10 Best Practices to Automate Business Processes

Automate Business Processes with BPA to boost efficiency, increase productivity, reduce errors, and enhance consistency. However, not every process is a perfect fit for automation, and BPA projects don’t always run flawlessly. That’s why it’s essential to follow best practices when selecting, planning, and executing these projects. Using these 10 best practices will help you identify the most promising targets, improve your success rate, and fully maximize the benefits for your organization.

What Is Business Process Automation?

Business process automation (BPA) is simply about using computers and software to automate business processes that people usually do over and over again. Instead of manually doing things like entering data or managing orders, a computer can handle them automatically. This helps companies work faster and more accurately because it cuts down on mistakes and ensures things are done the same way every time. It also frees up employees to spend more time on creative or strategic tasks that add real value to the business. Whether it’s a simple job like filing documents or a complex one like running a supply chain, BPA helps automate business processes, making everyday work easier and more efficient.

Key Takeaways

Business process automation (BPA) means using technology to automate business processes and handle tasks that people usually do by hand—repetitive tasks. This helps companies work faster and make fewer mistakes.

Here’s how to break it down:

• Why Automate?

Automating routine work makes everything run more efficiently and accurately. When computers do these tasks, there’s less chance of human error, and employees are free to focus on more important, creative work.

• Choosing What to Automate:

Start by looking closely at your current work processes. Identify where things are slow, error-prone, or inefficient. Then, pick the tasks that will benefit most from automation.

• Planning and Organization:

Develop a complete plan that takes the whole company into account. Create clear guidelines (standard operating procedures) and decide who is responsible for each part of the process.

• Training:

Make sure everyone involved knows how to use the new technology. Proper training is key to making the whole system work smoothly.

• Using ERP Software:

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can help automate many parts of a business—from sales and finance to supply chain management and manufacturing. This software ties everything together so the whole company can work more seamlessly.

In short, BPA helps companies reduce manual work and errors, making operations more efficient and allowing employees to focus on higher-value tasks.

Automate Business Processes: An Explanation

Business process automation (BPA) means using technology to automate business processes that people used to do manually. It’s mainly used to make repetitive tasks quicker, more consistent, and less prone to mistakes. But as companies use BPA more, they often find even more benefits, such as:

• Saving Money: Automating tasks can be cheaper than paying employees to do them manually.
• Saving Time: Employees can focus on important tasks like solving problems, coming up with new ideas, and helping customers instead of doing repetitive work.
• Keeping Things Consistent: Large companies struggle to train thousands of employees to do things the same way. Automation ensures processes are done the same way every time, no matter the location.
• Better Accuracy: Machines don’t get tired or distracted, so automated tasks have fewer mistakes than manual ones.
• Tracking Data Easily: Software keeps a clear record of all activities, which helps businesses check performance, analyze data, and make better decisions.
• Improving Transparency & Security: Since all actions are recorded, managers can monitor activities easily, reducing fraud risks and ensuring accountability.

10 Best Practices to Automate Business Processes

To successfully automate business processes with business process automation (BPA), companies should follow best practices at every stage, from planning to execution and training. It’s important to take a structured approach by first identifying tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming, as these are the best candidates for automation. Businesses should also prioritize which tasks to automate first, ensuring they bring the most value while considering how automation might affect related processes and the organization as a whole.

During implementation, using the right tools is key. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software can help businesses automate business processes across different departments, improving efficiency and consistency. By carefully planning and using the right technology, companies can streamline operations, reduce errors, and allow employees to focus on more meaningful work.

1. Identify Areas in Need of Functional Improvement to Automate Business Processes

The first step in business process automation is to carefully identify areas that need improvement. Instead of randomly coming across tasks that could be automated, businesses should take a structured approach automate business processes by finding inefficient or time-consuming processes. This method ensures that automation efforts are focused on the right areas, leading to better results and overall operational improvements.

To identify which tasks should be automated, businesses need to review their current processes and find those that are slow, repetitive, or prone to mistakes. There are two main ways to do this: analyzing data and talking to employees. Innovative companies use both. Data analysis helps spot bottlenecks, frequent errors, and unexpected costs. Conversations with employees, on the other hand, provide insights into why these issues happen and can uncover other areas for improvement that data alone might miss. This approach ensures businesses focus on the right process to automate business processes, making operations smoother and more efficient.

For example, looking at data might show that after your busiest months, your company takes longer to receive payments. Automating accounting tasks, like billing and invoicing, could help speed up the process. However, when you talk to your billing team, you might discover an even better solution——using CRM to automate business processes, ensuring smoother customer interactions and faster payments.

CRM software can automatically handle client communications and organize essential customer details, reducing the time your team spends on paperwork. It allows them to focus on building stronger relationships with clients, leading to better customer satisfaction, loyalty, and even more sales. By combining data analysis with employee feedback, businesses can find the best automation opportunities, not just minor improvements.

You need to know more: Reimagining Business Processes: The Power of Automation and AI Integration

2. Find repetitive tasks to Automate Business Processes

After identifying areas that need improvement, the next step is deciding which tasks are best suited for automation. Since technology works best with repetitive and predictable tasks, businesses should focus on areas where they can automate business processes to save the most time and effort.

Tasks that are done frequently are the best candidates because automating them provides long-term benefits. Even though setting up automation takes time and money, it becomes worthwhile when a task is repeated many times. Also, if a task has fewer variations or exceptions, it’s easier to automate business processes since the system won’t have to handle too many different situations. By choosing the right tasks, businesses can maximize efficiency and make the most of automation.

Let’s consider a sales department that uses email to communicate with customers. Two common types of emails are purchase confirmations and replies to customer questions.

Purchase confirmations are easy to automate business processes because they are mostly the same, with only a few details changing for each transaction. For example, the message will generally say the same thing, with just the product name, price, and customer details being different.

On the other hand, responding to customer questions is more complicated. Customers ask a variety of questions, each requiring a different answer. While technology like AI-based chatbots can help answer some common questions, using automation to automate business processes in customer support is trickier because the system needs to handle many different scenarios.

3. Prioritize areas to automate Business Processes

When you’re looking to automate business processes using Business Process Automation (BPA), there can be a long list of potential tasks to choose from. However, it’s not always clear where to begin. The key is to focus on tasks that, when automated, will have the most significant impact on your business. It means choosing processes that will save the most time, reduce errors, or improve overall efficiency. By prioritizing the tasks that will make the biggest difference, you’ll see more value from implementing BPA.

If you’re just getting started with automate business processes using Business Process Automation (BPA), it’s a good idea to begin with tasks that are easier to automate. Setting up automation can take time and needs certain skills. Not all automations work perfectly right away, and some may not perform as expected. By starting with simpler tasks and gradually moving on to more complex ones, you can learn and build your skills step by step. This way, you’ll become more confident and capable in using BPA.

Some companies choose to automate business processes by first identifying a specific business goal they want to achieve. They then focus on automating tasks that will help the most in reaching that goal. While saving money (cost-cutting) is a common goal, BPA can also be helpful for companies that want to grow. By automating the right processes, companies can scale up and handle more work without needing to add more resources or staff.

Sometimes, companies choose to automate specific departments or groups because each group may have different needs. It is essential in industries like healthcare or financial services, where other parts of the business follow different rules and regulations. By focusing on one group at a time, companies can make sure they automate processes that meet the unique requirements of each area.

Another way to automate business processes is by focusing on one type of process at a time across the entire company. Instead of jumping between different kinds of processes, it can be more efficient to automate similar tasks all at once. This way, the rollout of automation can be quicker, cheaper, and of better quality because you’re not trying to manage too many different types of changes at once.

Remember, the best way to automate business processes will depend on what’s most important for your business. Some businesses might have urgent issues that need immediate attention. In those cases, addressing the urgent problems should be the top priority, even if it means putting other considerations aside for a while.

Read also: What is the Business Workflow Process? Benefits and Examples

4. Create a Holistic Plan to Automate Business Processes

When making a big change to a business process, it’s important to plan everything carefully. This plan should not only focus on the task you’re automating but also consider how it will affect other processes and the whole company. Consider the bigger picture, like how the change might impact different areas of the business. Key things to consider include how the new process fits with existing workflows and how it will affect the company’s overall goals and operations.

• When automating, it’s important to look at the whole process, not just the part that’s easiest to automate. Make sure that the improvements you’re making are worth the investment in automation. Sometimes, instead of making small changes one after the other, it’s better to do a bigger overhaul all at once. For example, if you’re planning to automate outbound emails and also upgrade your customer relationship management (CRM) system, it might be smarter to do both at the same time to reduce disruption. It’s like digging up a road to fix a water pipe and then digging it up again later for sewer work—it’s better to do both tasks at once instead of causing more disruption by digging up the road twice.
• When automating a process, you need to think about how it will affect the steps before (upstream), after (downstream), and nearby (adjacent) processes. For example, if you’re using software to automate business processes, you need to check if the software can handle the information that people used to input manually via email. Similarly, think about the output of the automated process—will anyone need to explain or interpret the results, or will the system handle that automatically? It’s important to consider how the automation fits into the entire flow of work, not just the task you’re automating.
• When thinking about automation, it’s important to consider the whole company, not just individual processes. If you focus only on automating single tasks, you might miss out on bigger opportunities to transform the organization. For example, automation can free up time for staff, and that extra time can be used for more valuable work, like designing new products that could shape the future of the business. If you automate business processes, it allows your team to focus on such important tasks, it might be worth prioritizing that automation, even if it doesn’t lead to immediate efficiency gains. The long-term benefits could far outweigh the short-term ones.

5. Establish clear roles.

It’s essential to clearly define who is responsible for each part of the automation process. Just because one task is automated doesn’t mean everything else will stay the same. People will still need to oversee the process to ensure everything is working correctly and that no important steps or exceptions are missed. You’ll need to assign roles for managing the data that goes into the automation, checking the results, handling any mistakes or issues, and managing the output. This way, everyone knows their responsibilities, and the process runs smoothly.

Let’s consider an example of a company automating its invoicing process. A reliable accounting system can significantly reduce manual work by automatically generating invoices, calculating the total charges for each, and populating customer contact details. However, humans are still required to input billing and customer information, and they may also need to review the invoices before they’re sent out. By implementing automation, companies can automate business processes like invoicing while ensuring accuracy and efficiency. The division of responsibilities for managing this automated billing system might look something like this:

• Sales Team: They record customer orders and make sure that customer information is always updated in the CRM system.
• Invoicing Specialist: They decide when the automated system should create invoices, check them for mistakes, and approve them before they are sent out to customers.
• Sales Manager: They set the rules for how the automated system should create invoices, such as what information it should include and how it should be formatted.
• IT Department: They provide support for the system, making sure it’s working properly and available when needed during business hours.

This example shows that when you add technology, IT teams often end up with more responsibilities. It’s essential to involve them early in the planning stages and ensure they have enough support and resources to help other departments succeed. If you get too excited about automation and roll it out without properly supporting the IT team, they could become overworked and frustrated, which can lead to problems later on. By ensuring proper planning and collaboration, businesses can effectively automate business processes without overwhelming their IT teams.

6. Create SOPs.

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are a set of instructions that outline the steps for completing a specific task or process. They help people quickly learn new roles or step in for someone else when needed. SOPs also make it easier to automate business processes because they clearly describe the steps that can be automated. It ensures everything runs smoothly and consistently.

Large companies know that having Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is essential for making sure tasks are done the same way every time, no matter who is doing them or where they are working. Since big companies often have employees coming and going, SOPs help ensure that everyone can follow the same steps. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, may not realize the importance of SOPs right away. Startups often avoid creating too many rules or documenting things that the team already knows. However, as the company grows and more people are hired, relying only on people’s memory can lead to problems with consistency and efficiency. Without clear procedures in place, it will also be more challenging automate business processes effectively.

7. Don’t forget business process management.

Business Process Management (BPM) is a methodical way to improve the processes that happen regularly within a company. BPM doesn’t always require automation, but it often includes automating tasks to make them more efficient. In fact, automate business processes is becoming an important and popular part of BPM. The techniques and tools used in BPM to organize, document, and improve human-driven tasks can also be applied to automated processes.

8. Train users

Training employees is an important step when automating business processes, but some companies forget about it until the last minute. Employees need to be trained not just on how to use the new technology but also on how the new automated process works. While companies usually recognize the need for training on the technology itself, business process automation often changes how tasks are done and who is responsible for them — even for people who don’t directly use the new technology. Therefore, it’s essential to train employees on the latest procedures as well.

One tricky part of training is getting the timing right. You can’t train people too early before the new processes are fully set, but you also can’t wait until the old process is completely gone. Sometimes, you might need to delay the launch of the new system to allow enough time for proper training. It’s better to take the extra time to train employees properly than to deal with constant problems later because they are trying to learn the new system while it’s already in use. Proper training ensures a smooth transition as you automate business processes, helping employees adapt effectively and minimizing disruptions.

9. Create a backup plan.

If the automation doesn’t work as planned, it could cause problems in the workflow or lead to mistakes that affect the business. Also, if you’re using a software solution from a supplier, and they change how the software works or go out of business, it could disrupt your processes. Similarly, suppose other parts of the workflow change and those changes impact the inputs to your automated process. In that case, the automation might not function properly because it wasn’t designed to handle those changes. It’s essential to plan for these risks and have solutions in place to manage them when you Automate Business Processes.

The solution to these potential problems is to have a backup plan. It could be as simple as keeping the option to go back to the old, manual way of doing things if the automation doesn’t work as expected. Having a plan in place is crucial. While automate business processes can bring significant benefits and even transform the way a business operates, there’s no guarantee that every automation will work perfectly every time.

10. Leverage ERP software.

For many companies, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software is a key tool to automate business processes. It helps businesses get even more benefits from automation. NetSuite ERP, for example, has built-in automation features that save time, reduce mistakes, improve accuracy, and keep track of activities more efficiently. With this system, businesses can automate business processes in different areas like sales, finance, and manufacturing using a single platform, making everything run more smoothly and efficiently.

ERP software makes business process automation (BPA) even more valuable because it helps automate business processes by connecting all of a company’s data across different processes, locations, and departments. It means that information from one part of the business can be used to improve other areas. For example, automated reports and tracking systems help companies to analyze past performance and predict future trends. At the same time, they help prevent mistakes and fraud by making it easier to spot unusual patterns. If one department is performing much better than others, it might mean that employees in other areas need more training, or it could reveal a new, successful approach that the whole company should adopt.

Business process automation (BPA) uses technology to automate business processes, helping businesses save money, work faster, and make fewer mistakes. When processes are automated, employees don’t have to spend time on routine, manual work. Instead, they can focus on more critical tasks that add real value to the company. However, not every task should be automated. If automation is not planned and executed properly, it may not work as expected. To get the best results, businesses should carefully choose which processes to automate and follow best practices to ensure a smooth and successful implementation.