Robots aren’t just shaping the future, they might improve your company’s efficiency and accuracy -- today

If you’ve seen HBO’s new hit drama, Westworld, then you’ve gotten a glimpse of a future where robots can act human, take on human tasks, and even work at human jobs. That’s an intriguing vision of the future. But when I talk to business leaders today, I know we don’t have to watch science fiction to see how robots will impact our economy —they’re already here today.

No, I’m not talking about the physical, walking, talking robots of Westworld’s theme park. You might have to wait a little longer to see those. And I’m not referring to the industrial robots in factories that you’ve probably already heard about. I’m talking about Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

Imagine, for instance, that you’re running a company that does BPO (business process outsourcing), and you are processing claims for an insurance company. You need a person to look at the claims, enter in the information, and sort and click through different options. It’s a repetitive, simple and very necessary task – but it’s also tedious, requiring someone to pay attention to every detail.

But now, imagine that instead of someone performing all these tasks, it’s something – a virtual worker. RPA uses a software robot to replicate the actions of a human being using a computer system. That means, with RPA, you can now watch the bot do all the same repetitive tasks a human would do, from moving the cursor and clicking on something to entering data or sending out form emails—all in a fraction of the time it would take a human. According to the Institute for Robotic Process Automation, a full-time employee handling BPO-related tasks could complete the process in an average of 12 minutes. RPA, by contrast, completed the process in just four minutes.[i] And because bots don’t sleep or take breaks and holidays, you get a full 24 hours of productivity, 365 days a year.

And the really exciting part is that we’ve just begun to tap the potential of this technology. Automation has been around for decades, and traditionally RPA has handled repetitive tasks based on a discrete set of rules—like processing insurance claims or entering data. But RPA has now started to pair with cognitive technologies (like machine learning and speech recognition) to automate more complicated assignments. 

As its capabilities increase and software applications have made it easier to implement, RPA is quietly taking the world by storm. Industries as diverse as IT, HR, retail, finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and even the armed forces are using the technology to their advantage. [ii] They have all found that implementing RPA can make basic processes more efficient, which in turn frees up people’s time and allows them to focus on the elements of their job that only a human can handle.

Of course, some fear that jobs are at risk of being replaced by these automated robots. But at EY, we’ve seen that the picture is more nuanced. Ultimately, RPA and automation more broadly has the potential to transform the nature of work by replacing the simplest, most repetitive jobs, freeing up employers to use people in positions that are better suited for humans. For example, if a robot takes in information for an HR complaint, an employee can handle the actual complaint itself—a task far too complicated and nuanced for RPA.

So if you haven’t already considered RPA, I would encourage you to learn more about it. Consider the most basic tasks and processes that your company performs on a regular basis. Do they follow clear rules? Is it a generally repetitive task? What could your people do if they had a lot more time?

As always with a new technology, distinguishing between the hype and reality isn’t easy. But RPA has already demonstrated that it’s a reality worth considering. As business leaders who are constantly looking out for a competitive edge, we should all consider RPA as a way to stay ahead in today’s fast-changing global economy.

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The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms. 

[i] https://www.irpanetwork.com/benefits-of-rpa/

[ii] IT: https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/article/2016/02/robotic-process-automation-rpa/7724/

HR, Retail: https://www.enablesoft.com/rpa-industry-solutions/data-quality/

Finance: https://www.enterprisetech.com/2015/09/10/four-industries-benefiting-from-robotic-process-automation/

Healthcare: https://www.cio.com/article/3083924/innovation/robotic-process-automation-for-healthcare.html

Armed Forces, Telecommunications: https://www.worksoft.com/examples-of-robotic-process-automation

Government: https://www.arvato.com/uk/about/press-releases/2016/arvato-and-blue-prism-partner-to-bring-robotic-process-automatio.html