4 HIDDEN PROBLEMS AFFECTING YOUR TASK AUTOMATION EFFICIENCY AND HOW TO MANAGE THEM

Task automation is a boon for businesses, but only when implemented in the right way. Simply introducing task automation is not enough. If it lacks proper implementation and processes, then no matter how good the automation software is, businesses won’t be able to reap its benefits. This is also the reason why most companies have a good experience with automation in the beginning, but soon find it tiresome and costly to maintain it in the long run.

The answer to this widespread problem is very simple. In general, there are 4 prevalent points that businesses are collectively doing wrong. If they can address these points and take corrective measures, they can successfully implement Task Automation processes in their work culture and get long-term results.

The 4 problem areas are – Overburden, Skill-level, Accountability, and Training.

We'd like to have a closer look at these 4 points and also how businesses can tackle them.

Overburden:

‘Overburden’ is simply an individual being assigned more tasks than he or she can handle. When this happens, it leads to employee burnout and inefficiency in performing the assigned tasks, along with increasing employee stress and dissatisfaction. If in a team, an individual is singled out and assigned additional tasks that take up more time, then their overall efficiency in performing their key responsibilities is.

Solution -

To overcome this problem, managers have to ensure that all tasks are equally distributed amongst the team members and that all available human resources are effectively managed. It is also a good practice to ensure that the assigned tasks don’t take up more than 6 hours of work a day for any employee. This gives them enough time to focus on their assigned work and to get it done effectively, as well as not feeling overwhelmed or overburdened by work.

Skill-level:

Different team members have different skill levels and it becomes imperative for business owners or managers to identify these skill levels and assign work accordingly. Many times, the capability parameters fed into the automation software are inadequate and this leads to the system assigning tasks to those who lack the necessary skills to get the task completed. This leads to a ‘Skill-Gap’ within the automation system, which leads to task inefficiencies.

Solution –

To overcome this skill gap, it is necessary to constantly upgrade the skills of your employees and to develop skillful resources before actually assigning them actual tasks. The second thing to do is develop tests and tools to exactly identify the skill level of each employee, so that appropriate tasks can be assigned to them, based on their skill levels.

Accountability –

Most of the time, tasks remain open as ‘accountability’ is missing in the organization’s hierarchy. This can either be because of a lack of clarity among the employees, as to who is exactly in charge of closing the task, or what needs to be done when the task faces a roadblock. If employees are unaware of exactly what their responsibilities are, and whom to report to, then it leads to chaos.

Solution –

To avoid problems in accountability, businesses must set proper reporting systems within the hierarchy. Having organized reporting and providing proper guidelines to employees can eliminate this problem.

Training –

Another important part that goes missing from a proper Automation implementation process is ‘Training’. No matter how good the software is, if training is missing from the system, the software cannot function as it should. Most of the time, if employees are not trained in using automation systems, they might find it cumbersome and stop using it altogether. This will mean that whatever time and money was invested to make the system more efficient, all those efforts will be in vain.

Solution –

The only way to overcome this problem is periodically to train the employees on the process, and monitor if they can properly use the automation, without any problems. Videos and visual representations are all the more helpful in training modules and can be used repetitively for new employees as they join the process.

When businesses make a conscious effort to overcome these 4 problems, they can experience a very high success rate of task automation implementation. If any 1 of these 4 points is missing, then it drastically reduces the efficiency of the task automation process and then, the invested efforts will not give the desired outcome.

If you want to learn more about the right ways of task automation implementation, you can visit www.stwautomation.com, or watch the video tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/@sandeepmishrastw

#sandeepmishra #stwautomation #businessautomation