The Role of Automation in Operations: A Double-Edged Sword

Automation plays an undeniably crucial role in any operations project, promising improved efficiency, faster workflows, and cost savings. Yet, it often faces the most criticism from within the very teams it seeks to help. Understanding the different perspectives on automation across various levels of an organization reveals deeper challenges that go beyond the technical scope. These challenges are rooted in fear, resistance to change, and a lack of clear communication on the value of automation.

Junior Operational Level: Fear of Job Loss

At the junior operational level, there is often a fear that sharing knowledge will lead to job automation, resulting in job loss. This mindset, though understandable, overlooks the potential for employees to upskill and shift toward more strategic roles. Instead of automation being perceived as a tool to replace jobs, it should be positioned as a way to eliminate repetitive tasks, allowing individuals to focus on value-added activities. This fear-driven reluctance to collaborate is one of the key reasons why knowledge sharing becomes limited, and automation becomes fragmented.

Senior Operational Level: Resistance to Change

On the other hand, employees who have settled into their roles for years, comfortable with manual processes, tend to resist change. These individuals have developed expertise in doing things manually, and often see no need to fix what they believe isn’t broken. They might view automation as a disruption to their routines rather than an enhancement. The resistance stems from comfort with the familiar, and without active engagement and clear communication on the benefits of automation, it becomes difficult to drive change at this level.

Middle Management: Quantity Over Value

At the middle management level, automation is often seen as a recurring opportunity to receive appreciation and recognition. However, this can lead to a misguided approach where managers focus on increasing the number of automations rather than prioritizing value. Automation ideas are shared in bits and pieces, more concerned with ticking boxes and showcasing high counts in progress reports rather than producing impactful results. This “quantity over quality” mentality creates a cycle where numerous low-value automations are delivered, but the true potential of process transformation is never realized.

Senior Leadership: Questioning Impact and ROI

Senior leadership, on the other hand, seeks measurable value from automation efforts, expecting clear impact on operational efficiency and cost savings. When they do not see these results, they often question the capabilities of the automation team or the effectiveness of the tools being used. However, the problem is often not the tools or the team, but the fragmented approach to automation throughout the organization. Without a holistic strategy that aligns automation efforts with business goals, the true value remains untapped.

The Never-Ending Cycle of Re-Creation

This disjointed approach to automation leads to a recurring cycle: people change, vendors rotate, and the same automation problems resurface time and again. New teams are brought in, and they often scrap or ignore existing scripts, opting to create new ones instead of refining and evolving what is already in place. Over time, this results in a pile-up of scripts, tools, and processes—each solving the same problems in different ways, but without delivering long-term solutions. Meanwhile, the customer is left with a mountain of scripts that offer little cohesion or transformative value.

Automation: More Than Just Quick Fixes

One of the biggest misconceptions about automation is that it is only about writing scripts to solve quick problems. While automations can indeed be used to address specific, isolated issues, their true potential lies in transforming the way organizations work. Automation has the power to streamline entire workflows, optimize operations, and drive continuous improvement. However, to realize this potential, organizations must shift their focus from short-term gains to long-term value, and build a culture where automation is seen as a strategic asset rather than a collection of one-off solutions.

Is the Automation Team Just Overhead?

In many organizations, the automation team is often viewed as an overhead—good for showcasing fancy PowerPoint presentations, but disconnected from the realities on the ground. This perception arises because automation efforts frequently lack alignment with operational objectives, or their outcomes are not clearly communicated to key stakeholders. However, with the right strategy, tools, and alignment, automation can become a key driver of operational excellence.

Automation is not just about tools and scripts; it's about a mindset shift across all levels of the organization. The true value of automation is realized when it’s embraced as a continuous improvement process—refining, evolving, and adapting to changing business needs. Overcoming resistance, fostering knowledge sharing, and aligning automation efforts with business goals will ensure that automation delivers tangible, lasting benefits that go beyond quick fixes and superficial improvements.

Ultimately, automation is not the enemy—it is the future of operations. But to harness its full potential, organizations must break free from the cycles of resistance, fear, and short-term thinking. Only then can automation truly transform operations and optimize the way work is done.