Robotic process automation (RPA) is computer software that helps businesses do simple jobs that would otherwise be done by a human. RPA harnesses software bots that replicate human interaction across multiple platforms.
There are two main types of RPA, ‘attended’ and ‘unattended’ bots. The former acts like an employee’s assistant, relying on human intervention to trigger it when it is needed to perform an activity. The latter are typically processing volumes of work autonomously without human interaction – I like to think of unattended automation a bit like a macro following a pre-configured set of rules. You can also give the bot instructions should it encounter a problem too.
I firmly believe that RPA is a good thing for business. These software bots run 24/7, seven days a week. That’s potentially 168 hours of work a week – bots don’t need to break for lunch, clock off at the end of the day, get sick or stop work for the weekend.
Think of all the time that’s freeing up for your employees! What’s more, the type of work robots are doing is mostly the routine, easily repeatable processes that could be considered the most mundane to human workers. This means staff can spend more time on more creative work and decision-making, and as a result their jobs become less stressful and also more enjoyable. What’s more, robots don’t make mistakes. They do what they are programmed to do without distraction, boredom or misreading data.
A friend actually told me an amusing story about this recently. A colleague she didn’t know personally but had been communicating with over email had been nominated for employee of the month, something she wasn’t surprised about as the colleague was so good at their job.
Imagine her shock though when she found out this ‘Alison Imerson’ was actually an AI-powered robot! (It made more sense when she noted her initials were ‘A.I’.)
Another plus when it comes to RPA is scalability. If an organization is expecting a heavy workload in part of the business, robots, unlike humans, can be easily replicated or assigned to different departments to ease pressure.
And adding to that, bots are also easily able to keep tabs on, maybe even more so than actual people. They leave an audit trail of everything they get up to, making it really easy to ensure compliance with regulation or organizational standards.
RPA also helps businesses reduce costs. As well as saving on labor costs, organizations save money on office furniture too, as of course software bots don’t even need desks, chairs or monitors to work.
So, are there any drawbacks? The simple answer is some. The technology could be seen as somewhat of a short-term, sticking-plaster solution in some scenarios. This is because software bots are being implemented to replicate the same, often inefficient processes that would be undertaken by a human rather than overhauling them with a large-scale, more valuable and holistic approach – the crux of digital transformation. It is becoming increasingly important to view RPA as an extension to or a component of Digital Process Automation (DPA).
Due to complex legacy systems, many organizations are cautious about large digital transformation programs, and thus benefit greatly from tools like RPA due to the minimum disruption caused to the status quo and as a small step towards DPA.
However, stand-alone RPA fixes can quickly become the next legacy technology and so should be seen as a stepping stone to adapting, evolving and future-proofing organizations. Only when leaders rethink systems and build for agility and change further down the line can they ensure their organization will cope in the future as well as the here and now.
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