5 Big Misconceptions About Business Process Automation

Life is full of misconceptions. Did you know that black holes don’t actually have any more gravitational pull than other space bodies of comparable size? Or that there’s no evidence that Vikings actually had horned helmets? And that goldfish memories actually last closer to 3 months, not just 3 seconds? Heck, that’s better than mine half the time. I know – you feel lied to, right? Like maybe we should be questioning everything now? Is this blog post real? Are we in the matrix? Is your goldfish still mourning the loss of its friend that you flushed last month?

 Although most misconceptions aren’t super important, life-altering pieces of information (depending on how much the fear of black holes has affected your day-to-day living), some might make a difference in one or two choices you make and could affect you that way. There’s several misconceptions about business process automation that could fall under that category, so allow me to clear a few of those up for you:

1.   A business process automation solution is difficult for employees to learn and adjust to.

This is sort of silly, because it would negate the entire purpose of your solution. The point is to simplify your processes and make them easier than they already are, not more complicated. Part of implementing a simpler solution is, well, it’s simple, so it doesn’t require a ton of learning. In addition, many solutions can integrate with programs you already know how to use, making their introduction almost natural.

2.   Administration of a business process automation solution is a pain.

Most of these solutions don’t require coding, and, once again, they’re purposefully easy to use. As a result, they’re easy to maintain, and you can easily adjust them yourself if your needs change.

3.   All solutions are large.

A software solution might sound like a huge change, but many times it can be just be a small change that has a huge impact. You can scale your solution to be as small or large as you want it to be. We recommend you start small, with one specific process, or even part of a process, that’s giving your department big problems.

4.   Processes must be document-centric.

Just because your department is already using electronic processes doesn’t mean they can’t be improved. Automation works great with data-centric processes, or really anything that’s repetitive and conforms to specific guidelines.

5.   You don’t need it.

Obviously, not EVERYONE needs business process automation. However, there are a lot of people who incorrectly think they fall into that category just because they don’t know the extent its capabilities or they have some sort of other solution. But not all solutions are created equally. The bottom line is if there’s a process that’s lengthy, cumbersome, or expensive, this is something you should look into.

Business process automation solutions are flexible, scalable, and easy to use – three things that make them great for increasing back-office productivity and reducing costs spent on manual processes.  If you’d like more information on how our solutions are helping other organizations, watch our webinar recording below – “Striking Success with Assessment Appeals Automation.”