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Home > Business Automation > Automate Your Business Processes - The How to Guide
You run a business?
Congratulations.
So, you know how tough it is to navigate uncertainty and plan for growth.
But these days, more and more businesses are finding a one-size-fits-all solution to these problems:
Automation.
It was once reserved for sci-fi movies about robots taking over the world.
But itâs a lot more simple than you think.
And more beneficial for your business, too.
No, it wonât nick all the jobs.
Nor will it infiltrate international governments.
What it can do is save your employees from repetitive, manual tasks.
67% agree software solutions are important to make a business competitive.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: IT Chronicles
Your efficiencyâs plummeted?
Automation.
You want to lower your operating costs?
You need business process automation.
Need to free up your staff to perform higher skilled tasks?
Try automating your processes.
Knowing that you need automation is the first step.
Knowing how to execute it?
Thatâs the next challenge.
(Lucky for you, weâre the experts.)
Weâve compiled the ultimate guide on business process automation.
Just sit back, and rela-
Actually, no.
Youâll want to be switched on for this one.
Iâm going to take you through:
What automation actually is
Which of your processes can be automated
Your options for automating them
A step-by-step guide to DIY automation
Chapter 1
What Is Automation?
Chapter 2
What Business Processes Can I Automate?
Chapter 3
The 3 Different Ways To Automate Your Business Processes
Chapter 4
Identify Which Processes You Want To Automate
Chapter 5
Determine The Goals Of Your Business Automation
Chapter 6
Choose The Right Automation Tools
Chapter 7
Monitor And Manage The Business Automation
Chapter 1
Letâs start with the basics.
Automation is the use of technologies to deliver goods and services with minimal human intervention.
There are lots of different types of automation.
But these are the most common:
Thereâs robotic process automation.
The use of software robots to automate repetitive tasks.
And then thereâs industrial automation.
The use of technologies that reduce human labour in manufacturing environments.
But today weâre talking about business process automation.
(AKA business automation.)
This is the use of software to replace human intervention in repetitive, manual business processes.
Read More
Wikipedia - Automation
It is associated with a number of benefits including:
Less potential for human error
Lower costs as fewer employees can be retained
Improved customer satisfaction
Greater clarity into business processes
Still not sure if automation is for you?
Letâs go through the kind of repetitive tasks that could do with the tech treatment.
From there, you can work out if automation is for you!
It takes executives on average 18 minutes to just find a document manually.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: M Files
Chapter 2
Iâm going to make you a bet.
I reckon at least 15% of your business processes can be automated.
Thatâs more than you thought, isnât it?
A huge range of processes can be automated.
But they have to fall into a few categories to guarantee a high ROI.
Firstly, the business process should include a high volume of tasks.
One of our first clients was an online retailer based in the UK.
They sold their goods across Europe and were struggling to grow.
We quickly found a process that was holding them back:
It was their customer support.
(And thatâs pretty important in ecommerce.)
Their customer support employees regularly had to receive calls from angry customers and then solve their problems.
They had to take notes of the customer that gave them a ring.
They had to create a report of the reason they are contacting the support team.
They had to connect them to the right team member with the right information.
And then they had to manually enter the data into the system.
(Yep - it was a mess.)
If multiple people have to execute the tasks, this should also be considered for automation.
75% of executives agree AI will help them move into new business ventures.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: Forbes
Is the process of a time-sensitive nature?
Hereâs the great thing about automation:
You know exactly what youâre putting into the software.
You know exactly whatâs going to come out.
And you know there will be no human error.
To the minute.
Small lags can snowball into serious problems.
When manual processes begin to have a detrimental effect on your operations, you know you need a solution.
And fast!
Still not convinced?
Maybe this list of 10 example automated business processes will do the trick.
Software can extract information from emails and put it into a database.
Customer service emails can be filed away automatically in your CRM system.
Certain emails can be moved directly to relevant destinations in cloud storage services for safe-keeping.
Personalised confirmation emails and messages can be sent instantly when your business is contacted.
Delivery updates can be sent to customers frequently when waiting for a good to arrive or service to be complete.
Lists of email and phone contacts can be compiled quickly for marketing campaigns.
Social media posts can be scheduled and posted automatically in one location.
Support notifications can be sent to relevant software and service users if a problem or update takes place.
Critical support requests - i.e. complaints or a negative Tweet about your brand - can be identified in real-time and alert the necessary employees.
Any mentions of your brand and your competitors can be brought directly to your attention.
Chapter 3
Letâs recap.
You know what automation is and whether your business needs it.
But how do you go about automating those pesky, repetitive tasks?
There are three paths you can follow:
You can buy automation software
You can hire a team of automation engineers to build custom-fit software
You can automate your business processes yourself
Letâs look at each option in a little more detail.
Buy automation software
You canât move for automation tools on the web.
All you need to do is work out which processes you want to automateâŚ
Research the automation tools and software available to youâŚ
And click âadd to cartâ!
Easy, right?
Sure, it sounds simple.
But this method is flawed.
Letâs say your marketing team is struggling to keep on top of its social media.
You shop around the web, and stumble across this nifty automation tool called Hootsuite.
Itâs got good customer reviews.
The price isnât half bad.
It seems a great way to help you manage what you and your customers are saying about your business online.
But hereâs the problem:
Youâre forking out over $150 per month for all these toolsâŚ
And a lot of them donât quite do what you want.
Yes, itâs very good at populating your social media posts for the future.
But can it help mark out the kind of posts that do well?
And can it show you when your best time for engagement is?
You donât want an automation tool that does 80% of the job.
Youâre not here to find a solution which, hey, is pretty great.
But misses the mark.
(You deserve better.)
Thatâs why we recommend custom software.
It means you know you will get exactly what you need and donât have to pay for features that go unused.
Automation in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry is projected to generate more than $900m by 2026.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: Globe News Wire
Buy custom-built automation software.
Okay, so weâre a âlil biased with this one.
Here at Lolly Co, we build custom automation software.
(And weâre pretty good at it, too.)
Regardless of thatâŚ
Bespoke automation tools and software are the best route to follow.
Why?
Because a team of business and automation experts can do everything for you-
from working out which processes to automate, to deploying the end solution.
You just need to make sure itâs up to your standards.
And when itâs not?
Just let the software developers know!
A strongly worded email will do just fine.
You can be certain that it meets your expectations and can compete with industry standards.
Told you itâs the best option!
Read More
Robotic process automation comes of age
Do-It-Yourself
Anyone with an iPhone and a dream are convinced they have the idea for the next big thing.
But building tools and software for your business?
It can look near impossible.
But-
It is.
It wonât be easy.
And it wonât be quick.
But with a team of automation experts on hand, navigating your path to automated business processes should be smooth.
Question is, are you ready?
You can be sure that it meets your exact needs.
And youâll know arenât coughing up more than you should.
To do it yourself, youâll need to work out:
Which processes you need to automate
Formulate a goal of your automation
Figure out the automation technologies youâll need
And then manage the software
Itâs not gonna be easy.
But we can help.
Chapter 4
So - youâre ready to automate your business processes.
That means first you need to work out which processes you want to automate.
Itâs time to define your business process workflows.
From there, you can work out whatâs holding your efficiency backâŚ
And whatâs overcomplicating your operations.
How can you go about that?
Two words: process mapping.
Process maps can visually document:
The steps involved in a process
The employees involved in it
Step 2: Build The Map
There are many online tools that can help show the individual steps of a work activity.
Process maps outline the decisions, processes, and documents it takes to turn inputs into outputs via clear and simple documentation.
And there are loads of different types of maps, too:
Flowcharts
Cross-functional flowcharts
Value stream map
SIPOC
Simply organise the steps in orderâŚ
And then you can start analysing it.
Step 3: Analyse The Process Map
(This one is pretty easy.)
All you have to do is look at the map you just produced!
Hereâs what you should be looking for:
Bottlenecks
Repeatable jobs
Gaps between IT systems that cause delays
Overly complex processes
From there you can see which processes - or which part of the processes - you can automate.
This is an essential part of our automation service.
In fact, most of our clients come to us with a problem.
Consider one of our clients:
A cosmetic surgery clinic based in London.
Simply scheduling an appointment was causing problems.
It would require several different staff!
This would detract from their 9-to-5 and could generate serious confusion.
And that same confusion was becoming very apparent to the patient.
All too often their reminders werenât sent and incorrect info was logged.
We just looked over their business processes and pinpointed the issue.
Their manual booking system.
Finding the fix?
That was the easy part.
(We created an in-house app that helped schedule appointments, prevented clashes, and sent out automatic SMS message reminders.)
Businesses lost 30% of their revenue a year due to inefficient processes.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: IDC
Step 4: Determine If You Can Automate The Process
So - youâve listed the processes holding your business back.
Now you need to work out whether it is automatable.
(Iâve already covered that in this article.)
Not sure how to get started with processing mapping?
Why not turn to the experts?
We provide process mapping workshops that highlight where youâre going wrong.
And how to make things right.
Talk to the Automation Experts!
So: you should be left with the processes you want to automate.
You need to formulate a strategy for your automation using these insights you just gathered.
(Donât worry, it is easier than it sounds.)
Chapter 5
Letâs be honest:
Everyone has a different âgolden ruleâ when it comes to running a business.
But this one is pretty important.
Before you start any new project, you should work out your goals for it.
How else are you going to know if it worked?
You should always start with your main business goals.
Automating processes fulfils a number of fundamental business goals:
High efficiency.
Lower costs.
Greater agility.
But what about your specific goals?
These could include:
Increasing the income by 20%
Reducing operating expenses by 5%
Or improving brand awareness
You need to work out how automating these processes can help you achieve them.
Thatâs exactly what we did with one of Englandâs leading accounting firms.
Their growth was on course.
Their efficiency was up there.
(But we knew it could go higher.)
They wanted to push the possibilities of profitability even further.
So, we deep-dived their processes.
âAha - we found something!â
They were still manually processing forms to ship off to Companies House.
The client would send it in.
The accountant would check it was correct.
The accountant would manually upload it.
And then send it off.
Sure, it doesnât sound like it would take too long.
But we did the math.
And it was.
We created software that could have the client send it directly to Companies House.
The accountants could finally get back to what they were good at.
(And in the process, we save them 40,000 hours a year.)
We knew we could save them serious time and money.
If it can provide long-term savings and high ROI, start building out a plan.
If not?
Donât waste anymore of your time.
Finding ways to measure how automation can achieve these goals is also important.
This could include the amount of time saved as a result of the automationâŚ
The amount of money savedâŚ
Or even the change in output!
By defining measurable KPIs, you can be sure that your automation solution fits the bill and doesnât stray off course.
53% of businesses have already begun their RPA journey.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: Deloitte
Chapter 6
Once youâve worked out what you want to automateâŚ
You need to figure out how youâre going to do it.
This is where things get complicated.
There are a lot of different factors to take into account.
And a lot of those factors come weighed down with hefty jargon.
So, letâs go through this slo-w-ly.
Firstly, you have two options for how you go about this automation:
You can use your automation strategy to find an automation tool
You can hire an in-house team of automation engineers to build one for you
Letâs start with the first path, shall we?
This one is pretty simple.
You just have to line up your goals and current technology with the right software.
And with hundreds of tried-and-tested tools availableâŚ
Itâs never been easier to automate your business.
But there are a few things you need to consider when choosing your tool.
1. There are two different types of business process management software:
Legacy software (expensive software that you purchase outright).
And cloud-based software (SaaS software you pay for on a subscription basis).
76% of recruitment professionals claim AI will be significant in the years to come.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: Talent Solutions
2. A lot of tools are department specific.
So specific, in fact, they can take the place of an entire team.
Concerned about your accounting?
Quickbooks.
Worried about email marketing?
Mailchimp.
I could go on all day.
If youâve found an inefficient process within your business, you might not need to find a specific fix for whatâs holding it back.
You could just automate the entire department.
(Yes, it really is that easy!)
Weâre busy building these kinds of tools on a daily basis.
In fact, last year we teamed up with an international glasses retailer.
They were shipping their eyewear across the world.
The world.
They knew if there was a way to streamline shipping, they needed to implement it.
And we did just that.
We built software that automated their entire shipping department.
They could pinpoint where shipments were going.
They could see when the products would arrive.
And they could make sure production was on track.
(Not bad, right?)
3. Are there any specific technologies that you need?
Just looking to schedule your social media posts?
You can keep things simple.
There are loads of tools within reach.
But some processes require something a âlil more rigorous.
Take artificial intelligence.
AI and machine learning can be used to automate processes that collect a lot of data by imitating human actions.
It means the system can predict, learn, and recommend what to do next.
Sounds like the solution for you?
Your team will have a lot to get their head around.
Itâs complex and requires a group of experts to actually build custom software.
Speaking of automation engineersâŚ
The second path is pretty similar to the first.
In fact, itâs even easier:
Most automation software developers will document your workflows.
This will help you uncover future opportunities for automation.
And then they actually provide the solution!
You donât really have to do anything, actually.
Well.
You just need to make sure the shiny new process is running smoothly.
Chapter 7
Youâre nearly there.
Youâve highlighted the problem eating away at your productivity.
Youâve supercharged the process with an automation tool.
And now, youâre ready to watch your efficiency soar.
(Sorry to be the buzz-kill.)
Itâs not over just yet.
You need to know how to manage the automation tool.
If you donât, things could go pear-shaped.
Errors can go unnoticedâŚ
Productivity levels can be ignoredâŚ
And your customers could receive some nasty surprises.
Whatâs the point of automating your business if something goes wrong?
If you donât know how to manage it properly, it could make the situation even worse.
(I know, right?)
But have no fear:
It wonât take much out of an employeeâs daily routine to watch over the tool.
It means you can really reduce the amount of time you spend on that process.
The marketing automation industry grows by 30% each year in the US.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: Email Monday
So, how do you monitor your automation?
Simply put, you should just keep an eye on the output and review it regularly.
But thereâs more to it than that.
So, Iâve compiled our top tips on managing your automation software.
Have an employee or team check the inputs and outputs on a frequent basis.
Produce regular reports on operational efficiency and whether it's meeting your standards.
When your business grows or its strategy changes, do the same with your automation.
Compare your automation tool to others on the market to guarantee you get the best deal.
Conclusion
Itâs a lot to do, isnât it?
You could:
Map out all your processes
Analyse all your processes
Identify the problems with your efficiency
Research and compare automation tools
Implement the tools
And then monitor it
Or, you leave that up to us.
We donât just build custom automation software.
We can also provide process mapping workshops to get to the root of your productivity.
We even monitor and manage the software over time.
You in?
Get In Touch
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