The drive within businesses during the past four years of recession has been to reduce operating costs by eliminating labor, and then to replace this lost labor with new systems capabilities (principally business process automation) that allow them to maintain the leaner staffs without rehiring. In the past, this was difficult to do because systems just weren’t “smart” or user-friendly enough to deliver the degree of automation needed — intelligent, process logistics that also factored in decision-making that was formerly done by human beings.
Since then, these systems have come a long way. Consider the following examples: A fraud detection system that studies usage patterns for customers’ credit cards and then issues alerts whenever these usage patterns vary from customary use. The system is the first line of defense employed by credit unions and banks in their payment processing departments — and it is entirely automated
A fully automated warehouse where robots and mechanized shelves pull inventory on demand and then roll it up to a worker who formerly had to do this parts-picking himself, traversing 15 miles of concrete floor each day
Business analytics dashboards that automatically flag traffic or fleet usage, and auto- or re-provision resources to ensure territorial coverage by delivery trucks
Automated call systems that take users through a series of options and then auto-route calls to the right areas of the business, or that are able to complete transactions with customers themselves, without requiring human intervention
Systems like these have delivered cost savings and business process benefits to companies, but there can also be a dark side — raising the question of how much business automation is too much?
In the retail sector, item codes are automatically scanned into checkout systems, allowing cashiers to quickly key in codes that pull up pricing and get people through the lines. Inevitably, one item comes up that is not coded into the system. It sometimes takes three or four cashiers, or someone running back to the produce department, to figure out the price and then how to override the system so the price can be entered on the bill.
In addition, customer service is an area that has taken a real hit when it comes to customer fulfillment and even transaction consummation. Customers get discouraged by the layers of options and questions they are asked, when all they want to do is to talk to a real human being. And while it’s great if you are placing an order with an ebusiness, what if you have to make a return? Reverse logistics often fall through the cracks with e-stores. Returns are painful, time consuming and not well handled by present-day business process automation.
Another potential challenge arises with automated provisioning and resource monitoring. It’s wonderful if you load four virtual systems at 4GB of RAM each on a 12-GB processor, especially if each system typically uses only 1 or 2GB. But what if production spikes and all four systems require their full 4GB? Overnight, there is a performance problem. Many automated software management tools will give you system-by-system performance data, but not all give a holistic view of how resources across the board are functioning.
The moral of the story is that there are lines that business process automation can cross where it becomes more of a hindrance than a help. This is an area where IT can assist the enterprise with its knowledge of business and system process flows. As business process automation is considered, evaluations should be made, not only of where automation can contribute but also those business processes where it is critical to the enterprise’s business model to have human touch-points and decision-making. In that vein, here are some guidelines to consider.
Always discuss the automation of any business process by also covering situations or process points where it is critical for human (not automated) decisions to be made. If an exception needs to be made for a customer, the system can include an override that must be exercised by a supervisor with the authority to do so.
Don’t forget the human element. It is public knowledge that customers disdain automated call-center attendants, and they also get disgusted with call-center agents who read from automated scripts and don’t understand the products that they’re supposed to be discussing. Despite business process automation’s helpfulness to the customer experience, there is a competitive advantage awaiting the company that can deliver the quality of service with a real human being who knows the product and who can answer the customer’s question in a single phone call that takes less than 10 minutes.
Don’t breed intelligence out of the business. The danger of going too far with business process automation is its potential to condition employees into a mental lethargy. Then, when a business exception comes around, or a smart analytics report delivers data that fails to synchronize with what is really happening, there is no one there to think through the situation on her own. This is why it is always critical to ensure that employees don’t lose sight of the business, and that they understand that automated business processes and technologies are only tools.
For more information, see:
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Help Desk Automation
Self-Service Data Centers: The Next Step in IT Automation
Improve Efficiency, Increase IT Productivity and Reduce Costs
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