How Robotic Automation Changes the Way Work Gets Done

By Sue Watts

It is difficult to explain robotic automation to the uninitiated.

When people hear the term, they immediately conjure up images of huge, hulking machines working on assembly lines. But robotic automation is much different. In fact, you really can’t see it, but you can see the results in back office and business operations around the world.

To begin, robotic automation, or ‘bots’ are intangible. It is general purpose software that is customized with a scripted decision tree to complete a process. And when an enterprise deploys ‘bots’ – their workforce changes. No longer are you recruiting staff to perform repetitive, monotonous tasks that require little judgment and even less training.  Those tasks are now performed by software robotics that automate a process, freeing staff to be re-trained and re-deployed to duties that require subjective qualities like creativity and innovation.

Automation Is the New Standard

Not only is a company’s workforce changing – the way work gets done changes, too. Robotic automation will be table stakes for any large organization – a company operating on a global scale or a government serving millions of constituents.  To ignore robotic automation will render an organization ineffectual and irrelevant.  Simply put, the benefits outweigh the risks – in fact, it’s not even a fair comparison.

It would be like providing new staffers with manual typewriters and rotary phones, and ask them to be as productive as colleagues who have the latest laptops and mobile devices.

Automation is at an inflection point in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, but it has already changed how work gets done. For example, anyone who has hired a lawyer may have benefitted from a version of robotic automation – electronic discovery. E-discovery is robotic software that can review hundreds of documents (letters, emails, etcetera) for specific information, rather than deploying a legal clerk. And more automation is on the way.

By deploying robotic automation software, such as Xerox ClearSight™ Automated Intelligence and Xerox ClearSight™ Case Management, not only are we streamlining back office processes, we’re integrating robotic tools with human users so they work side-by-side – and that changes how work is done.

Six Ways Automation Improves Your Business

While increasing productivity, automation represents an opportunity to transform the back-office and improve business performance across the entire organization by:

• Enhancing agility — automation tools have the ability to interact with any customer-facing application. These tools  can gather and act on information quicker and more accurately.
• Minimizing risk — standardizes best practices with a company’s operations.
• Increasing governance and security — automation tools provide a safe, controlled and secure environment that provides high end security for traditional manual tasks.
• Enriching business analysis — automation provides ‘true business insight’ by processing data quickly and accurately.
• Cutting data entry costs by up to 70 percent — eliminates confusion and unclear guidelines.
• Providing 24/7 support.

When robotics and human users are integrated in heart of your business processes, your employees are able to serve your customers better. In our customer care centers, we’ve seen calls reduced by as much as 50 percent — and that’s an average. We all know that our callers have busy lives. Spending less time on the phone is always a good thing.

Xerox Automation Services allow us to deliver improved productivity, quality and reduced costs to your operations while allowing your staff to focus on higher value business processes.

For more information:
www.xerox.com/automation
automation@xerox.com