What you should know about the benefits of RPA

The benefits of robotic process automation

With RPA, your business can automate processes and tasks to save time and avoid common human errors. RPA software works by configuring bots to perform tasks that would normally be done by humans. Bots can be taught to click and type across applications, as well as be configured to perform more complex tasks, without the need for human intervention. RPA benefits your business by automating various activities, including transferring data, updating customer profiles, data entry, managing stock, and other more complex tasks.

Here are seven key benefits of robotic process automation:

1. Save time

   Repetitive administrative tasks are a common part of many business processes. RPA allows your business to automate and perform repetitive tasks with quick, robotic speed. Also, your company and employees benefit from RPA by being able to spend more time on sensitive and complex tasks.

2. Increase ROI

   RPA tools are more efficient at managing repetitive tasks than humans, and they help your business improve work productivity. That’s why one of the greatest benefits of RPA is its positive impact on ROI. With robotic process automation, your business can improve several processes and collect significant amounts of qualitative and quantitative data over time, which helps to inform and manage costs more efficiently.

3. Eliminate human error

   Realistically, no matter how skilled a person is in their role, human error and fatigue are always factors to be considered. With RPA, automated bots never get tired, so tasks are performed accurately, as they’re meant to, each time.

4. Elevate security

   Cybersecurity is extremely important for your business, and RPA solutions help guard against security threats. RPA elevates security by reducing the number of human interactions with sensitive data and information, which helps prevent costly data leaks and breaches. RPA tools help to keep your business secure, whether guarding against access by unauthorised users, or performing triggered account logouts.

5. Increase compliance

   Compliance is important for the reliability and sustainability of your business, and RPA solutions adhere to set rules and guidelines with great accuracy and consistency. Typically, most organisations follow various industry and government regulations, and these organisations reap the benefits of RPA with automated, consistent compliance. Additionally, RPA can be audited from a single location, rather than performing multiple application audits—which reduces compliance risks. Robotic process automation can be applied to contract workflows and submissions, form updates, as well compliance-related notifications, and alerts.

6. Scale business process automation

   As your company applies an RPA tool to more business activities, the automation of processes and tasks expands throughout your organisation. Robotic process automation also allows your business to scale to meet seasonal increases in demand, and projected targets with greater confidence, whether processing orders, invoices, managing stock, or other forms of production and service.

7. Employee satisfaction

   When tedious processes are automated, employees are freed up to focus on more critical needs of your business. As RPA reduces repetitive tasks typically performed by humans, employee satisfaction increases. Employees can then apply their skills to tasks that require strategic thinking, like business planning, public relations, and brainstorming.

How does workflow automation benefit your organisation?

Workflow automation refers to the use of automation technology to automate and connect business processes to form a streamlined workflow. While workflow automation uses RPA to perform the individual tasks within a workflow, it differs from RPA because it automates and connects entire processes together from start to completion—forming a complete workflow.

Here are four ways workflow automation can benefit your organisation:

1. Simplify processes

   Workflow automation connects and automates various work-related activities while completing tasks faster and more accurately than humans, which makes processes easier for your organisation.

2. Increase productivity

   At times, companies need the ability to perform processes faster to help meet above-average demand. Workflow automation software increases productivity by increasing the speed and accuracy of your business processes, and by scaling automated processes within your organisation. An increase in productivity means a greater ability to serve and grow your organisation and customer base.

3. Increase reliability

   Since automated processes adhere to the rules of a workflow accurately, they offer outcomes that are far less likely to have errors. Therefore, your organisation gains confidence as automation tools deliver trusted, reliable results every time.

4. Control costs

   Every business wants to manage its costs and spending efficiently. However, business processes are often influenced by many variables such as demand, and variable human output, which can cause costs to fluctuate. Workflow automation allows your organisation to have more predictable outcomes and costs by automating standardised processes. Using workflow automation, your organisation lowers the need for additional resources and, as a result, is better equipped to manage costs and meet varying demands more consistently.

RPA for industries and departments

RPA can be adapted to manage tasks for various industries and departments. Here’s how the following six industries and departments can use robotic process automation:

1. Information technology

   Information technology (IT) departments benefit from RPA tools by attaining increased compliance, workload reduction, and decreased security risk. These departments are regularly flooded with questions, tickets, and security related tasks. RPA reduces the workload experienced by IT departments when implemented to handle tasks that don’t require specialist intervention, like triaging tickets, and software update reminders. However, RPA can also manage specialist tasks like compliance checks across applications, and infrastructure setup and management.

2. Human resources

   Reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks associated with activities like employee acquisition, and onboarding. Human resources can use RPA software to quickly process applications in search of highly skilled, relevant hires. RPA can also be adapted to perform routine onboarding tasks, like providing new employees with their credentials, such as emails and passwords, as well as necessary onboarding documentation.

3. Finance

   For finance teams, data accuracy and record keeping are essential. RPA tools increase the accuracy and reliability of bookkeeping and data management. RPA software can also assist finance departments by performing simple or complex financial calculations, automating communication for receivables, automated consolidation, and reporting, and validating payments.

4. Sales

   With an RPA solution, sales processes are made easier. Using automation, sales teams increase the volume of potential business through automated outreach, profile updates, and acquisition of new leads. An RPA tool also reduces the need for expertise in routine, cross-departmental tasks, allowing for better collaboration between sales teams and other departments.

5. Marketing

   Marketing teams use robotic process automation to their benefit in several ways. For example, marketing departments implement RPA for ad buying, triggered guides, workflow management, and analytics. With RPA software, marketing teams avoid creativity drain, and focus on content creation, and delivery.

6. Operations

   RPA can streamline and reduce the costs of different operational processes. For example, RPA can be used to quickly assess enquiries, and fulfil requests as a part of procurement processes. And for supply chains, RPA manages order placements, order communications and fulfilment, and payment processing.