Jabian facilitated a dialogue in the Atlanta business community aimed at answering the question: Can robots do it better?

The Jabian experts were joined by 13 companies at various stages along their Robotic Process Automation (RPA) journey. Below are some of the key take-aways from the conversation.

Planning Phase
  • Cost savings is not the only benefit. Compliance, consistency, accuracy and error reduction, risk avoidance, improved customer experience, and data security enhancements can all be powerful reasons to pursue RPA.
  • Business ownership will build momentum and use cases. Many groups need to be involved, but a key success factor for RPA is business ownership with support from technology.
  • Start from the top. Build buy-in from the top and clearly communicate the benefits to those whose jobs are impacted. Explain what’s in it for them.
Piloting Phase
  • Select the right process (or part of a process) to pilot. Start with a process that is more optimized – don’t automate inefficient processes.
  • Start. The sooner a pilot is launched, the sooner we learn valuable lessons that can be refined to drive a more effective RPA program.
  • Success will be incremental. Define success to help manage stakeholder expectations. Measure the incremental efficiency gains and keep going.
Implementation / Maturing Capability Phase
  • Prepare for the impacts of other system changes. Even little changes such as SharePoint upgrades and new file names can cause an RPA process to stop working.
  • Engage cross-functional stakeholders. Risk, Compliance, HR, and Security teams must be educated on the RPA program for better alignment and quicker turnarounds (e.g., access requests, ID creation, bot role assignments, etc.)
  • Support the people side. Consider the impacts of the change to roles and responsibilities, organizational design, leadership development, and culture.

 

For more information on Jabian’s perspective on RPA, click here.