Alistair Sergeant, Founder and CEO of digital consultancy Equantiis and intelligent automation solution, Niico.
According to McKinsey only few jobs will become fully automated, but over 60% of jobs have at least 30% automatable activities. Despite this, there remains concern that Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will result in a wealth of industries becoming redundant, resulting in widespread job losses.
However, the reality is quite the opposite.Automation doesn’t exist to replace workers, but to empower teams to focus on the things they are great at, rather than the menial tasks that get in the way of their day-to-day jobs.
The finance industry stands to benefit from these changes over the coming years, where automation will play a key role in the management of fraud and money laundering for example, liberating workforces as a result.
That said, let’s explore why automation solutions so powerful and understand howthey boost efficiency throughout the financial services industry:
Automation Reduces Human Error
RPA can almost eradicate the risk of human error. This is vital in the financial services sector where the handling of sensitive information is a regular occurrence and applications can be lengthy and rigorous. We know mistakes in this arena can be costly and damaging, therefore implementing intelligence to combat these challenges could save thousands of pounds for financial institutions.
In addition, it is likely staff will appreciate delegating this responsibility to accurate automation, eliminating the stress sometimes experienced from working on smaller administrative tasks. When stretched for time small mistakes can happen and these can add up over time. Automation avoids this, and the added benefit means there is less pressure on teams who are focusing on other areas of the company.
See Improvements in Productivity
Taking the weight off your employee’s will make space for increased productivity, allowing them the space to work on initiatives that they are passion about and trained for. We know that allowing staff more time to work on the things they enjoy has no end of benefits for businesses. If a team are happier, they will certainly be more productive which will soon reflect in better customer satisfaction and business growth. With more time to focus on the things that matter, the more improvements can be made.
Ultimately, happy, and productive staff are the key to retention, which will save the company in training costs over the years as they are much more likely to stay longer at an organisation.
Strengthen Business Communication
Strengthening your internal business communications can only be a good thing, especially in a post-pandemic world where people are no longer working shoulder to shoulder on a regular basis. Automation solutions provide an intelligent way to avoid unnecessary phone calls, emails, and meetings when updates can be sent automatically, informing all involved of the latest news on a task, project, or issue. It is also a fuss-free way of reminding staff of the regular tasks they are expected to achieve.
This is invaluable in a world that has shifted to a preference in time-consuming video communications due to hybrid working. Gone are the days of arranging a Zoom call to discuss the status of tasks when you can a set up a simple automation that can do it for you.
Creates an Environment of Efficiency
Administrative tasks are often the most regularly automated. This is because it frees up employee time for work of higher value activities. Additionally, they are the tasks that take a significant amount of time, but equally aren’t of the highest priority for staff members who are skilled in other more specialist areas.
As discussed, when used correctly automation can allow for much better efficiency across your team. No longer will your top talent have to spend time on tasks that don’t suit their skillset, instead they will work on meaningful strategy that will drive results.
Transform Customer Experience
Automating internal tasks is incredibly useful but automating your customers’ experience can be the difference between them choosing your business over a competitor. With fast-developing technologies paving the way, attention spans are plummeting which means that customers and clients are likely to lose patience and head elsewhere if they are made to wait any longer than they deem appropriate in the modern day, which unfortunately, can be seconds. This means the more efficient you can make form-filling processes or financial approvals the better for business.
The financial sector is rapidly investing in RPA and is currently one of its biggest adopters, for good reason. As examined above, there are lots of benefits for introducing automation tools into your workflow. The opportunities available are not to be feared, but instead applauded for encouraging talent to thrive within financial organisations.
