IS IT TIME TO MAKE THE MOVE TO AUTOMATED AND DIGITAL PROCESSES?

With current technologies and services this is an easy answer…. Yes, it is definitely time to switch to the ever increasingly easy to use automated systems.

Many companies wish to make the move but struggle to know where to start. Working in the industry for many years now I have helped businesses and users adopt more efficient processes and systems to take advantage of the many benefits on offer, from Reducing manual and slow paper based processes to ensuring information is ready and retrievable from anywhere on any device. The trick is to gain a baseline of the current situation from, why the processes are in place and what benefit they currently achieve as well as what this is costing the business.

When uncovering the costs there are a number of things to consider;

1. Supplies

This can include the paper used for printing as well as the toner/ink used, stationary such as sticky notes, folders, pens and paperclips (This may not sound like much but start adding them up over the year!). Also the (usually) ugly filing cabinets used to store paper documents, this can be very expensive as this also takes up floor space in the office.

When you think of the cost of renting/leasing property (especially in London) does the thought of spending money on office space to store paper sound worthwhile to you? Take a look round your office right now and see how much office space you could free up if you stored it all electronically. You may not have to move to a new office if you are expanding your business….. Think of that cost saving!

2. Time

Think of how many employees you have dealing with a particular process and how many time each person has to repeat that task. That is a huge cost to the business, take in to account their salary per hour plus NI and also the tools they use to do their job or task.

Just imagine how much time could be saved by automating and streamlining a process or task, and then those employees could spend more time on business critical tasks!

There are many industry research specialists that can give you an average cost per invoice (for example) and can vary wildly depending on the business and industry sector they are in. When you partner with a company to implement any system they should offer you the chance to complete a study on your business to uncover the true cost of a process for YOUR business, as we all know just like people businesses are unique and all will have differences to processes and costs.

3. Mistakes

As with anything we all do, from time to time mistakes happen and in business this can lead to extra costs.

Whether this is repeating a task doubling up on the time spent or losing an important document or information. Depending on the process and document this could also have legal ramifications which lead to fines. So take a look at what are your most important documents in the business and how they are dealt with. Are they stored in a cabinet, what happens if there is a fire? Are they backed up, locked away? With the ever more increasing complex area of data security and information legislations its worth having a review of your document storage and retrieval polices.

With any major rollout of any IT system the implementation can be daunting and time consuming…… That does not have to be the case.

When looking at what company to partner with talk to them about the rollout plan. Again, here are some things to consider;

1. Project timescale

Is there an event that is coming up that will impact the roll out? Do you want it completed in a certain time period? Above all be realistic, we have all heard of IT projects that have failed due to the plan being rushed! Have no doubt that these systems can be business critical and need to be managed like one.

2. User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

Ensure you include time for some key users to complete testing of the system before it goes live. This will allow you to iron out any possible issues and fully understand and see how this fits in with current processes. This will also help you understand the training needs of users…

3. Training

This is the most important piece to ensure user adoption. I have seen and heard of systems being rolled out with little or even no end user training. This is critical as it ensure your users will be fully conversed with the system in the shortest time period possible.

“If you think it is expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur”

Paul Neal ”Red” Adair

 The above is not an exhaustive guide on these types of projects, there are many other things to consider, but hopefully it gives you an insight in to what to look for not only in your own processes but also in a company/partner that you can work with to implement such a system.

Now you have some things to look at to begin your journey to digitisation and automation. The benefits can be vast and sometimes easier than you think to implement, although the most important rule is to find a company that wants to really be a partner not just a supplier. Work with them and don’t be afraid to let them in to your business and complete those ever important studies on your own processes so you know the baseline you are starting from is YOUR OWN.