Your customer service team is struggling to keep up with demand. Can process automation help?

Process automation is the use of technology to automate any business processes. It can help to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and free up employees to focus on more strategic tasks. It involves leveraging software and technology to automate repetitive and manual tasks within a business process. It includes technologies like robotic process automation (RPA) or intelligent document processing (IDP), workflow orchestration, artificial intelligence (AI), system integrations, and business rules. In summary, process automation is a powerful tool that can help businesses to streamline their operations, reduce costs, and improve efficiency by automating repetitive and manual tasks.

In a chemical processing, the instrumentation helps the process for better yield or consistency in output. This also generates a better profitability

Automating manual repetitive tasks into automated workflows to mimic human actions is called process automation. It empowers a virtual workforce of bots and assistants to keep the business running 24/7 with high accuracy, efficiency, and faster turnaround times. It has the capability to monitor emails, integrate ITSM tools with one- or two-way communication, and seamlessly collaborate with chatbots, IVR, and more. Adding an AI layer further enhances its intelligence, allowing it to perform workflows with greater autonomy and decision-making capabilities.

For the financial industry, the old system of manual documentation is being automised with the digital India initiative where all the KYC and customer personal data is being stored, secured and used for faster processing and overall reducing the lead time for financial judgements.

A Automação no Brasil é algo muito complexo, onde temos em sua grande maioria um conceito de processos produtivos muito conservador e com visões de mercado distintas, onde o empresário não vislumbra ganhos de produtividade, de gastos na implantação da automação, tão pouco o retorno social.

1. Old Day's industries: There was a Specific process with the hardware and Human combination of both to automate repetitive and standardized processes. Prons : Human Employment, Cost of Machinery or equipment. Cons: High chance of error, Risk, time consuming 2. In present: Automation involves software, hardware, or a combination of both to automate repetitive, rule-based, and standardized processes.It aims to increase efficiency, reduce errors, streamline operations, and free up human resources for more complex or creative tasks. 3. Future (Expected): Includes software robots (RPA), workflow automation tools or AI-driven systems to execute tasks such as data entry, doc. processing, and decision-making processes in various industries.

Yes, implementing process automation can significantly alleviate the strain on your customer service team by streamlining repetitive tasks. Automation can handle routine inquiries, data entry, and other time-consuming processes, allowing your team to focus on more complex and value-added tasks. This not only improves efficiency but also enhances customer service by reducing response times and increasing accuracy.

There are some common questions that are frequently asked on digital platforms. Responses to such common questions can be automated to reduce pressure on the customer service team. Automation will help the customer service team to focus on the tougher questions and keep the reputation of the business in check.

Process automation is mainly used for repetitive, high volume tasks therefore to increse the bandwidth of the staff to engage in customer service and decision making. An organization can focus either task automation or end-to-end automation with multiple task automation to send reminders, calculate values or for document preparation using rules and logics.

RPA not only help streamline processes but also liberated skilled human resources to focus on more strategic, value-added tasks. The improved compliance and audit trail are added advantages which can't be overstated, especially in highly regulated industries. It's incredible to see how process automation reduces operational costs, but also make business environment more agile and responsive.

One of the most underrated strategies is to simplify and standardise processes prior to implementing automation. It not only brings the implementation costs down but also make processes more maintainable and scalable.

One of the case studies where we tried implementing process automation for an insurance company with a good number of customer service agents. We built a bot which will help the on-call agents to handle some tasks when a customer request for some checks or troubleshooting. Let's say a customer wants to see if they have the sum insured left, why his/her last claim got rejected in xyz hospital, what will be the next premium amount, subscripe or unsubscribe to add-ons in the plan. These tasks are now handled by the bot where the service executive can spend more time interacting with the customer improving customer satisfaction and the time taken for fulfilling the customer request is reduced drastically by 5-10x making an impact.

In my experience, absolutely it can help….. By questioning where customer service teams waste the most time and could benefit most from automation. Where do they spend the most time on each open case? What are the most repetitive tasks? What takes the most time when gathering information? Where do they typically need to request support or approval from subject matter experts causing more delays? By asking these questions, organisations can start mapping out their journey to automation by listing areas and tasks that could be automated. Equally its important to realise where they need to still preserve the human elements of interaction some customers demand.

Some benefits of process automation: 1. Marketing: Automating email campaigns, social media posts, and lead generation processes. 2. IT: Automating software deployment, server maintenance, and network monitoring. 3. Operations: Automating inventory management, order processing, and supply chain management. 4. Logistics: Automating shipment tracking, delivery scheduling, and route optimization. 5. Customer Engagement: Automating customer service, chatbots, and feedback collection. 6. Finance: Automating invoice processing, payment processing, and financial reporting.

Good automation relies on a profound understanding of processes and a company as a whole. Successful continual process improvement with automation always benefits from employees with (company and) process expertise.

In Market research scripting processes, process automation aims to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and speed by reducing manual effort and enabling researchers to focus more on analysis and insights generation rather than repetitive administrative tasks. it also boosts accuracy through standardized workflows and enables scalability by handling larger volumes of work without proportional increases in resources.

Los beneficios más significativos de la automatización de procesos son los de mejorar la eficiencia y productividad al reducir errores humanos y aumentar la velocidad de producción. Dentro de la consultoría de recursos humanos, la automatización ayuda a reducir procesos en tareas administrativas y repetitivas y así permitir a los expertos avocarse en tareas en las que generen más valor.

Me llama la atención que la gente enfoque la automatización de procesos solo con la automatización de actividades, herramientas como los RPA son de gran ayuda para automatizar actividades de un proceso que son cuellos de botella y/o requieren muchos recursos, la automatización de procesos abarca una visión más amplia, es indispensable entender los procesos del negocio E2E (de principio a fin) y como fluyen las actividades a través de toda la organización para agregar valor, para automatizar estos procesos existen herramientas especializadas denominadas BPMS (business process management Systems) que permiten modelar los procesos, sub-procesos, actividades, reglas, roles, tiempos, etc.

Many benefits can be achieved using RPA. RPA is renowned for its ability for lower cost automation with higher ROIs where the payback period is mostly less than 12 months as per global survey results. RPA facilitate improved productivity greater than 300% most of the time and this can be increased using integrated solutions and by simplifying processes using Lean Six Sigma Concepts to eliminate waste prior to automation. Increased data quality, turnaround time compliance and employee satisfaction are other key benefits of RPA. Process automation with AI facilitate a far greater satisfactions to customers by customizing requirements and products.

I would use Incident management tools like ServiceNow. 1. Whenever there is a request coming to the Customer Service Team, an incident request must be created using a Web App form. 2. The form must be automated to perform actions using REST APIs. 3. For sensitive actions, the form will mail the Managers / Owners and gets a action confirmation before automated action is taken. 4. Once action is completed the Customer Service Person and Requestor / Customer must be notified. 5. Automation also helps in setting a standardization on how to deal with each similar problems.

One should always consider phased approach to implementation. Start with a pilot project to validate the chosen automation tools and methodologies. This allows quick adjustments and ensures a smoother rollout when scaling up automation.

Discovery is the crucial first step. We can approach it manually or leverage automation tools like UiPath's process, task, and communication mining. These tools are invaluable, gathering information from your organizational infrastructure and visualizing it to suggest potential automation opportunities. Prioritize automation based on factors like impact, alignment with business goals, quick-win potential, application dependencies, and integration complexity. Ensure frequent releases of functional automations to production, delivering ongoing business value and fueling ROI momentum. This avoids the demotivation associated with lengthy end-to-end development cycles.

To identify goals and challenges you need to look into the eyes of a client and end user at the same time. It is not an easy task, not even a typical approach - what can be useful are Design Thinking tools and an overall DT Mindset that will allow you to exclude bias. Remember that Design Thinking can be perfectly paired with Lean and Agile to recognize the problem, build the perfect solution and manage it while in the project stage.

A Use of Proof of concept is useful to test is viability and relevancy by selecting the most critical process followed by an effective strategy to scale up once tested and accepted. Implementation stratgy needs sense of urgency, cross functional assistance, methodology and governance.

To implement process automation, identify repetitive tasks and determine technical and business requirements. Choose the right automation tool, such as process mining or task mining, to maximize automation impact. Choose a tool with extra security features. Analyze and monitor the effectiveness of automation to ensure it delivers expected results. This process can be achieved through process mining, task mining, or a digital twin of an organization.

It begins with identifying challenges you are facing in your workflow. Data Collection Streamlining: Automating data gathering from various sources like surveys, social media, or databases using scripting languages or specialized tools to ensure consistent and timely data acquisition. Analysis Automation: writing scripts or adapting softwares to automate data cleaning, analysis, and visualization, facilitating quicker insights extraction and report generation. Task Optimization: Using automation to streamline repetitive tasks in market research, such as report formatting, respondent follow-ups, or scheduling, freeing up researchers' time for strategic analysis and decision-making.

Hay que entender que no hay una única herramienta de automatización de proceso, es por ello que lo más importante es entender el proceso que se desea automatizar, evaluar opciones y definir la herramienta optima. Hay que entender que muchas veces el usuario describe o muestra el proceso que desea automatizar, pero es más importante para el equipo de Datos entender el fin del proceso, el output, para poder definir como se realizará.

While there are many important factors like to consider when getting started the most important in my opinion is diagnosing the problem (I.e. volume of work, time per customer/task, etc.) and then finding the root cause for the problem as well. It does you no good to automate a broken process or to automate something because of a broken link or lack of information on your site. Once you diagnose the root cause of your business problem not only can you start to automate that process, but you can update your standard processes or fix the underlying issues to truly solve your issue. Automating a broken process is like putting a bandaid on a scratch when your leg is broken. You fixed a problem just not THE problem.

For present, implementing Automation in process requires: 1.Assess Needs: Identify tasks suitable for automation (e.g., data management, maintenance). 2.Choose Tech: Invest in specialized automation tools (SCADA, IoT, AI) tailored to industry needs. 3.Integrate Systems: Ensure seamless connectivity between devices and software. 4.Data Analytics: Use analytics to optimize operation and predict equipment failures. 5.Safety First: Implement automation while maintaining stringent safety standards. 6.Train Staff:Provide training for employees to adapt to new technologies. 7.Pilot Projects: Test solutions in small-scale projects before full deployment. 8.Continu Improvement: Monitor performance and refine processes for ongoing enhancements.

It is very important for senior management to be supportive and aligned to process automation goals. RPA teams can face a lot of challenges if there is lack of support from leadership. I have also seen lot of operation SME's learning and upskilling in process controllers role and start managing bots. So this can be something to consider if one is afraid of impact to his or her role.

First create a Training plan for Managers and Employees to train them in the respective areas to handle the different challenging situations while working on RPA. Also Management should provide support to continuous improvisation.

In my experience, we need to assure employees that this automation process exists only to enhance them not to remove them from their jobs. we can support our team by building comprehensive training program with continuous learning opportunities and creating an environment where team members feel comfortable seeking guidance and mentorship. Encourage a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and open communication within the team. Acknowledge and appreciate achievements, milestones, and exceptional performance.

First, create the need and sense of urgency for team's acceptance. Right selection, POC supports to test thenew concepts and its relevancy to address key concerns of the teams. This will allow them to realise the benefits. Further, Upskilling and reskilling teams is essential as a part of training and development to empower teams to use automation and AI as needed.

Lo más importante para formar y apoyar al equipo es dotarlos de todos los medios necesarios para que puedan realizar su trabajo. Esto sería, capacitarlos en las herramientas necesarias, dotarlos de ordenadores que puedan realizar las funciones y formarlos para que comprendan el negocio. De esta manera estarán entendiendo el "por qué" de la automatización y podrán realizar trabajos orientados y de mayor calidad.

With proper support from top leadership, RPA does not replace customer service team but aids them to enhance their performance by empowering through trainings to adapt use of new tools and systems which eludes fear of job loss among others issues.

Ein KI unterstützter Service oder Chatbot ist eine hervorragende Möglichkeit, den Kunden schneller zu helfen. Lernende KI wird zudem immer besser. Die Auswahl der Automatisierung sollte gut überlegt sein, denn es ist immer ein schmaler Grat, wann der Absprung von KI hin zu menschlicher Interaktion notwendig ist. Zu spät kann zum Verlust des Kunden führen, zu früh verbrennt wichtige Ressourcen.

Complex processes can be routed for staff intervention with an exception handling process while simple task is fully automated in unattended mode in RPA. Also, when chatbots are used, options such as 'speak to an agent' are some of the best practices used by allowing the customer to decide.

Create a team to monitor and support the Automation to handle the error or failure scenarios. It is very essential to manage the RPA tools which need some human intervention. So that we can keep track of latest updates and even suggest enhancements.

Understand very well the industry you are in and the impact and urgency for your customers. A 24/7 production environment where machine stoppage is very expensive, requires a different approach from consumer goods. Low volume, high impact, long duration or high volume, low impact, short duration contacts. An AI chatbot that helps navigate a quality FAQ. An email – call ticketing system that is set up to prioritize (urgency, service contract), distribute (available technician, specialized, familiar with the customer) and inform (present customer information to the technician) greatly streamlines the process. It will boost customer satisfaction, build a knowledge base, prioritize requests, and increase the sales of service level agreements.

With the right corporate culture, automation owned and driven by the employees can be an empowerment of them. No one should be concerned about being made redundant. Instead, actively working on automating the boring stuff and focusing on the interesting parts should be everyone's goal and daily motivation.

Utilize human expertise for complex analysis, nuanced interpretation of data, and deriving meaningful insights. Humans can offer context, creativity, and critical thinking that automation may lack. For standard communications we can use automation, But ensure personalized interactions for client meetings, or sensitive data analysis, preserving the human touch. Be transparent to your clients and team about how both automation's speed and efficiency and human touch's intuition are needed for better workflow.

1.Task Assessment: Identify tasks suitable for automation and those requiring human skills. 2.Collaborative Approach: Integrate automation to support and enhance human work, not replace it entirely. 3.Employee Development: Provide training for employees to work effectively alongside automation. 4.User-Centric Design: Create automation systems with user-friendly interfaces and human oversight. 5.Continuous Improvement: Gather feedback to refine automation, keeping it aligned with human needs. 6.Customer Interaction: Maintain personalized, human-centric interactions for better customer experiences. 7.Flexibility and Adaptability: Cultivate a culture that embraces change and adapts to evolving technology.

While RPA is a great help, always try documenting the backing process. Even if RPA is already in place, a good documentation can be shared among peers and customers, sometimes avoiding to even request for help. Good documentation is the foundation to good automation, as you will have to understand the process to explain it in a document even before creating any automated solution.

Yes Process Automation will help by minimising the overall processing time by working 24/7. At the same time process automation significantly helps in minimising human errors. Also automated emails, self generated reports will help in timely communication with the customers. There are processes which can't be completely automated and need a human touch for decision making. There also process automation will help in expediting the overall process.

Los perfiles y competencias ideales para el servicio de atención al cliente no necesariamente coinciden con los requeridos para llevar a cabo automatizaciones efectivas. Alguien sin el "chip" técnico puede no ser consciente de las posibilidades disponibles, lo que se convierte en un caso de "no saber lo que no se sabe". Por esto, si el enfoque principal es la automatización, es bueno contar con personas que tengan background técnico o involucrar a un equipo de desarrollo en los procesos de atención. Lo ideal es brindar soluciones ágiles y de rápida implementación, por lo que se pueden crear MVPs utilizando herramientas no/low code en lugar de embarcarse en desarrollos que podrían no cumplir con las necesidades reales.