Don’t Automate Trash: The Key to Successful AI and Automation in Business

AI and automation are game changers in today’s business world. They promise increased efficiency, improved customer experience, and reduced operational costs. But do you know what’s a game killer? Automating a trash process based on bad DATA!

Too often, organizations are eager to embrace the latest AI tools or automation platforms, allocating big budgets without first evaluating the quality of their existing processes and data. The result? A high-tech system that amplifies inefficiencies instead of eliminating them.

Before you jump into automation, you need to ask some hard questions—not just of yourself, but of the people responsible for delivering results and those directly involved in the process.

Questions to Ask Before You Automate

If you want to ensure your AI or automation initiative is a success, start by answering these key questions:

• What are you trying to accomplish and the expected outcome? Clearly define your goals. Are you looking to reduce call handling times, increase first-call resolution, or improve self-service options? If you can’t define what success looks like, you won’t know if your automation efforts are working.

When working with customers I leverage a “A3” framework where I help customers categorize their AI initiatives into one or more of the following categories: Alleviate, Assist, Automate.

By doing this we give an AI initiative a specific purpose with clear outcomes.

• Based on what data and is it accurate? Automation is only as good as the data it relies on. Ensure your data sources are clean, reliable, and up-to-date before applying automation.

How do you alleviate volume if you don’t know what volume that is? Or the data is wrong? How do you automate a process if your intel is bad. I had a old boss that used to say “Trash in equals, trash out.”

• What happens next (what does this AI means for the new normal after automation)? Think about how automation will affect your day-to-day operations moving forward. Will roles need to shift? How will success be measured and maintained??

The Danger of Automating Trash Processes

Let’s be clear: AI and automation amplify (scale) whatever they’re applied to. If your process is clean, efficient, and designed with outcomes in mind, automation will make it even better. But if your process is riddled with inefficiencies, lack of clarity, or poor design, automation will magnify those problems.

For example:

• A poorly defined escalation process based on bad data/intel in a contact center will frustrate customers faster if AI tools are routing calls based on bad data.
• Automating a reporting system without fixing data integrity issues first will simply produce inaccurate reports faster.
• Applying AI to a forecasting process that doesn’t account for seasonality or trends will create schedules that don’t align with actual demand.

The lesson? Automation doesn’t fix broken processes; it makes them worse.

Collaborate for Success

The key to successful automation isn’t just about the technology—it’s about having EXCELLENT data, great processes and involving the right people:

1. The Leaders Defining Outcomes: They set the vision and ensure the automation aligns with business goals.
2. The Doers Delivering Results: They understand how the process works today and where the challenges are.
3. The Users Experiencing the Process: Whether it’s employees or customers, they’ll have valuable insights into pain points and areas for improvement.

When you bring these perspectives together, you’re more likely to identify opportunities for meaningful automation that delivers real results.

Final Thoughts: Automation with Purpose

AI and automation are powerful tools—but they’re not magic. They don’t solve problems you don’t understand, and they don’t create efficiency out of chaos. If you want your automation efforts to succeed, start by cleaning up your processes, defining your outcomes, and collaborating with those who know the work best.

Ready to Go Beyond Automation?

In my book, WFM: Go Beyond, I dive deeper into our A3 Framework and how to align your Workforce Management strategies to deliver real results.

That’s all…That’s the post!

Thee Contact Center Whisperer That WFM Girl

#CX #EX #AI #CustomerExperience #EmployeeExperience #WFM #WorkforceManagement #BookLaunch #GoBeyond

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