Chapter 3
The Pros And Cons Of RPA
Robotic process automation sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?
And now you know what it actually means, I can bet you’re impressed.
(Like every other global corporation that uses it.)
But the proof is in the pudding.
You want to know what it’s going to provide for your business.
And if it turns your productivity into profit.
SPOILER ALERT: it does.
But justice is blind.
I’m going to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages so you can see fairly whether RPA is best for your business.
In fact, this is one of the first things we did in initial talks with one of our oldest clients.
They were a cosmetic surgery clinic based in Essex and were already versed in automation.
Their admin team was working twice as fast thanks to our software.
But they wanted to make scheduling appointments that much easier.
“This RPA thing…
Sounds great, but I’ve Googled it and I’m not sure it’s for us.
Apparently, it’s putting people out of jobs?”
It’s not the first time we’ve heard this.
Heck, we all have!
We quickly quelled their concerns with some fast stats.
But nevertheless, we always present the pros and cons.
Let’s get started!
Pros
No human error
Nobody’s perfect.
Nobody can get all of their work done, beat the deadline and make no mistakes.
We are human, after all!
This is a real issue with business processes.
But up until now, it’s been unavoidable.
No need to make room for correcting errors.
No need to send apologetic emails to angry clients asking why this isn’t that.
You can rest assured that your RPA tool is getting it done.
And getting it right.
You just have to kick back and relax…
(Make sure you check the results sometimes, just in case.)
It completes processes faster
There are some pretty staggering stats floating around about distractions at work.
Like this one.

Did you know?
It takes on average 23 minutes to get back to work after a distraction.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: The Muse
Crazy, right?
Well, I’ve got some news for you: robots don’t get distracted.
They don’t need a cheeky cup of coffee in the morning.
They don’t need to take lunch.
And they don’t need to nip off to the bathroom every couple of hours.
They work solidly.
Even outside of the 9-to-5.
Your employees can’t do that, can they?
(And they shouldn’t - I’m 99% sure it would be a human rights violation.)
Plus, software robots get things done faster, too.
Time is money.
Don’t you want to save both?
It lowers your costs
Money makes the world go around.
And as much as you don’t want to admit it, it’s pretty important to your business.
Yes, we all know how much you care about your company’s mission.
But if you can find a way to cut costs, you’ll do it.
Robotic process automation means you can replace some of your employees with software.
This allows them to focus on tasks that provide more value to a business.
Or it gives you a reason to cut back.
Plus, we all know that when you get things done more efficiently, your costs decrease.

It ensures better compliance
RPA has this handy knack of standardising your processes.
By implementing automation tools into your processes, you have to log each step in your operations.
This results in accurate process documentation.
And when your documentation is up to scratch, you can see whether you are meeting laws and regulations.
No hefty fines.
No stoppages in operating.
No hassle.
Cons
It can take jobs
There’s only one problem with RPA.
And to be honest, it’s not much of a problem.
Throughout history, we’ve been convinced that robots are going to take over the world.
Think back to when robots entered the factories.
There was uproar!
Sure, workers were being pushed out of jobs.
In fact, Forrester Research predicts 230 million jobs will be stolen by RPA software.
But have no fear-
These jobs will also be provided by RPA.
It gives employees a chance to break away from repetitive, boring tasks and do work that is valuable to the business.
Who would turn down a chance to upskill?
Sure, change is scary.
And that’s exactly what RPA is.
But change is also good.
Chapter 4
Can My Business Use RPA?
It all sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
Boosting your productivity and cutting your costs?
Yes, please!
But it isn’t always as easy as that.
Not every process can be passed to a programmer for them to build a tool.
“I hate making sales presentations.
I need a bot to make an in-depth analysis of this data and create a 15 minute PowerPoint bi-weekly.”
Yeah, that’s not happening.
Maybe in a few decades, if you’re lucky.
Your business process needs to fulfill a few requirements first.
If not, it can’t be automated.
As a rule of thumb, RPA is suited best to tasks that are repetitive and manual.
But there are a few other boxes your process needs to tick.
Processes that are a match for RPA must:
Be rule-based
Be repeated at regular intervals
Have defined input and output
Have sufficient volume
Not a clue what any of this really means?
I got you.
I’m going to explain each in a little more depth to get you up to speed.
#1 - The process should be rule-based
If it doesn’t require human judgement, ditch the employee.
Logical decision-making that sticks to several different rules is perfect for RPA.
It means data is manipulated and stored according to human-made rules.
So, when RPA is applied it mimics human intelligence.
Cool, right?
Here’s an example:
A patient is experiencing several different symptoms of an unknown illness.
They can just input their symptoms into a handy online tool and the RPA is able to allocate them a diagnosis.
This can save their doctor a lot of time in verifying the problem.
#2 - It is highly repetitive
RPA can only be used on standardised and repeatable processes.
That means it is clearly documented and no drastic changes will take place in the future.
A lot of your business processes will fit this definition.
The most common examples include data entry and other basic administrative tasks.
And who doesn’t want to cross them off their to-do list?

Did you know?
29% of jobs are performed by robotic machinery.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: World Economic Forum
#3 - It has defined inputs and outputs
You know what RPA loves?
Structured data.
That’s things like addresses, credit card details and telephone numbers.
If a process relies on structured inputs like templates or databases, it can be automated.
#4 - It has a large volume of inputs and outputs
So, your team is really busy?
It might seem like a good thing, but you need to be able to keep up.
Robotic process automation can help.
Software robots can complete your business processes any day, any time.
You don’t even need to be in the office to meet your targets!
It is the most efficient tool to tackle high-volume processes.
A new customer sends in a big order at 2am on a Sunday?
It’s already taken care of.

Chapter 5
How To Implement RPA In Your Business
So - you think robotic process automation could supercharge your efficiency?
Course you do.
But now you have a new problem:
Actually implementing it into your business.
Have no fear.
I have all the answers.
You have three options:
Get your IT team to build software with RPA
Purchase RPA software
Get in touch with the Lolly Co team
The first option is pretty straightforward.
If you have a couple of automation experts in your company, kick things off with some process mapping.
This allows your team to see the processes that need to be reshaped with RPA.
Then, your team can get to work designing, building and deploying custom-fit software.
But here’s the thing.
That only works if you have an automation expert on the payroll.
What if you don’t?
Then it’s time to find some.
Read More
Combining RPA & AI for Business Success
There are lots of automation companies ready to investigate your processes and soup ‘em up with bespoke software.
And we’re one of them!
The Lolly Co team specialises in producing custom automation solutions.
We simply take the processes that are killing your employee productivity…
Reinvent them with RPA…
And save you a whole lot of money.
We’ve already worked with a range of industry-leading companies.
We’re ready to work with you.

Did you know?
By 2022, it is estimated 54% of workers will require upskilling as a result of RPA.
Joanna Grimbley-Smith - Business Automation Expert
Source: World Economic Forum
Conclusion
By now you should know:
What RPA is
Whether RPA is for you
What it can do for your business
All you have to do now is streamline your business processes.
How hard can that be?