Automation is a hot topic for businesses big and small, and despite what you may believe is entirely possible no matter your business’ size.
It is important to think of automation as a spectrum. On one side are the simple automated processes that are available in the same tools you use to manage your business. On the other side is robotics automation, where machinery builds faster and more efficiently than human hands ever could on their own.
Automation, when implemented correctly, can be a huge boost to your business. There is to consider when automating, which you can learn more about here, but overall your best bet is to either hire an operations manager or to specialize in this area yourself. Your business can benefit from automation, but it is important to do it right. Otherwise, you won’t get as many of the benefits out of your investment and may even start to suffer from the cons.
Benefits to Automation
Every business should look into automation. The level of automation, however, matters. Too much and it can cost you dearly; too little and your business will be bogged down with inefficiency. It’s all about the balance, and when you find it, your company will enjoy these benefits:
Improved Processing Times
It can take a while for an employee to notice that stock is low or another minor task needs to be done. Automation helps with this. It can either send automated notifications to alert your staff, or it can process a specific action depending on what you need. Like automatically ordering more stock of something you always need on hand, very simple tasks are simple to set up and can make sure that you both never run out of that product and don’t overdo it.
Automated notifications can help keep your employees on top of things, especially when combined with a workflow tool that makes it simple to visualize all the tasks they have left to do.
Improved Workflow
As automation works to cut down on long processing times and helps to notify employees if and when it is necessary, it naturally works to improve the workflow of your employees. There are other ways that this can be done as well. From reporting all the way to tracking, automation can make it easier for your employees to do their jobs.
Improved Company Culture
When things are easy and intuitive, everyone benefits. Unnecessary, mindless admin (the type of work that automation, in particular, excels in) is actually very hard on the human mind. It can make a simple task take even longer, and of course is detrimental to the employee in question. They can start to hate their job and even start to dread it, putting their productivity and their passion at all-time lows.
Make their work intuitive and put their work on more creative, interesting tasks, and you can improve their relationship with your company. This is how you build a thriving company culture, one where your employees aren’t just happy to be there, but one where they see your success as their success.
Improved Customer Satisfaction
Customers also love automation. Not only does it keeps them in the loop when they shop from you or hire your services, but automation is also the key to offering personalization. You cannot do this as you grow as a business and expand your offerings; there will eventually be just too many customers to handle. With automation, however, you can continue to offer that personal touch.
Increased Flexibility
With automation, you can do more with very little adjustment. Increased flexibility can apply from office administration all the way to manufacturing.
Reduced Costs
When you reduce the amount of time and effort your business’ tasks take, you instantly start to reduce costs. There are, of course, other ways that automation can cut your company’s costs, from replacing employees to making certain positions entirely redundant. These latter options aren’t always the best choice for your business, however, so it is important to be clear about your business goals, needs, and how you intend to meet them.
Reduce Error
Human error can be costly, and it isn’t often malicious. Perhaps someone just missed a number difference, or they had a terrible night’s sleep. There are so many harmless reasons for your employees to make mistakes, and though you can have a supervisor check things over, automation can still make up the difference. Admin tasks are hard to concentrate on, so leave it to the automation tools to handle.
Compensate for Labour Shortages
In some cases, you won’t have enough staff to handle what you need to do. The best way to deal with this is to merge job roles, but you cannot do that if it means doubling your employees’ workloads. Automation can help support them on every link of the supply chain.
When Not to Automate Your Business
Automation comes in many forms. It can be as small as a plugin for your website or as big as a fully automated army of robotics that works to create your products. While every business can benefit from at least some form of automation, there are instances where you won’t want to go the entire way.
High Costs
For most businesses, automation can be done intuitively by choosing the right software tools. For companies that need robotic automation, however, there can be very, very high costs involved. Sometimes it just isn’t economically feasible. The upstart costs of adopting such automation can put you back for years, and the gains won’t be that much in comparison to your employees.
Job Loss
You also need to take into account the issue of job loss. Some companies, unfortunately, use automation as a means to cut corners. In some instances, you need to cut down on employees and replace them with automation to survive as a business, but in other cases, it is an unfair practice that does not really help you save enough to justify the lives you are hurting in the move.
