Boost efficiency in 4 steps: A guide to business automation

Between the increasing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) and the emergence of accessible digital platforms and tools, businesses of all sizes can now use automation to streamline their operations and create better customer experiences. And there’s still much more that businesses can do to implement tools that drive efficiency and revenue growth. Get ready to put automation to work for your business.

While growth-stage businesses still lag behind larger companies with automation, adoption is growing across the board—with good reason.

• Nearly 90% of companies are using digital tools to operate more efficiently and save money.

• Companies are introducing new or improved technologies into their businesses, with 65% saying new technologies have allowed them to stay competitive.

• Nearly 60% of companies have implemented software, equipment or technology to automate tasks.

Automation is growing across various areas of business, but here are some areas where digital tools can quickly improve operations and lead to more growth.

• Sales and marketing: Customer relationship management programs can automate lead tracking and client follow-ups; email programs can streamline newsletters and promotional campaigns; and scheduling tools can automatically book meetings, saving valuable time.

• Finance and accounting: Finance-related solutions can automate everything from invoicing and payment processing to payroll and expense tracking.

• Human resources: Employee onboarding can be automated by using digital tools to collect documents from new staff or schedule initial orientation tasks. Programs can also manage employee work schedules and screen resumes to ensure candidates are the right fit.

• Operations and customer support: There are now ways to automatically check inventory levels and send alerts for low stock, while chatbots and other automated responses can be used to answer customer queries and direct clients to the right people within the business.

Whether you’re already implementing automation and want to introduce more or you’re just getting started, you’ll need to assess your readiness and identify areas to improve. Here’s how. 

• Identify pain points: Look for repetitive, time-consuming tasks that slow staff down and could be automated instead of increasing head count.

• Define goals and success metrics: Consider what you want to achieve from any automation. That could include faster response times, improved accuracy, lower overhead or an enhanced customer experience.

• Review digital capabilities: Assess whether your current systems can integrate with new automation tools. See what existing cloud-based programs you may already have that can support automation. 

• Ensure financial feasibility: Look for a return on your automation investment. Compare the costs of automation with the financial impact of inefficiency. Consider focusing on incremental improvements first rather than a large and costly system overhaul. 

A lot of companies make the mistake of implementing new technologies because they think they have to. They don’t think carefully enough about whether their automation will yield results. That’s why it’s important to measure success: If your solutions are working, you’ll be empowered to deploy more. Here’s how to measure the ROI of your business process automation.

• Consider business objectives: Knowing your business objectives is integral to setting key performance indicators (KPIs). A business that wants to increase revenue through customer acquisition and a company that prioritizes client retention may have different automation needs. 

• Establish a baseline: Before implementing automation, you need to measure your current operational baseline. Depending on what you’re automating, you might track things like customer response times, staffing hours or costs per transaction. 

• Set KPIs: If you know your business objectives and have baseline numbers, you can more easily determine what metrics you want to measure and what numbers you might want to achieve. You may want to see employee satisfaction improve as rote tasks diminish or a 50% increase in responses from client emails, for instance.

• Replicate success: If your digital automation solutions achieve their goals, then you could consider looking at another area of your business to implement new tools. 

As innovation increases and new technologies make automation easier to develop and implement, there’s no reason your business can’t adopt solutions that will help you get ahead.