Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has not been around for very long. Back in May 2013, McKinsey predicted that robotic advances would transform life, business, and the global economy. In a short time since then, RPA has made rapid strides across a range of sectors—so much so that it has reached a stage of maturity where it is now a must for companies determined to pursue a real competitive advantage vis-à-vis their competition.
Each company looking to implement RPA will have many questions they are looking for answers on, the main among them being the challenges faced when implementing RPA at organizations. This article shares what are the major challenges faced during RPA implementation, and how you as an organization can overcome these.
These are the top challenges an organization faces when implementing RPA –
- Starting with expectations that may be unrealistic
Let’s face it. We all want to generate revenue for the company, and by automating most processes we can bring loads of benefits. While this is important, keeping realistic expectations is key. It is not possible to adapt all processes in your organization to RPA, at least not at first. It needs to be a step-by-step process. A proper understanding of the organization’s hierarchy and existing processes is key to identifying how RPA should be implemented. Based on this study, RPA implementation will need to be planned in a phased manner, starting with a single process to be automated, which brings us to the next challenge.
- Picking the most appropriate process to automate first
Not all processes are suitable to be automated. It is necessary to identify processes with clear instructions based on standardized or predictive rules. A good idea would be to pick a business process that is more stable – in that it is less error-prone and has less manual intervention. An added bonus would be if the process has measurable savings that can be evaluated. Once the challenges that come with this process implementation is overcome, it is easy to plan for the next process automation.
- Managing employee resistance
A very known RPA challenge, and it pertains to all companies due to a simple fact – humans fear change by nature. Any change that accompanies the implementation of a new technology is stressful as they experience shifts in their responsibilities. Frequent communication by business leaders will help employees know what is expected of them through the implementation process. This is key to essential adoption of RPA by the organization.
- Ownership and Change Management
The question of who owns RPA within the organization during and after implementation. Would it be the business teams or the IT team? It is imperative that both the business and the IT teams are on this together. The business teams need to set goals for themselves to enhance the business processes progressively through RPA by providing requirements that foster growth. The IT teams should work with the business teams to ensure use cases are properly implemented, and the infrastructure is stable for the use of RPA across the organization.
- Industry-specific use cases
Your concern can be – will it take long to implement RPA at my organization, given the processes at my organization/sector are unique. The RPA has reached a mature stage within many sectors, such as banking, insurance, healthcare, energy, telecommunications, and the government/public sector, among many others. RPAs have built-in templates that are easily adaptable for your organization’s use. If processes at your organization are different from those of the templates, RPA tools can be adapted easily to your organization’s process needs – with hundreds of drags and options available.
At the outset, implementing RPA might seem daunting. Yet, careful planning helps side-step these concerns and fully leverage what RPA has to offer. The competitive advantage RPA offers far outweighs the pain-points, if properly planned and implemented, and can give your organization the boost it requires to pursue its competitive advantage.
Finesse, a leading RPA provider in the UAE, provides smart RPA solutions to organizations across the GCC. Finesse has been certified as a Centre of Excellence for the implementation of Automation Anywhere – a state-of-the-art RPA tool that has users across BPO, Financial Services, Government / Public Sector, Healthcare, Insurance, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, and Telecommunications.
