Top 5 Benefits of Robotic Process Automation

Author

Andreas Obermair

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Firstly, let’s establish a clear understanding of Robotic Process Automation. RPA is an innovative software technology that allows organizations to automate a wide range of digital tasks through existing user interfaces. It does this by creating software robots that, once programmed, can undertake manual, rule-based tasks.

Since its inception, RPA has been a game-changer for businesses that strive to optimize their processes and achieve operational excellence, and it delivers many other benefits as well. When looking at the statistics, Consulting company McKinsey found that RPA delivers “a return on investment that varies between 30 and as much as 200 percent in the first year.”

This statistic underscores the wide-ranging potential for organizations across diverse industries to harness the rewards of RPA, a trend we’ve witnessed firsthand with our own clients. Benefits from RPA can include cost savings, increased accuracy, increased staff morale, and more. In this article we will examine a few of the tangible and substantial advantages that RPA brings to the table.

Benefit 1: Increased Efficiency and Productivity 

The main benefits of using RPA for your business and why we regularly recommend RPA as a solution to our clients are increased efficiency and productivity. RPA lets you automate repetitive, rule-based tasks. That means software robots carry out the time-consuming work that is essential, but of lower strategic value than your employees’ other responsibilities – and often rather mundane. After we’ve programmed these robots to take care of the rule-based tasks, your employees are freed to focus on more strategic, creative, and value-added activities.  

According to research carried out by one of our partners Automation Anywhere, most organizations have the potential to automate 30% of their regular work activities, meaning that companies can reclaim nearly a third of the time currently spent on various tasks across the business. This not only means time is saved, but also that this time can be refocused into other activities to bring revenue into the company in ways that require the human touch.  

In addition to saving time and resources, your organization can empower your staff to be productive in new ways with the time they gain as their new software robot ‘team members’ take over their low-level tasks.    

Benefit 2: Cost Savings and ROI 

Saving time means saving money too. Cost benefits are perhaps the most attractive business benefits of RPA, but it’s not just because you can save time and refocus your employees on higher value work.  

One way that companies save money with RPA is through the reduction of errors in, for example, data entry. Errors can be a costly risk: incorrect data entry can lead to accidental overspending or undercharging – especially when they occur in invoicing or other financial activities. Manual errors also require extra time to remediate, which is necessary but not conducive to profitable operations. With RPA, errors are all but eliminated, meaning that you reduce both the potential of overspending or undercharging in the first place – and the time you would need to spend on fixing them.  

As well as cost savings from the reduction of errors, RPA empowers companies to improve their resource allocation, allowing for savings and the reallocation of employee hours to activities better suited to human skills, thus enabling both reduced expenditure and increased profit-driving work.  

But how much can you save? Gartner states that “by 2024, organizations will lower operational costs by 30% by combining hyperautomation technologies with redesigned operational processes.” 

Smaller organizations may be skeptical of investing in a new technology without a clear idea of the potential return on investment (ROI). However, going back to the research, it was discovered that the average ROI is a huge 250% and we at Roboyo sometimes see much more than that. This is yet another one of the RPA advantages.  

Benefit 3: Enhanced Accuracy and Quality 

Improved accuracy and quality of data are two more benefits of using RPA. Robots don’t get tired or encounter stress, both of which can affect human accuracy. Even in the best of circumstances, some occasions of manual error are to be expected when a human worker enters data: nobody is ever 100% accurate at everything. Software robots, however, are accurate and tireless at such repetitive tasks. It’s where they thrive! 

This guaranteed accuracy lets organizations trust their data completely and avoid the costs of having to redo work related to human errors. It also helps with compliance, because the reduced error risk means that regulatory bodies can trust your data, too. Top performers in Automation Anywhere’s study enjoyed an impressive 74% improvement in quality and accuracy. 

Benefit 4: Scalability and Flexibility 

Many businesses experience different levels of demand throughout the year. For example, in retail, seasonal periods like Christmas can result in temporary – but significant – increases in workloads. With RPA, it’s possible to reduce the number of extra temporary/seasonal hires required and offload some of the extra administrative tasks to software robots.  

As these software robots can work round the clock it means that the work can be done overnight so it’s ready when everybody is back in the office or online: you don’t need to wait for them to work during standard office hours. This increase in flexibility allows companies to be agile and able to rapidly adapt, empowering them to be more competitive.  

Scaling the number of software robots needed up and down is far quicker and cheaper than scaling the human workforce through processes such as recruiting and training temporary workers. And increasing the RPA ‘workforce’ doesn’t disrupt business as usual. For example, essential HR processes for human workers like interviewing, narrowing down potential hires, onboarding, and training are not required for robots.

Benefit 5: Improved Customer Experience 

Finally, RPA can also help businesses improve their customers’ experience at every touchpoint when transacting with a brand. RPA can manage enterprise software applications and systems, such as Field Service Management (FSM) software, ERP systems, and service management tools. This efficiency of data and application management leads to faster processing, which reduces wait times and increases customer satisfaction. The less time you need to spend on each customer, the more customers you can service and satisfy.  

With robots handling the manual, process-oriented tasks, employees can focus on improving relationships and providing that ‘service with a smile’ that keeps customers happy. Employees are freed to solve problems and listen to customers, which benefits both sides of the business-customer relationship.  

Conclusion 

From cost savings, to increased productivity, to the reduction of errors, to the many benefits for employees, RPA delivers an impressive array of operational benefits to companies of all sizes and in all kinds of industries. And the benefits are quick to materialize too, with a significant return on investment.  

Are you ready to start experiencing the benefits of using RPA? Book a meeting with our team and take your organization to the next level.

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