With access to so many cost-effective digital solutions and advanced technology, no business today has a valid excuse to delay automation. In fact, not automating your processes can turn out to be far more costly in the long term, as you will most likely waste time and other resources on completing assignments that could be completed by software. Knowing that, you should take a close look at how your organization is operating today and what you can do to streamline your workflow and make it easier for your employees to do their jobs.
Your teams will be able to devote all their expertise to core business processes, while automated tools handle menial and tedious work. If you need to start somewhere and you cannot possibly automate absolutely every potential process, we’ve created a list to help you get started with the most fundamental processes. Use them to eliminate time-consuming tasks that are prone to human error and reassign your workers to focus on what matters most!
Payroll and invoicing
Your accounting department already has so many tasks to deal with on a daily basis, that it seems amazing they manage to accomplish everything. Alas, these tasks tend to depend on data and minuscule changes in how you operate, be it a change in how you price your services, or a bonus for an employee. Fortunately, you can help your accounting team by using payroll and accounting software that takes care of most of these tedious tasks with ease.
This software can also help you stay compliant with the latest legal and tax obligations relevant to your region. Add to that, you can automate recurring payments to vendors as well as recurring invoices to your customers. That alone will shave hours off your accountant’s time and help them optimize your processes for smarter budget allocation.
Managing your social media
Ask any marketing expert, and you’ll know that your digital marketing outlets are an intricate scheme of posting, scheduling, engagement with followers, analytics, and reporting. Before we move to the last two segments of your marketing and business management, you should take a moment to appreciate the seemingly minor portions of social media management. That typically includes posting, scheduling, and tracking the success of your posts.
With social media tools, you can create content an entire month in advance and schedule each post depending on your current engagement rates to make sure you’re visible and in front of your audience when they’re active. That gives your social media managers ample time to focus on creative writing, image editing, and responding to followers.
Employee management and scheduling
In many organizations, employees have very little idea as to how they could work more productively and collaborate more easily for the long haul. If you make sure you know when and where your employees are, how they spend their time, you can determine the easiest ways to improve productivity and enable your teams to do more in less time.
According to a report from McKinsey & Company, between 25 and 46% of job tasks in Australia could be automated by 2030. While this country is currently in the midst of a recession, automation could potentially be the key for Australian companies to make positive economic changes by utilizing automation to increase productivity and create better-paying jobs.
For example, companies are using rostering software in Australia as one of the simplest yet extremely effective ways to increase productivity and leave their managers with more time on their hands to focus on more important tasks instead of wasting time and energy on employee scheduling which can easily be automated.
Data analytics and reporting
Analytics and reporting are both extremely time-consuming and often tedious. No expert can compete with an automated, AI-driven solution that can analyze swarms of information in a heartbeat, without making a mistake in the process. Not to mention that these tools eliminate all bias from evaluation and data selection for your reports.
With the right software, your managers in every department, such as marketing and sales, can make smarter decisions with these reports. They no longer need to waste hours of their time on analytics and collating data, but they can instead join forces to craft more effective strategies to grow your brand.
Customer support with chatbots
Normally, no business wants to even consider automating customer-facing interactions that depend solely on that essential, human factor. That includes customer support, as the most vital way to connect with customers and keep them engaged and loyal. However, with automated chatbots at your disposal, you can achieve a much more effective support process without eliminating that human element in your interactions.
Chatbots are now so effective that they can provide immediate help to customers when they need help with less complex issues. Alternatively, they can connect customers directly with an agent when their issue surpasses the skills of the chatbot. That alone reduces the workload for your support staff significantly, and it helps them prioritize their work.
Automation is one of the most effective ways to simplify a range of business processes that can be very taxing for your employees and drain hours of your day. Technology has advanced so much in the past several years that these automation tools can help your business thrive not just today, as you begin to implement them, but in the years to come, when the results of your hard work begin to emerge, as you’re finally able to devote time and creativity to business growth.