BEYOND BOTS - TAKING A PROCESS-FIRST … gaining momentum as part of a shift towards business process automation that’s ... RPA technology is a software system

BEYOND BOTS - TAKING A PROCESS-FIRST APPROACH TO AUTOMATION IN THE WORKPLACE

W H I T E PA P E R

automate | transform | optimise

RPA Right NowBots have been the focus point for attention-grabbing headlines in recent years, which have warned that the digital workforce could make roles redundant from the back office to the boardroom. Despite the hype, most of us have managed to hold onto our jobs – and we’re not (yet) reporting to cyber-bosses.

That said, however, robotic process automation (RPA) has been gaining momentum as part of a shift towards business process automation that’s occurring in a broad range of industries. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, it’s possible to automate as many as 30% of tasks in most occupations1 – and RPA is certainly one of the automation technologies available that can help companies achieve this.

But what role do bots play in the business transformation revolution? Given that it is still an emerging technology, many companies do not fully understand the capabilities – and limitations –

Executive Summary

Key Points

Understand the capabilities - and limitations of RPA

Learn about the benefits and challenges of introducing RPA in its current form

The role of RPA in a wider digital transformation context

WHITE PAPER | BEYOND BOTS - TAKING A PROCESS-FIRST APPROACH TO AUTOMATION IN THE WORKPLACE1 velocity-it.com

1 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/digital-blog/burned-by-the-bots-why-robotic-automation-is-stumbling

of RPA. This can, unfortunately, lead to unmanageable expectations.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the benefits and challenges of introducing RPA technology in its current form, as well as its role in wider digital transformation – in any industry.

What is RPA and where does it add value?

RPA technology is a software system designed to automate routine, high-volume, labour-intensive tasks that would otherwise be handled by human employees.

The technology operates on the user interface (UI) of an existing application, much in the same way that a person would – except the bot is able to complete the task much faster and with no need to rest.

As with any automation tool, RPA is also able to run processes more accurately and consistently than a person, eliminating the risk of human error that is present when even the most skilled, meticulous and engaged employees handle the processes themselves.


Furthermore, because bots operate systems at the UI layer, they can be configured to gain more value and productivity from existing systems, without the need for an extensive or costly rip-and-replace.

These are just a few of the advantages that are fuelling the adoption of RPA technology among companies that want to augment their human resources or achieve higher levels of productivity, operational efficiency and data quality.

What tasks could you assign to a bot?The RPA toolkits available today are designed for organisations that are looking to make easily definable, procedural and repetitive processes more efficient. Of course, these tasks also need to be digital or digitally-triggered, because the robots involved in RPA are virtual (and not capable of handling physical tasks such as sorting through mail or bringing in the tea trolley).

In the back office, for instance, bots can be configured to handle payroll processes, month-end close and the collection of basic employee information during the onboarding phase – provided these tasks are rules-based,

...RPA is able to run processes more accurately and consistently than a person...


consistent and predictable. When these processes need to be executed at high volume, RPA has the potential to significantly reduce labour hours and costs, while boosting productivity and accurate outcomes.

Bots can also add value in customer-centric processes. Because bots can work 24/7, they provide organizations with the ability to be constantly available to their customers – which not only enhances the customer experience but also extends business hours for optimal productivity and profitability. However, as we will discuss later, bots are not yet capable of handling complex customer queries or complaints.

When RPA technology has been augmented with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, it could add even more value by handling tasks that require data gathering and analysis. For example, a bot could respond to a standard customer enquiry by retrieving basic information or data.2

Bots in a supportive rather than threatening role Monotonous processes can waste hours and hours of skilled employees’ time, while eroding their motivation levels. When these tasks are automated through RPA, this liberates employees from being bogged down by these areas of their roles, allowing them to focus on more strategic or value-adding work.

In this way, bots can facilitate employee success – handling the mundane work and enabling people to manage the more complex and potentially more fulfilling projects. This elevates job satisfaction and enables the company to gain optimum value from its existing human resources, who are no longer burdened by routine tasks.

Importantly: there are still many responsibilities that are best left to humans, including any aspect of a process that calls for critical thinking, human judgement, dealing with unexpected outcomes, handling customer emotions and so forth. And when you consider that exceptions to process rules can crop up in almost any occupation, bots are not yet positioned to take over entire job roles.

And this is where one of the key challenges comes in – the fact that even standard roles and processes are not always as definable as they seem. Therefore, to achieve lasting business transformation, it’s essential for organisations to view RPA tools as one part of a more holistic solution that involves:

l Carefully evaluating the processes that need to change

l Assessing whether the processes should be transformed first before they are automated

l Redefining roles and responsibilities to ensure people are delivering as much value as they can.

2 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/digital-blog/burned-by-the-bots-why-robotic-automation-is-stumbling


With RPA solutions interacting at the presentation layer, it’s possible to use these tools with a diverse range of existing systems and apps – in a way that is not too disruptive, because the core technology platform remains in place.

However, when weighing up the value that RPA technology could bring to your business, it’s essential to first assess whether your underlying IT architecture is robust or flexible enough to meet your ongoing business transformation goals.

It’s understandable that some companies will be keen to avoid replacing legacy systems, due to the cost and business downtime associated with such a migration. Thus, to side-step a significant IT upgrade, these organisations are tempted to use RPA technology to stretch the ROI of

IT considerations

their legacy systems. But when these are outdated and incapable of supporting all the organisation’s process transformation goals, RPA could prove to be a quick-fix rather than a lasting digital transformation solution.

Code-free doesn’t mean IT-freeRPA is a code-free technology that does not require specialised software programming skills. This is because bots can be “trained” (or configured) using demonstrative steps, often via graphical interfaces. This allows business units to be more involved in the design of their automated solutions.

In some ways, this alleviates the burden on IT. However, RPA still requires significant involvement from the IT function to make sure that bots are deployed securely, in a way that does not negatively affect other business applications and infrastructure.

Also, when bot resources are scaled across the entire enterprise, this places a great amount of pressure on the IT team, because there are now many RPA solutions that need to be maintained, integrated, kept secure and updated as business needs change.

Bots can be “trained” using demonstrative steps, often via graphical interfaces allowing business units to be more involved in the design of their automated solutions.


Managing expectations While RPA tools may be able to connect various legacy systems for more efficient workflows, they do not solve any of the complications that exist in the underlying systems themselves. Companies therefore need to take care that they don’t expect RPA solutions to solve all their process-related challenges.

Often, a process-first approach is required. This involves developing and rolling out a business process transformation strategy that introduces change from the ground up, through a combination of business process management (BPM) and automation tools, such as business process automation (BPA), which enables organisations to improve the systems that run their processes while benefitting from automation.


What about data?

In data-driven businesses, bots can help to unlock more value from data by automating certain data management processes, such as searching through thousands of documents stored on various legacy systems to retrieve information – or even identify data trends.

One technology enterprise, for example, uses RPA technology to flag potential faults, without human intervention. This solution analyses data collected through

multiple engineering processes to identify problems before they happen and alert the relevant people. This not only saves labour time, but also prevents costly network downtime.3

RPA technology, like any automation system, also provides companies with meta data that enables them to track process performance and inform continuous process improvement. Also, when every action the bot takes is logged, this leaves a digital audit trail which provides immense value to risk and compliance functions.

Unstructured data can be an obstacleCurrently, RPA technology is unable to process data that is paper-based or unstructured. This means that a bot would need other technologies (with optical character and natural language recognition capabilities) – or employees – to first turn the paper-based data into digital data, and then structure it, before running the relevant process.4

Perhaps, in the future, bots will have more sophisticated AI and machine learning capabilities that will enable them to handle all these steps alone, in addition to many more intelligent automation functions. Today’s RPA solutions are not quite there yet.

With an RPA solution, processes can identify problems before they happen and alert the relevant people.

3 https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/automation-beyond-factory-floor/4 https://www.uipath.com/blog/rpa-in-our-own-words-managing-unstructured-data


Is RPA the solution you’re looking for?As the hype begins to die down, organisations are realising that – like any technology – RPA is not a magic bullet. Bots cannot (in their current form anyway) be configured to solve all types of business challenges, nor fulfil all digital transformation requirements across the enterprise.

It’s therefore important that your organisation does not look to bots as a solution for prolonging the life of your legacy systems, when deeper process transformation is needed. Automating outdated or poorly designed processes does not equate to true digital transformation – and thus, RPA is only one part of a broader automation and business transformation strategy.

How can Velocity help?

+44 (0) 1908 545 [email protected]

Technology House151 Silbury BoulevardMilton Keynes, MK9 1LHUnited Kingdom


At Velocity, we believe that “R” is only part of the “PA”. In other words, robotic process automation is not a cure-all, but rather one part of an orchestrated strategy towards process excellence. As process automation experts, we can help you to build a business case for RPA technology; and understand where this automation approach could add value – and where it could fall short.

Ultimately, we recommend taking a process-first approach to business transformation, which involves:

l Identifying processes that would benefit from automation

l Re-designing each process – removing redundant steps and assigning responsibilities

l Choosing the best automation technology (is RPA the best fit?)

l Modelling each automated process before implementation to ensure all stakeholders’ expectations are understood and met

We can also support you in planning and executing business process transformation at scale, ensuring you have the relevant security, quality standards and governance protocols in place.

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BEYOND BOTS - TAKING A PROCESS-FIRST … gaining momentum as part of a shift towards business process automation that’s ... RPA technology is a software system