Summary:
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions use robots to perform various mundane & repetitive tasks. It helps employees to focus on high-priority and productive tasks that can help deliver products faster to the market. Although RPA is the future and includes various benefits like increased productivity, reduced costs, high accuracy, etc., businesses face challenges in adopting RPA. Some challenges are employee resistance, fear of choosing the wrong RPA, setting the right expectations, change management, demand for IT support, infrastructure issues, etc. Every problem has a solution. Similarly, each of these challenges has a solution. Implementing the right solution and moving ahead is what the companies need to do. Companies that adopt the right RPA solutions can build a great future with automation.
Introduction:
Technology has come a long way and has made our lives better, easier, and faster. Automation technology has decreased the need for human intervention. Automation minimizes human intervention by using several controlling methods to operate tasks such as factories, operating machines, switching mobile networks, handling ships and aircraft, vehicle operating, etc.
Some robots manage these tasks, and the process is called Robotic Process Automation (RPA). RPA requires humans to control these robots for performing tasks such as transaction processing, communicating with other devices, triggering responses, etc.
RPA is here to stay. McKinsey reports that the companies that deploy RPA can gain a quick and robust ROI of up to 200% in the first year of deployment and 20-25% cost savings. If you’re someone looking out for RPA implementation, then you should know the benefits as well. RPA can also enhance productivity & efficiency, reduce costs, deliver products faster to the market, and provide high accuracy.
Well, implementing RPA in your business can be exciting as you can entirely transform your business. But, real-time implementation of RPA for any business is not a cakewalk because it has specific challenges associated with it. In this article, we have listed the top 5 challenges that appear while implementing RPA. Let’s go ahead and understand each of them in detail and figure out how to help you overcome these challenges.
Top 5 Challenges in Implementing RPA
1. Dealing with Employee Resistance
As mentioned earlier, robots are said to minimize the need for human intervention as they automate business processes. It is one of the primary reasons why employees will resist the adoption of RPA in the organization. Also, humans are fearful of any changes that occur after the implementation of RPA in the organization. These changes can be stressful, and the employees’ responsibilities & tasks can also change. Moreover, it demands new skills, frequent communication, and an implementation process.
Well, every problem has a solution. The best thing you can do is, before implementation, you can educate your employees about what robots are, what they can do, and what they cannot do. Also, help them understand that robots are here to enhance their working process and help them ease their tasks. You should always invest in your employees to upgrade them as per the technology needs. The employees should be clear about the expected goals, outcomes, and responsibilities so that resistance is less.
2. Choosing the right RPA
Choosing the right RPA for your business is one of the most common issues that companies come across. It is because of the lack of guidance and skills to choose the right solution. Selecting the right RPA vendor can also be a challenging task. After implementation, if you feel that RPA is too complex, doesn’t do the custom job, or is too costly for maintenance, then there is a high probability that you have chosen the wrong RPA for your business.
You can overcome this challenge. Always go with template-driven processes based on standardized and predictive rules. Also, RPA is for processes that need heavy manual input tasks and repetitive & mundane tasks that are prone to human errors. These are the scenarios that require automation. The more stable your business process, the more smooth and effective will be your automated process.
3. Begin with the correct forecast.
The benefits RPA offers will drive the expectations of the stakeholders, the employees, and their managers to a high level. But, it is crucial to keep your feet on the ground because having huge expectations can affect the outcome of automation and the decisions regarding scaling up to the enterprise level. You should always be well aware of the limits of what RPA can & can’t do. Also, be well-versed in managing the expectations of RPA deployment.
All you can do is analyze your business objectives and figure out how RPA can help you achieve them. Also, list out the high-priority tasks your employees can do while their recurring and tedious tasks are taken care of by RPA.
4. Demand for Support from IT Department
RPA implementation for any business will require dependency on support from the IT department. It should be avoided throughout the automation process. RPA expert Nicole Schultz quotes that “finance cannot depend on IT for RPA; it needs to be owned by the business side.” Companies will need a Process Design Document for the pilot phase to identify all the issues in the software so that the project’s technical team can rectify them. The document can include process workflows, data-specific business rules, a list of issues identified, etc. This pilot phase will help in the long-term development of the business.
5. Infrastructure Issues
One size doesn’t fit all. RPA infrastructure varies based on the automation model you wish to implement. When you decide to implement RPA for your business, you should know that it will require seamless integration between interdependent automated activities to avoid any inconveniences. If you’re implementing RPA in silos, then you may come across hindrances and delays. To overcome these hindrances, RPA requires a centralized team to manage all the business processes. Choosing the correct RPA infrastructure configuration will lay a foundation for a successful automation journey. RPA providers can guide you to select the tools you need for your business to benefit from them and deliver excellent business value.
Conclusion
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a solution that drives digital transformation in any industry. It will enhance business processes by eliminating any hindrances in the business. RPA will shift humankind to perform more efficient and skilled works rather than any repetitive tasks. It is one of the excellent tools to reduce business costs and enhance efficiency. When businesses know the challenges and have a perfect plan to overcome them, they will gain better returns. Overcoming the challenges will require businesses to invest time in strategic planning to analyze the processes and begin automation. Even though RPA has specific challenges, companies are still willing to adopt RPA solutions because it will provide massive growth to businesses that implement them. Businesses can also organize their future with RPA solutions.