What are the key skills for a business process automation career?

Sometimes, it’s about thinking outside the conventional box to automate processes in a way that not only enhances efficiency but also brings a unique competitive edge to the table. Businesses thrive on blending analytical thinking with creative solutions, ensuring a seamless transition towards automation while fostering a culture of continuous improvement. It's fascinating to see the transformative impact a well-automated process can have on a business!

Sure, strong analytical skills are needed to identify process inefficiencies and devise effective automation solutions. They are necessary to use data to drive decisions and measure the success of automation initiatives.

In my opinion Analytical Skills regarding Business Process Automation can be: 1. The way we understand the existing business process; 2. Consider the policy, procedure, and regulation; 3. Find the best automation tools (e.g. Cloud Software, RPA, etc.); 4. Imagine the new (to-be) business process; 5. Measure how big is the changes management; 6. Define the pros and cons between existing and new business process. Discuss it with your internal team (if possible); 8. Wrap up the recommendation and present it to the stakeholders.

Analytical skills are important to identify areas of opportunity for BPA; however, where analytical skills really become useful is implementing complex workflows. Complex workflows have data flowing in different formats and structures. Being able to understand the flow of the data with the end goal in the mind is the most analytical skill there is.

To thrive in business process automation (BPA), you'll need a tech toolbox and business smarts. Key skills include using automation tools, wrangling data, and potentially coding. You'll also be a pro at analyzing processes, solving problems, and managing projects. But don't forget the soft skills! Clear communication and change management expertise are essential for navigating BPA and getting everyone on board.

As someone who's passionate about innovative technology and mentoring team members, I can't stress enough the importance of technical skills in business process automation. It's not just about knowing the tools, it's about understanding how they can be integrated and customized to drive efficiency and reliability in your processes. And remember, testing and debugging are your best friends to ensure scalable success. Keep learning, keep growing, and don't be afraid to dive into the code! ???? #TechSkills #Automation #Leadership

The answer is - Microsoft Office. No matter what the business is: ?? people send e-mails (Outlook) ?? people analyse numbers (Excel) ?? people write documents (Word) ?? people present results (PowerPoint) Before you start automating, make sure you know what these 4 apps offer. Not the other way around. Sometimes automation is already there ??

Businesses have different tech stacks. Asana vs Monday. Gsheet vs Airtable. Make vs Zapier. The list is endless. It is less about being an expert in every tool under the sun, but rather understanding team goals for each tool, and how those tools in unison with others will help teams achieve those goals. Then there is of course the deeply technical aspect of using APIs to glue all the tools together.

Understand and learn to use various automation tools and platforms, such as software, hardware, cloud services, and RPA (Robotic Process Automation). Get to know their features, functions, and limitations, and how they can be integrated with existing systems and data. Also, enhance your coding or scripting abilities to customise and configure automation solutions. Finally, ensure you can test and debug these solutions effectively to guarantee their quality and reliability.

These technical skills enable professionals to design, deploy, and maintain effective automation solutions that drive efficiency and productivity in business operations.

Explaining automation to non-technical people is challenging and comes with encountering many fears or misunderstandings. That's why I can't emphasize enough how crucial communication skills have become. As a BPA agency owner, I think it's one of the top three: 1. Automation skills 2. Specialization in a specific process or industry to understand clients' needs better. 3. Communication skills to combine and express the other two effectively.

It is important to remember that your clients/managers are not necessarily the most technical people. It is important to communicate using language and terminology that everyone can understand. Business process automation can be daunting to some so being honest about risks and benefits will help your project run smoothly. I would always recommend to be as upfront as possible to avoid any awkward conversations later down the line.

Communication skills are the backbone of successful business process automation. ?? Clear and effective communication ensures that all stakeholders—from business users to IT staff—are aligned on goals, benefits, and risks. ??? Moreover, providing training and support to end-users is crucial for smooth adoption and maximizing the impact of automation solutions. ?? Always document and report progress to maintain transparency and foster continuous improvement. ??

Effective communication is essential for gathering and understanding the requirements of stakeholders. Clear discussions help identify pain points, goals, and expectations, which are crucial for designing and implementing BPA solutions.

You'll need to work closely with different stakeholders, like business users, managers, IT staff, and vendors. This means explaining the goals, benefits, and risks of automation clearly, as well as gathering and using their feedback. Providing training and support to end-users is also key. Additionally, documenting and reporting progress and outcomes effectively will ensure everyone stays informed and aligned. Good communication can make or break your automation projects, so prioritize developing this skill.

It lays the groundwork for clear communication, effective collaboration, and ensure that projects are delivered on time and within budget. In my experience, adding a layer of low code automation expertise to this mix can significantly streamline the project lifecycle. It allows for rapid prototyping and iterative development which is crucial in today’s fast-paced business environment.

To succeed in business process automation, strong project management skills are crucial. You need to plan and execute projects from start to finish. This means defining the project scope, budget, timeline, and deliverables. Assign and monitor team roles and responsibilities, manage risks and changes, and handle any issues that arise. Ensure that the automation solutions meet quality standards and compliance requirements. Good project management helps keep everything on track and ensures successful implementation of automation projects.

Project management plays a crucial role in the BPA career because workflows always require iterations to arrive at the ideal flow. 1. Current process documentation 2. Streamlined process 3. Automated process design 4. Workflow build 5. Communication of steps 1-5 Without project management skills not only will you not be able to manage your own tasks or team, but you will not be able to have satisfied customers.

Understanding business is one of the critical elements of a BUSINESS process automation career. In fact, creating simple automation scenarios is easier and easier and won't be that valued by the market. The real value is provided by teams that know WHAT to automate, and HOW to improve the process before automating it, and it will make a 10x difference.

This is the most underrated skill, but definitely the most valuable for an automation expert. If you can talk business, you can build not only what is requested now, but you can also build a proper foundation that will allow you to build the most logical next steps. If you don't understand what a business is building in 3 months, you shouldn't be building automations now. If you do however, you might need to rebuild the whole thing from scratch in 3 months and waste a lot of resources.

BPA is about understanding the multiple components that make the machine run. If you don't have a clear understanding of all the pieces, then the machine won't run smoothly or at all. Clarity is key before beginning the automation process.

Combining these technical, analytical, and soft skills will enable a professional to effectively contribute to business process automation initiatives, driving efficiency, and innovation within an organization.

It depends on whether you want to make career or automate business. For career, pick the fancy ones. For automation, pick the right ones. These are not the same.