How to Advocate for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to Management in 6 steps
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a scalable technology that integrates easily into your business systems and processes to perform rule-based, repetitive and time-consuming tasks on your employees’ behalf.
Through the capabilities of software robots that automate and streamline workflows, RPA enables your business to minimise errors, save costs and achieve internal efficiencies.
However, hesitations around its implementation might arise if the Management team does not have a full grasp of the value RPA offers – especially if they assume that automation is only beneficial for specific business units rather than the company as a whole.
So, to enable you to effectively advocate for RPA to management, we have prepared a quick guide to help you!
Why should you support RPA in your business?
Here are some key reasons why it’s important to actively promote automation in a business:
- To win the support of other teams
You will find it difficult to earn management’s support if various teams in your business are not involved in understanding RPA, as well as committed to optimising its technology.
Here’s how RPA improves business and increases efficiency to give employees a better overview of the value it offers.
- To make the implementation of RPA much easier and more convenient for all
When the implementation and applications of RPA are properly communicated, users can automate their mundane business processes themselves. This reduces the workload of your IT team, allowing them to focus primarily on more challenging technology problems of your organisation.
For more information, we’ve compiled 8 expert tips for a successful Intelligent Automation implementation.
- To unlock the benefits of more advanced business technology
The reduction in revenue leakage and improved accuracy brought about by employees working side-by-side with software robots often leads to impressive results, higher returns and a significant reduction in wage costs for businesses like yours.
But remember: advocating for RPA is the first step to experiencing the wide range of benefits it offers.
6 steps to advocating for RPA to management
Let’s assume that you need to present a business case for investment in automation technology to the company’s CFO and other board members.
Here, you want to highlight that business transformation is something your organisation can easily achieve through the power of innovative technology or software such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
Here are 6 steps that can help you successfully endorse RPA to management:
- Create awareness prior to the meeting.
When most people in your organisation understand the payoffs of automation, cultural adoption usually ensues. So, make sure that everyone knows the positive impacts RPA has – not just on the overall business, but also within their jobs.
You may also share case studies of other companies that have successfully implemented RPA technology to illustrate that reliance on automated processes is one of the primary drivers of productivity.
In addition, you may use recent reports and studies such as the Digital strategy in a time of crisis by McKinsey Digital, to point out that RPA is a critical part of every company’s “survival kit.”
- Know your audience.
Be aware that the criteria for investment decisions may vary according to each executive’s different backgrounds (e.g., controllership, legal, accounting, financial planning, etc.).
Despite this, all board members will most likely base their decision on cost containment, revenue growth and risk management. So, it’s important to highlight each of these aspects when presenting your automation investment proposal.
- Focus on providing management with answers to the “why”
Capitalising on the benefits of RPA provides good arguments as to why an automation project should be prioritised over competing projects.
Oftentimes, this will make the strongest impact if presented in numerical format.
You can provide them with data that shows the difference between the status quo and the potential improvements that RPA can bring. Sharing results from surveys and NPS scores are also helpful to help management understand the effects of automation on overall customer and employee experience.
- Name the stakeholders that will benefit from RPA.
This is meant to show the management team that RPA is conducive to multi-faceted innovation for the company, which is a very good argument for starting big with the automation journey.
For instance, you can mention the advantages of RPA to the following stakeholders:
- Global process owners: RPA implementation can improve quality and compliance for intricate processes that may stretch over several departments, business units and regions.
- Shared services owners: Automating high-volume transactions and processes that used to be in a business process outsourcing arrangement can lead to improved efficiency.
- Business unit leaders: Using digital assistants to automate entire functions within their departments can boost the productivity of each of their employees.
- Mitigate management’s concerns about the inherent risks of digitisation.
You can effectively advocate for RPA by acknowledging the fact that safeguarding the investment is the top priority of management when embarking on the automation journey.
Cash preservation, ensuring employee safety, managing the return on capital, protecting the supply chain and fortifying the infrastructure for business continuity are a few of the many areas of concern your organisation’s board (CFO included), business unit leaders and investors have with digitisation.
So, make sure to place the discussion about risk mitigation strategy at the centre of your presentation.
- Align the approach to automation with other corporate strategic goals.
Automation projects must support the company’s long-term goals for values, strategy and culture. This will enable the implementation of RPA to be easily adopted by both business and IT teams, as well as get the funding it needs.
You may also link the automation project to your company’s financial and non-financial key performance indicators. In doing so, you will be able to create a better collaboration between marketing and IT – showing your different teams that automation is not just IT’s responsibility.
Are you ready to advocate for RPA?
Being realistic and transparent is key to effectively advocating for RPA to management.
It’s important to communicate the value that business automation offers but you also need to be open about the risks involved with its implementation.
What matters most, however, is that you have a solution-oriented approach – that is, working together with the executives of your company to mitigate these risks and prevent future problems from occurring.
That’s where we can help you with business automation
At CiGen, we partner with organisations like yours to help you achieve the full business benefits of digital automation and establish a flexible operational environment for your future growth.
Our ultimate goal is to energise organisations and the workforce of tomorrow as digital technologies increasingly evolve toward Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computational Intelligence (CI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
Harness the true power of automation with CiGen On Demand
Our team of RPA specialists are here to ensure you reap all of the rewards of business automation, while we address all of the potential risks.
We even provide an affordable automation service to small and medium-sized businesses through our CiGen On Demand subscription solution, making it even easier for your business to harness the true power of automation and earn back your valuable time.
Contact us today for more information on how we can help your business to succeed through robotic process automation.
