Since humans have existed, they have sought to get rid of boring and repetitive tasks. In this business, he is guided by only one goal: to achieve better results in a shorter time. After designing spears to hunt our food, then washing machines to wash our laundry, we now use software robots to solve complex problems faster than the most illustrious mathematicians of our time.
Robotic process automation (RPA) has in fact made it possible to automate the type of boring and repetitive tasks that every employee hates: filling out forms, submitting expense reports, writing in Excel sheets and many others. In this way, employees can devote themselves to carrying out tasks with higher added value in which they can fully thrive.
However, managers sometimes struggle to see the concrete results of this automation and businesses have begun to realize it. It is here that hyperautomation find its full place. This term, introduced by Gartner in its Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends, aroused enormous interest across all sectors of activity. It reflects the intuition that smarter automation solves all problems by using technologies like AI or machine learning.
But a fundamental problem remains: the success of this technological trend goes beyond reality. In summary, it is based on the idea that automation is the only solution to improve the functioning of an organization. But by focusing on technology rather than the problem itself, businesses forget why they're trying to solve it in the first place.
Achieving better results cannot be separated from improving your underlying processes. Technologies such as Machine Learning, AI, or RPA can certainly help you, but they should only be the tools of a holistic process improvement strategy.
So in this article, we're sharing a framework that will help you determine which process improvement approach (and possibly technology) will help you reach your goals.
The 4 steps of process improvement
- Standardize your process
There are thousands of ways to execute a process and, of course, some will be more efficient than others. That's why every task in a process, no matter how often you do it, requires a set of rules that define scope, standard, and methods to follow. Only the standardization of these rules will allow you to ensure its quality and the reduction of human errors.
If your goal is toimprove compliance or to reduce audit risk, standardization should be your top priority. Get an objective, data-based perspective on your current process by looking at the various possible variants.
- Improve the clarity of your process : a standardized process limits human errors
- Guarantee the quality of your process : through predefined and optimized work
- Encourage productivity : your employees will no longer need to ask you questions to get answers.
2. Streamline your process
Most process optimization projects start with the end goal of a faster or less expensive process. In this case, you're looking for streamlining.
To achieve this, you can for example remove unnecessary steps (such as checking the solvency of small orders or customers who have been financially reliable in the past), train employees, adjust workload balance to reduce bottlenecks and even automate manual steps. In fact, it is in this field that automation is the most used today.
However, automation is still just one tool among others for improving processes to achieve greater efficiency. It generally reduces human effort and saves time, but it's up to you to set your own goals.
- Remove bottlenecks : by finding the root causes of friction points in your process and eliminating them
- Avoid duplicates : by redefining your process to get good results the first time
- Reduce manual efforts and improve employee morale : by allowing them to focus on the tasks that really create value
3. Optimize your process
Following a set of predefined rules streamlines and standardizes your processes, but it's not enough. That's where AI and machine learning software come into play. By giving you recommendations on the best actions to take, they help you identify and deploy effective proactive action that can help your organization reach its goal.
AI-based software can analyze the friction points in your processes in real time and help you find the most relevant solution at each stage.
- Encourage productivity
- Improving business results : by advising your employees on the right course of action
- Improving the morale of your employees : by strengthening their contribution to results
- Increase customer satisfaction : by resolving issues quickly and providing a personalized experience
- Ensuring regulatory compliance : by providing contextual instructions
4. Orchestrate your process
Once you've standardized, streamlined, and optimized your processes, it's time to look at the big picture: we're talking aboutorchestration. How do your processes interact with each other and how much of the end result do they contribute to?
Although businesses are gradually taking the The shift towards digitalization and transparency, process ownership and information flow between departments are still fragmented, and internal complexity is hampering cross-company collaboration. As a result, interactions with customers are slow and poor internal communication hampers innovation and change between departments. In the worst case scenario, one department may very well undermine all the efforts of another without even knowing it.
- Improving results : orchestration allows departments to work hand in hand to achieve common goals
- Reducing risks : thanks to increased transparency
- Dismantling departmental silos and fostering collaboration : orchestration brings together different stakeholders to work on a common objective
- Boosting innovation : by providing innovative solutions that satisfy everyone.
About StoryShaper:
StoryShaper is an innovative start-up that supports its customers in defining their digital strategy and the development of automation solutions tailor-made.
Sources: StoryShaper, Celonis
