in the following ways:
- Create an adaptive enterprise with an adaptive workforce
- Influences and is influenced by the gig economy
- Fuels and is driven by shape-shifting organizations
- Build new ways to deliver differentiated experiences and value
- Evolves value
According to McKinsey, it was estimated that nearly 15% of the global workforce or 400 million workers could be displaced by automation in the period 2016–2030.
Automation and AI will increase productivity and economic growth, but millions of lives globally need to switch their jobs or upgrade their skill. The future of work is going to be a blend of humans, gigs, and robots.
The tech-driven world is full of promises and challenges which are going to be fulfilled in the coming future.
Making Workforce ready for the Future work
Business entrepreneurs should keep in mind the following to make future workforce ready in which both humans and smart systems work together collaboratively to accelerate productivity, innovation, and growth.
Reimagine work
Tasks should be assessed not jobs. Allocate work to machines and humans both, by balancing the need for automation.
Create new job roles. Build agile teams and implement outsourcing practices.
Hire latest skills to new roles. Assess hired employees potential with the internal capabilities required for new roles.
Pivot the workforce
- Pivot the workforce to create new sustainable business models. Introduce teams to support new customer experiences.
- Make processes agile. Develop flexible and scalable processes and motivate the workforce to support both old and new business processes.
- Embrace business leaders at all levels to support the workforce to develop new growth models.
Scaling new skills
- Prioritize the skill-set for niche development of a product.
- Embrace ‘new skills.’ Supports the workforce to learn different levels of skills.
- Adopt digital practices. Make use of digital technologies like Virtual Reality (VR). Augmented Reality (AR), and Artificial Intelligence to accelerate the speed and scale of effective and learning.
Key Takeaways
- Organizations are using data analytics and other digital tools to strengthen business potency, customer relationships, technology systems, and operations
- Business leaders are taking proactive steps to transform their companies, adapt digitization practices and also motivate the workforce for remote working
- For most of the big businesses, incorporating agile practices and outsourcing along with remote working is the new normal now
- Businesses are now focussed more about building new customer relationships via effective digital experiences
Last Words
Businesses are all set to transform their workforce into a “productive digital workforce” and it will look completely different from what it is today. Accelerating your workforce transformation will be able to compete in a digital age, while extending your leadership and helping you gain a competitive advantage. All this can be achieved by evolving existing workforce and shaping their competencies and talent with brainstorming technologies. It’s time to rejuvenate the workforce for digital transformation.