Five Rules For Building An Effective Automation Strategy !

We live in a day and age when organisations rely heavily on business automation for success. In all organisations (both small and large), 31% of them have automated at least one business function.

All the latest statistics point towards one fact – a successful automation strategy has become indispensable for business growth, employee productivity, customer satisfaction, and more. Growth Jockey has closely observed successful organisations in this regard, and research proves that employee growth and technology go hand in hand.

Plus, only a few organisations have been able to successfully meet their business automation targets in the past few years. If anything, this only reiterates the importance of the process. So, what are the main rules involved in successful automation implementation? Keep reading to find out.

1. Focusing on People and Technology

Organisations tend to lean on technology when it comes to a successful automation strategy. While automation is all about tech, it is also about the people who use these technologies.

A few years back, we found that successful organisations were focused on recruitment and filling skill gaps to fulfill roles for automation. Today, it is interesting to observe that these companies also consider the human element.

The same is happening in three ways :

A. Most organisations aim at training personnel the right way as an effective automation strategy.

B. Successful companies run an analysis of sorts to gather information on the expertise of individual employees and incorporate the same while planning out automation solutions.

C. These companies also hold proper communication in high regard while planning out automation solutions.

In the first case, Growth Jockey has found that successful organisations believe employee capabilities to be one of the leading factors in driving automation success. In the second case, organisations build their automation-related solutions over time after gathering valuable inputs from their existing employees.

Finally, organisations that believe in securing input from all departments, especially the HR department, take the third route. Their culminated efforts lead to a solid automation strategy that drives growth.

2. Prioritising Automation

Growth Jockey has found that organisations that have made developing an automation strategy one of their top priorities see positive results from their automation efforts as compared to those that don't.

To have automation as a strategic priority, the same should become the number-one priority on the C-suite agenda. After all, there are benefits for all in the process —employees, customers, higher management, and the organisation at large.

For instance, successful automation can reduce the need for new hires (introducing greater efficiency into business operations). Employees become capable of offering better customer support. Their productivity and performance improve, and everyone gets a secure space to collaborate freely.

Of all organisations we have reviewed concerning automation, the successful ones admitted to making automation a strategic priority. Not only that, but these companies also admitted that this decision had proved to be worth it, as automation only solidified future success and growth.

On the other hand, companies that saw little success had not made automation a priority; it was more for long-term cost savings, gaining a competitive edge, or addressing temporary business concerns. Furthermore, successful organisations also ensure that automation is scaled throughout business operations.

3. Creating an Operating Model That Encourages Scaling

This is something that Growth Jockey also encourages, enabling the scaling of business operations. Unsuccessful organisations remain this way because they use automation across a singular business process.

On the other hand, successful organisations ensure that automation becomes a part of at least four business functions. For instance, a company may embed automation into customer support, finance, query resolution, and IT functions.

The different functional areas will largely depend on the organisation and its core operations. Even the operation programs are becoming more complex. This means any silos within the organisation will only curb growth and hinder performance.

Every business area must function harmoniously for the organisation (as a whole) to perform at full throttle. Not only that, but we have also found that effective automation technologies are such that they enable scaling.

And the results are evident – companies that used automation to scale business have benefitted from doing so. More than 40% of such companies admit that their higher management intimately understands the concept of automation and takes full ownership of the costs involved.

4. Identifying Key Stakeholders

Successful examples of automation undoubtedly involve the identification of key stakeholders. Without the right team and competent people, Growth Jockey believes no good automation strategy can succeed.

So, what would this team involve? According to us, at least the following –

• Automation Team – This team would include the ML engineers, data analysts, RPA developers, and other members responsible for successfully implementing and delivering automation projects.

• Infrastructural Staff – This is usually a support team that runs machines and servers needed for any automation project.

• The IT and Security Team – This team is most likely needed to offer guidance on how AI interacts with the existing technologies.

• Subject Matter Experts – Also known as process owners or SMEs, these professionals know the types of automation, process, and more from the inside out.

Once the right stakeholders have been identified, the immediate step to take is to ensure everybody is on the same page. This mainly requires every stakeholder to understand how critical automation is to the success of the organisation and act accordingly.

5. Ensuring a Proper Planning Strategy

Proper planning is the most important among the many rules of successful automation. Growth Jockey believes in always staying a step ahead of competitors by having a well-defined plan in place. The same holds for automation.

Before project implementation, we encourage clients to dive deeply into the business process and gather all requirements. In general, a solid automation plan would involve the following critical stages –

• The Initial Planning Stage – In this stage, companies set their project goals, prioritise delivery, and gather all high-level requirements.

• The Kickoff Meeting – The next stage involves setting the roles for the project. At this stage, all stakeholders need to be brought to the same page.

• Project Implementation – In the third stage, companies must create and build automation solutions.

• The Testing and Production Stage – In this stage, all quality control measures are undertaken to ensure that automation delivers the expected results.

• The Final Roll Out – This is the final stage in which the approved automated solution is rolled out for use across different organisational departments.

In the planning phase, every organisation must consider incorporating strategies for automation that best support their business-wide goals. For instance, healthcare service companies may consider automating processes such as claims processing and patient access. A systematic approach will help deliver positive outcomes.

The Bottom Line: Never Forget the Human Touch

Inevitably, the million-dollar question with any successful automation strategy is whether it successfully replaces human labour. Growth Jockey strongly discourages this practice. Instead, we believe automation is a way to enhance human productivity, not a means to replace it.

For example, when bots are used for data retrieval, employees get much-needed time to interact and get to know each customer better. This strengthens client relationships. The human touch is of prime importance, and if automation is used to achieve that, it leads to expected growth and increased organisational performance.

Finally, to ensure every employee is well-trained on the ins and outs of automation, organisations need to encourage a culture of cross-collaboration.

At Growth Jockey, we are committed to delivering tailored marketing automation solutions that effectively address the critical challenges faced by our clients across various industries. Regardless of the scale of your business, whether you're a small-scale enterprise or a large corporation, you can now harness the benefits of advanced automation technology.

Take a proactive approach to unlock the next level of growth for your brand by reaching out to us today!