Understanding the opportunity for Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the buzz words of the moment. RPA is an emerging form of business process automation technology based on the notion of metaphorical software robots or artificial intelligence (AI) workers. RPA is being used to automate manual tasks, where the manual task is “recorded” and a “bot” takes over the process from a human worker. Rather than being the start of job losses, most organisations deploying RPA re-assign people to undertake more valuable work.

When it comes to understanding the impact RPA might have, it is the business that should take the lead in that conversation due to the extensive benefits across the entire business:

  • employee benefits, like improved productivity and satisfaction,
  • customer benefits, like increased satisfaction and loyalty,
  • general business benefits, such as increased revenue and decreased costs,
  • reduction in risk, like improved compliance,
  • reduced human error from the removal of repetitive and boring work,
  • extending the life of legacy systems instead of a costly rip and replace or integration approaches,
  • making your existing systems work harder – and smarter.

A quick decision about RPA implementation is enabled by creating a compelling business case. The traditional business case process is unlikely to work in this instance as it takes too long. A business case has to focus on where the opportunity exists alongside understanding the impact of any change on the people in the business and monetise the opportunity so the investment can be made.

Using your current state Digital Twin as the start point, alongside knowledge of when RPA could be deployed, will provide all the data points needed, especially when applied in a system like LINQ. LINQ’s Impact Assessment Insight provides immediate feedback based on tags added to manual work which could be automated.

LINQs Impact Assessment insight showing the impact of automating manual tasks using RPA

Gaining buy-in for a $1.62M operational cost reduction through RPA implementation in this part of the business is a simpler conversation to have based on the evidence provided by the model than using other techniques. Knowing who and what else will be impacted, enables the business to manage employees and vendors effectively to ensure they understand the changes and potential of their role to deliver more value to the business.

Automation, applied correctly, accelerates outcomes, improves productivity, saves money, reduces risk, and enables organisations to scale quickly in response to spikes in volume – without the need for additional resources. Automation can also free your employees from mundane tasks so they can focus instead on engaging with customers, leading to increased satisfaction for all. LINQ helps you prove this case through the Digital Twin and have the conversations that matter in the business, enabling you to act faster than ever before, and quickly benefit from this new digital capability.

Thanks to Pega for providing access to their latest disruption report which includes content on the impact of RPA implementation. You can read that full report here:
https://www.pega.com/insights/resources/be-disruption-ready