3 Tips on Implementing Robotic Process Automation
Robotic Process Automation (“RPA”) has the capability to mimic human’s actions on performing desktop processes. This has garner a lot of attention from businesses across industries that are looking for a solution to alleviate their resourcing crunch and lower their operating costs.
Before jumping on the bandwagon of RPA, what are the key considerations on implementing RPA?
1. RPA is not just another system implementation
Unlike conventional system implementation where you select a suitable system and hire a system implementer to help setup the system for your users, RPA is a new digital workforce. In short, your employees would need to work with a brand-new team of “robot colleagues”.
With the introduction of a new digital workforce, a host of considerations on operating model, controls and governance need to be carefully planned, communicated and executed within your organization to successfully operate a digital workforce with your current human workforce. Hence, your RPA consultant’s capabilities in wider advisory experience on business operating models, industry practices and governance would determine the success and sustainability of RPA in your organization.
2. RPA does not stop at automating rule-based tasks
Business processes are often complex with various touch points, decisioning and analysis. Automating the rule-based tasks would help alleviate some processing burden on the current human workforce. To achieve the best possible outcome from automation, the journey should not stop at rule-based task automation.
With the advancement in technology, it is now technologically possible and commercially viable to scale up the Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) ladder into the area of machine learning, natural language processing etc. To scale up into A.I., it would be important to select the right RPA software.
RPA software serves as a platform for your process automation. It is a key component in your RPA architecture and an RPA software that is the state-of-art and have a “pushing the technology frontier” direction would continue to innovate and partner your organization on the A.I. journey.
3. Process automation is deeper than just developing on the RPA software
Besides RPA software, the other very important part of enabling RPA lies with your robotic design and automation configuration. An optimized process with good controls, efficiency makes it flexible, easier and cheaper to maintain going forward. Hence, quality of the automated process is important to enable the organization to harvest the benefits of RPA.
To ensure quality automation, the skills required would be wider than the usual IT technical skills to cover industry, business, functional, legal and compliance areas. When you are hiring your RPA consultant, you might want to ascertain if they know your industry, business practices and regulatory landscape in addition to their RPA technical capabilities.
RPA presents a unique challenge that requires the concerted effort of the whole organization and a consultant with skills in both RPA technology and business advisory to bring on a true digital transformation in your organization.
Are you ready to usher your new robot colleagues into your organization?
