Establishing a business in today’s digital age comes with many head-scratching questions. Aspiring entrepreneurs haven’t even moved on from understanding S corp vs LLC. Now, they also have to worry about social media platforms, workplace setup, and automation.
Workplace automation, in particular, is an essential decision that a startup owner should make. Today, businesses use different systems to streamline their processes, reduce costs, and eliminate human error.
Automation helps startup companies to keep up with the competition early on. So, before you finish that business plan, read below to know more about workplace automation and how to execute it properly as a startup.
Table of Contents
Understanding Workplace Automation
Workplace automation refers to companies adopting digital programs to take over predictable or repetitive tasks with little human interaction. Automation takes on many forms, from generating sales leads, reducing paperwork, and addressing common inquiries to customers.
Difference Between Automation and Digitization
Digitization is where you convert physical copies of materials, such as documents and photos, into a digital format. It’s the first step towards automation because most automation technology will need digital copies of essential information to be more efficient.
Benefits of Automation
Workplace automation may differ from industry to industry, but the benefits are nearly the same. One key benefit is how they make employees more efficient in the workplace.
Automation complements the workforce rather than displaces it, contrary to the fear of many. If you’re using such technology for business, you’re letting your employees do the work you hired them for, minus the repetitive or unnecessary tasks.
Some of the other key benefits of automating tasks include:
- Low operation costs
- Competitive business structure
- Reduced backlogs
- Faster ROI
- Increased output
- Centralized communication
- Time efficiency
- More organized processes
Real-World Examples of Workplace Automation
Workplace automation happens widely in different industries. These real-world examples of workplace automation can also fit your startup:
Customer Service or Chatbots
Chatbots are one of the perfect examples of workplace automation. They interact and address easy questions from customers, allowing agents to work on other crucial tasks or handle customers with worse problems.
HR Automation
The HR department deals with a handful of repetitive tasks every day. Tasks like keeping employee data, recording timesheets, and payroll are workloads that need to be automated so HR can focus on acquiring better talent and looking for excellent training programs.
Sales Automation
The sales department helps fund the entire company, so they use programs like lead generation software to save time and close more deals. This tool works by automating creating leads online and gathering information about them to help speed up the process of the sales department.
Marketing Automation
Since the digital media boom, many marketers have taken advantage of its potential use for exposure and reach. Online tools like SEO, social media ads and email marketing aim to reach the target audience quickly without the labor of setting up ads manually or buying an ad placement in newspapers or magazines.
Work Order Automation
Companies from the service and maintenance industry use a work order management system. These programs help the workforce record order information, track projects, and manage inventory better. Using such software reduces paperwork and organizes the overall workflow.
Accounts Payable Automation
An accounts payable (AP) software helps automate processes like invoice approvals and eliminates human error, a crucial threat in the finance industry. Automating payments also guarantees that transactions are made immediately.
Tips for Using Workplace Automation as a Startup
If you’re planning on automating your processes, these are some helpful tips that you should keep in mind:
Automate Only Repetitive Tasks
Repetitive tasks that don’t require critical thinking slow down your personnel’s productivity. Eliminating such tasks is the sole purpose of automation, easing the workload so employees can focus on producing better output.
Employee-Friendly Programs
User-friendly programs are essential to automation. Employees should embrace these tools as a helping hand and not a thorn in their side. Remember that transitioning to an automated process may take time, so be patient and continue training until everyone’s comfortable using the program.
Provide New Opportunities
Many fear that automation will eventually replace jobs. However, if we look at the digital world today, your employees may see that they have nothing to worry about. The digital world has become so massive that agencies have emerged to provide online services, like social media management, data analytics, and email marketing. However, there’s even an ad operation specialist who oversees online campaigns for clients.
Your employees shouldn’t look at automation as an end to their careers. You can open new opportunities for them or train them for projects they want to pursue. The programs help eliminate human error, not the human element itself.
Automation Changes the Workplace
Business automation is a vast concept that aims to help all companies become more efficient in time, money, and energy. By eliminating unnecessary tasks, employees can now work at their maximum potential, and you can achieve that thanks to automation programs.
Before establishing a startup, take the time to know all about automation and choose the right ones for your company. Also, using one or two user-friendly systems will help jumpstart your business in many ways.
