by malliehart | Aug 7, 2024 | Corporate Blog Posts
Business Process Automation: Think People First & Foremost
Business process automation is a staple for many businesses, powering up convenience, efficiency, standardization, and scalability. But as we enthusiastically embrace and implement our exciting ‘automated’ future, it’s crucial to remember one key element — people. Regardless of how streamlined, high-tech, or futuristic our processes become, people remain the backbone and real assets of our businesses.
Is your process automation focusing on people first?
Business process automation involves leveraging technology to execute repetitive, standardized tasks that, in the past, required human input and action. Automating these tasks has provided businesses with the valuable gift of time—freeing employees from mundane tasks and empowering them to focus on core business initiatives. While automation is valuable and beneficial, we must remember that humans, our employees, and our customers are the most crucial assets involved in ongoing business success.
Humanizing business process automation (BPA) is not about pushing back against, or eschewing, technological advancements. Rather, it’s about integrating these advancements in a way that allows those humans, employees, and customers to value the benefits and embrace the ability to focus on more important tasks and projects. When we portray automation as a tool designed to help humans perform better, not to replace them, it’s more likely to be adopted.
Why does a people-first policy matter?
Why should businesses approach automation as a people-first project? Humans do business with other humans. We trust real people more than machines, value empathy, and shared beliefs, and appreciate being listened to and understood. We take notice of a personal touch in the form of an understanding email, well-wishing messaging, or a custom solution to our specific problems.
When automating processes, businesses need to maintain the “human face’ of operations. Customer service requires the human element, as do many business roles. While automated replies can address simple inquiries, “real people” responses to complex or sensitive issues are crucial.
People drive innovation and business process automation!
Who drives innovation? People. They offer a unique blend of empathy, creativity, and strategic thinking, which machines, no matter how advanced, can’t imitate. People-centric businesses are not only nurturing a better customer experience but also cultivating a more creative and innovative environment for their employees.
Business process automation should always be “people-centric.’ It must focus on creating processes and systems that treat people as people, not as another cog in the machine. We’re not just building better businesses; we’re striving to build better connections between humans, assisted and enabled by technology.
Publishing Details
Originally published on December 7, 2023 on the Momentum ECM blog.
by malliehart | Aug 7, 2024 | Corporate Blog Posts
Business Process Automation: A Beginner Guide
There’s a lot of misinformation surrounding the idea and execution of business process automation. It doesn’t, in fact, meaning replacing people with autonomous robots. And it doesn’t mean mindless automation without structure, system and monitoring of value and ROI.
Consider tedious, repetitive tasks, where boredom and tuning out might result in erroneous set-up, distribution and management. Business process automation is designed to keep that from happening, while opening up your employees to spend their time on tasks and duties that celebrate and value their specific skillsets.
Business Process Automation: A Quick Definition
In brief, business process automation is the practice of applying technology to replace manual entries and repetitive efforts that are basically busywork. Repetitive efforts sometimes result in mistakes being made when the human repeating those steps gets interrupted or tunes out.
Automating these repetitive, manual processes creates more time for your employees to spend on more valuable processes and duties.
It’s About Redirection, Not Replacement!
Far from replacing the humans who make up your workforce, smart process automation allows your employees to focus on more important tasks, which require their very human nature to handle correctly.
While those repetitive tasks are certainly important, they don’t make the most of the special skills each of your employees certainly has. Busy work can dampen employee enthusiasm. Doing the same old same old, isn’t innovative and doesn’t inspire your employees to share ideas which might better your business.
Employees want to feel like their time spent working actually betters the business. They want to feel like they’re part of a team, valued for creativity and ideas. Busy work takes time. Time which might better spend collaborating or brainstorming.
With More Time Your Employees Can …
Your sales team should be spending time on sales, right? Not on entering new leads into your CRM. Your HR manager can implement new training programs, rather than slogging through vacation requests. Your engineers and developers can dive into projects, rather than wonder when work orders are going to be sent. And so much more.
Smart process automation means making better use of time. We only have so many hours in the workday and workweek. Spending those limited hours on busy work doesn’t make sounds business sense.
When your employees get to work on the tasks and duties which make them feel valuable, it’s a win-win. Employees who feel valued, who feel important, are more productive. They’re also more willing to share ideas and are more interested in collaborative efforts. All of which benefit the smart business owner.
Business process automation can create time by automating a long list of repetitive daily tasks. Including:
- Invoice processing
- Delivery and purchase of work orders
- HR requests
- Helpdesk support
- Data backups
- Time and task tracking
- and MUCH more
Business Process Automation Manages Your MOST IMPORTANT Business Asset!
What is that asset? Time! There are only twenty-four hours in a day. Eight hours in a given workday. Time can’t be manufactured, but it can be managed. Using time wisely and to its greatest benefit is what makes a business successful. Intelligent automation frees up some of that limited time.
Publishing Details
Originally published on July 12, 2023 on the Momentum ECM blog.
by malliehart | Jul 30, 2024 | Mallie's LinkedIn Posts
To AI Or Not? That’s The Question …
There’s a lot of chat (sorry, not sorry) around ChatGPT and other AI bots/apps used for copywriting and content creation.
Not surprisingly, there are those for it and those against it. And most are pretty vehement about why it’s the greatest thing ever or the worst thing ever.
I want to know about those, like me, who think there’s a middle ground. I’ve spent a lot of time with both ChatGPT and Bard and I can see it may have some value for creating bulleted lists and helping fine-tune bigger ideas into more streamlined topics.
My greatest concern is that I want the copy I create to read and sound like I wrote it. And my voice can’t be captured with a simple prompt like “keep it casual,” or “make it funny.”
And what about the “writers” using the same prompts for the same items, services, and industries? It’s going to happen! There are only so many ways to say you want your copy to “be powerful,” or “be playful.”
Where’s the middle ground with AI and copy? Is there a middle ground? Or must we state a hard yay or nay? It’s certainly on my mind and I can’t imagine it’s not on the mind of others. What are your thoughts?
Originally posted to LinkedIn on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
by malliehart | Jul 24, 2024 | Mallie's LinkedIn Posts
Adaptability & Leadership
Far too often leaders pretend to be open to feedback, while then actively ignoring that same feedback.
The best leaders understand that feedback must be bottom-up as well as top-down.
Reflecting and then adapting after receiving feedback requires emotional intelligence and the ability to pack away your hubris. It’s not enough to be aware of failings, or perceived failings. Learning from failures, missteps, and faulty actions help leaders become part of the team, rather than peering down from above.
It takes a strong and powerful leader to understand that a leadership title means little without the capability to grow and change with the role.
Leadership is just a role, it’s not a right. Earn the title.
