The business world is evolving at a frightening rate, and rare are those who can manage to do it all themselves. Even with a full staff of dedicated employees, tasks, data, and the sheer volume of work can quickly become overwhelming. Thus, improving productivity and relieving staff of as much tedium as possible is vital to achieving such a competitive edge, which includes the implementation of business process automation (BPA).

Although BPA may seem like an expensive prospect or one that is too big for your company's needs, rest assured that there are several small and simple things you can do to achieve massive returns over time.

As such, this article aims to assist you in implementing business process automation at your company by describing specific strategies and best practices for doing so.

What is Business Process Automation?

Given that BPA is such a big and often overwhelming topic, it's worth starting with the basics. BPA is the most efficient way to achieve productivity gains in your company by automating manual processes and reducing the amount of "in-person" intervention required to complete tasks, also reducing the risk of human error.

BPA is focused on removing and replacing repetitive and time-consuming processes that you can automate, such as:

• Sorting and gathering of documents
• Logging telephone calls
• Data entry
• Updating spreadsheets

The above are just a few examples of tasks that you can automate, which shows how important it is to get the right use - because not every process at your company can be improved this way.

The benefits of implementing BPA

There is a significant amount of evidence that proves the benefits of implementing BPA in many forms. Let's go over the most significant.

Lowered costs (reduce expenses and save on labor)

BPA has a proven track record of reducing staffing costs. According to research from the Aberdeen Group, companies that used BPA reduced their expenses by an average of 20% over two years without any reduction in quality of service, which adds up to millions of dollars saved annually.

You can achieve similar results at your company by looking for manual processes that can be automated and then removing or replacing them with an automation solution.

Faster data entry (improve productivity)

A lot of time is wasted on completing repetitive tasks that can be automated. Once you start automating these processes, the data enters your business at a much faster rate, which improves productivity and saves time. BPA can shorten the time it takes to complete tasks such as filling out forms, processing invoices and payments, creating reports (use pre-built templates and formulas instead of creating reports from scratch).

Shorter turnaround times mean your employees will be able to handle more tasks in the same amount of time, which helps improve their productivity and lowers labor costs.

Increased accuracy (reduce errors)

Manual data entry puts your company at risk of making mistakes, or if not done by yourself, then by someone else. BPA can reduce errors as it's a more efficient and accurate way of entering data (minimizing human interaction), which is essential for processing invoices, recording expenses, and other financial reporting.

Sustainable growth

Lastly, business process automation is also a way for companies to achieve sustainable growth by doing more with less, and it's an effective strategy for boosting productivity and efficiency. It makes your business more scalable as you can keep up with demand by adding resources incrementally instead of hiring large teams of people on short notice.

How to implement BPA at your organisation?

Although automation is a complex topic that requires an entire roadmap to implement and achieve results, it makes sense to start small so that you can get quick wins. Focus on automating the low-hanging fruit first, which are often repetitive tasks that take up a lot of time but only need to be done once in a while.

Once you have extra time and resources available after achieving some quick wins, look into automating other manual processes. You can also automate some of your regular business functions as a way to improve productivity and efficiency.

Pro Tip: Plan Ahead

BPA is not a process that you can build overnight. It needs strategy, planning, and leadership to succeed, so create a plan to achieve your goals over the short term, medium-term and long term. Make sure everyone in your company understands what BPA is all about, as it requires buy-in from employees at every level of your organization.

As your company grows, you will need to adjust your strategy and implement new BPA capabilities to keep up with the changes. It's a never-ending process because business operations are constantly evolving. Still, it doesn't mean you can't be successful in the long run if you stay committed to using automated solutions that make sense for your business.

Recruit internal champions to help you get started, create an implementation plan and build your roadmap step-by-step. It's important to know what you're doing to break down the process into manageable components that won't overwhelm your staff or put the company at risk of failing.

Finally, you should ensure you have concrete figures on your expected return on investment (ROI) for automating. In some cases, it might not make business sense to put in the time and resources required to implement BPA for a certain process.

Best Business Process Automation Software

By now, you know BPA is no walk in the park. Thankfully, many automated solutions are available to make your life easier and improve company productivity, such as the Microsoft Power Platform. It includes a set of cloud-based tools that enable you to build intelligent applications by using data from your existing systems and enabling easy access for users. 

It's important to choose the right business process automation software for your company, so it's a good idea to do some research before deciding. If you are unsure about which step to take next, perhaps you could benefit from expert consultancy. At Antares Solutions, we make it our mission to solve all your problems related to business process automation services. 

Business process automation is becoming increasingly popular in the business world. Still, not everyone knows how to get started or where they can find support when it comes time to implement BPA projects. The good news is it's a relatively straightforward process, as long as you have the right internal champion and a clear plan of action. Even so, there are still some obstacles to overcome. 

If you need guidance on beginning, trust an expert consultancy known for providing high-quality business support. We specialize in Microsoft-based technologies and can help you achieve your goals through BPA with our reliable services.  

Contact us today!