Saving $10M Annually Through Process Automation: Lessons for Your Business

When I think about some of the most impactful work I’ve done, my time at UnitedHealth Group stands out. It stood out because, despite the reputation they've received recently, my role empowered the areas of the org that I worked with to cut out the fluff and human process error, while improving the health of our customers. I won't get into any opinions on size of such an organization and if that's good for society (you can probably guess where I stand on this, but with AI and automation, maybe this will change?).

This was the side of that business that many outside the org don't see. Leading a project that improved customer health through measurable results was rewarding enough, but writing CBAs that saved over $10M annually wasn’t just rewarding—it taught me lessons, from arguably the 2nd largest corporation in the world, about automation that apply to businesses of all sizes.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Start by understanding your data: The first step is always the hardest: figuring out where your bottlenecks are. After interviewing individual stakeholders within the organization, tools like Domo, Alteryx, and Google BigQuery make it possible to check their work, analyze workflows and identify inefficiencies. Once we had that clarity, everything else fell into place.
2. Focus on scalable solutions: Not all automation tools are created equal. The right platform—like UiPath, Blue Prism, or Automation Anywhere—can grow with your business and adapt to new challenges. These tools help replace manual processes with AI-driven robotics and machine learning, and for my work at UHG, they cut bottlenecks by 25% or even way more in many cases.
3. Don’t underestimate team alignment: Automation isn’t just a technology problem; it’s a people problem too. Using tools like Asana, Jira, and Trello, communication and collaboration between humans itself can be automated. In one example with one specific tech client, I was able to reduce execution bugs by 52% by simply organizing the marketing team better and automating their collaboration efforts through Asana, with further integration to the development teams by syncing data between Jira and Asana. When everyone’s aligned, implementation becomes much smoother.

If you’re wondering whether automation is worth it, let me tell you—it is. Whether you’re a startup or a large enterprise, the efficiencies you gain will pay for themselves many times over. And who knows--I'm no longer with them so I can't speak to their current direction or issues (only my own motivations while there)--maybe, through automation, a massive organization like UHG won't seem so large anymore.

Let’s chat if you want to talk about how automation could transform your business.