What Is IT Process Automation & How Does It Help?

Are your employees tied up in repetitive tasks? Are human errors costing you money and clients? Are productivity and efficiency an issue with your employees?

If yes, then IT process automation is a solution that can eliminate repetitive tasks, reduce the scope of human error, save costs and improve productivity.

An IT process can be defined as a set of steps your IT team has to follow to achieve the desired result. Now, there can be multiple such processes in high volume.

The IT team may get bored or tired of working on them. And this opens a window for mistakes and errors. So with automation, you will be using technology to perform such processes, eliminating the need for manual checks and management.

We will explore how IT process automation works and the many benefits it offers businesses.

First, identify the repetitive task that does not require decision-making skills. Then, create a workflow on how the task should be handled. You can either run the automated task at a specific time during the day or set up triggers for when certain conditions are met.

Once the task is completed, it can send out communication emails or notify stakeholders in case of further action is required.

If you are unsure how IT process automation can help your business, here are some benefits to help you decide.

• Streamline Processes
• Improved Efficiency
• Compliance
• Better Collaboration
• Cost Savings
• Improved Accuracy
• Consistent Service
• Employee Satisfaction
• Customer Satisfaction

Processes can get confusing when you have multiple stakeholders involved. For example, you may have a process outlined. But employees are individuals who can interpret the outline in different ways.

They can have different ways of handling the same process. This creates discrepancies and leaves room for error.

Automating the IT process enforces consistency across the organization. It also makes it easier to create, implement and manage changes on a large scale.

Automation can help improve the overall productivity and efficiency of your business. Repetitive tasks over a period can get boring for employees. This can affect their response and processing time.

With automation, such routine tasks can be acknowledged and processed faster and more consistently.

Automated tasks can run around the clock. So, for certain business operations, you can be available for customers 24/7. And if human intervention is required, automated triggers can get the right team on the issue at the earliest.

Businesses must follow specific regulations and laws depending on the country and state they are based in.

For example, the healthcare sector has strict HIPAA compliance requirements to follow. Hospitals, insurers, and other stakeholders with access to sensitive patient information must ensure data protection.

Automation provides increased control over processes that deal with such data. As a result, it becomes easier to ensure compliance across all devices.

With automated communications, all teams responsible for a particular function or deliverable get notified at the same time. There is no scope for ambiguity or miscommunication.

As responsible parties are notified, it improves transparency and helps employees better collaborate within the team and also with other teams in the organization.

IT process automation can help save business costs. It can also save time and effort spent by employees. With automation, you are replacing human effort with technology.

There can be an upfront cost involved, but once the process is automated, you no longer have to make regular payments to employees for that particular work.

Also, as employees no longer spend their time on repetitive tasks, you can redirect their efforts to creative aspects of the business. Again, this is a better utilization of the resources at hand.

Human errors are part and parcel of businesses. Your employees may be trying their best, but causes like fatigue, typing mistakes, or loss of attention can result in errors. And these errors can cost businesses a lot of money.

For example, In October 2020, an Excel issue led to around 16,000 Covid-19 going unreported by the PHE.

Another human error case caused Citigroup to mistakenly transfer $900 million to Revlon Inc.’s lenders. According to Citi’s court filings, they are arguing that manual checks failed to catch the error.

In such cases, if verification and validation checks are automated, there is less room for error. For example, employees cannot execute a transaction unless a background security check does not issue a clearance.

You can further optimize the check to send communications on recurring errors. In addition, you can use the information to make system changes and improve accuracy.

The way employees handle queries, requests, and tickets can differ. However, with automation, you implement a standard process of dealing with issues.

This helps you show a united front to the customers. The quality of service they receive remains consistent. You can utilize automation to develop a relationship of trust and confidence with customers.

Employees are paid to perform business functions. But the reality is they can get bored and demotivated when they perform the same tasks over and over again. This, in turn, can affect productivity, hurting your bottom line.

IT process automation can free employee time from repetitive tasks. The time claimed back can be utilized to upskill, explore opportunities, and scale the business to new heights.

You can also consider working with an MSP and using their IT service desk outsourcing offering to reduce the burden on your internal teams.

Happy employees tend to be more productive, and it also helps you retain top talent in the long run.

Streamlining workflows, automating checks, and triggering communications and alerts aim to help employees deliver work efficiently and accurately. This improves the way you respond and deal with customers.

For example, you are responding to customer queries quicker, they receive high-quality service regardless of which customer representative they speak to, their issues get resolved quickly, and so on.

These are noticeable parameters that improve customer satisfaction. And happy and loyal customers are proof that your business delivers on its promises.

IT process automation can take care of repetitive tasks while your employees can focus on critical business deliverables. Sending emails, answering frequently asked questions, employee onboarding, and status updates are some examples of automated tasks.

Automation can help your business streamline workflows and improve collaboration, productivity, and efficiency. You reduce the scope of human errors while saving on costs and efforts. In addition, your employees are able to respond to customer queries and resolve issues quicker.

These factors can help you retain employees and customers and maintain service quality across the organization.