6 Things Business Leaders Need to Know About RPA in 2022

Businesses are run by leaders. Their vision about the concerned industry shapes the future of the organization. And knowledge plays an important role in creating such a vision. In today’s fast-evolving business world, where dynamic changes take place very often, it is important for industry leaders to get themselves updated. It helps them understand the pulse of the industry better and assists in moving on the right track.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one such area of IT that is evolving with time. There is a huge potential to grow in this vertical but business leaders need to know some key trending things to manage projects better.

Here, in this blog, we present to you those important things that business leaders need to know about RPA in 2022.

The term robotic process automation (RPA) was coined quite a long ago but its widespread adoption in industry has materialized in recent times. It is considered as a newer technology about which organizations are not fully aware of. In a popular survey conducted by leading automation giant – UiPath, it is found that only 15% of the organization have been using RPA bots for more than 5 years.

What It Suggests To Business Leaders: As RPA technology is new, there are various misconceptions floating around this fascinating technology. It is thus vital to promote the benefits of RPA software and its applications amongst target audience and stakeholders. Use famous case studies, whitepapers, videos, e-books, PPTs, etc., to make sales conversations engaging. Unless your prospects understand the RPA applications better, chances of them coming on board always be bleak. You can conduct live demos and webinars as well to win over their confidence. 

Companies across the world are now understanding the potential of implementing RPA software. Small to mid-sized to large organizations, all now want to scale their business success by embracing digitalization. And guess what? Robotic Process Automation (RPA) comes on the top of their minds to meet this endeavour. Whether it is Manufacturing, FMCG, Pharmaceutical, Telecom, Banking & Financial, or other industries, its profound applications or use cases are making everyone enthralled about RPA. According to one survey, it is estimated that robotic process automation (RPA) will become a USD 13.74 billion industry by 2028, registering a CAGR of 32.8%.

What It Suggests To Business Leaders: The positive growth estimation reflects that there is a tremendous potential for RPA solution providers to expand their business. Gaining deeper expertise in top RPA tools like UiPath, Blue Prism, Automation Anywhere, etc., along with having powerful collaborations with automation giants can give you distinct leverage to make it big in the market.

It’s true that initially cost reduction was one of the single most encouraging factors behind the adoption of RPA applications but slowly things have transformed. Today, enterprises are equally enthusiastic about gaining greater productivity, efficiency, accuracy, data security & access control, etc. Moreover, enterprises desire to improve scalability, customer experience, product quality, and data analytics capabilities as well to make the best from their RPA projects.

What It Suggests To Business Leaders: As the global competition is rising, organizations around the world do not want to lag behind in any quality aspect. Enterprises have many expectations from automation solution providers. RPA managers thus need to carefully understand the end goals at the initial stage and craft customized RPA solutions accordingly. A few steps to follow:

• Understand business processes 
• Involve all stakeholders
• Notify rule-based process 
• Document all requirements & project estimations
• Choose an RPA tool
• Create Workflows 
• Initiate RPA development process
• Test
• Modify 
• Run a pilot project 
• Go live by implementing RPA if all things go well at the prior stage

RPA professionals are well-aware of the growing demands of skilled professionals in the automation industry. According to one survey, it is estimated that 92% of RPA professionals are very optimistic about a lucrative career in the automation sector. The study also reveals that most of the RPA professionals are happy with their current assignments. But a desire for better pay encourages them to look for better opportunities. Data reveals that 36% of skilled RPA professionals are actively looking for a change, 44% not actively but open for newer opportunities.

What It Suggests To Business Leaders: Talented people are hard to find. And when it comes to the RPA industry, it becomes really difficult to replace a good candidate. Higher management thus needs to create a better collaboration with employees. Better promotion, giving diverse roles, employee engagement programs, proper grievance management system, positive work environment, and healthy relationships can help you retain them for long. 73% of RPA professionals want to continue working from home. Giving them flexibility (with proper responsibility) is a way to win over them. 

A study reveals that while the majority of RPA professionals are from engineering backgrounds but many from other fields as well are also now entering in the automation domain. People from Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, and various other fields are seeing great opportunities in the RPA sector. Interestingly, women’s participation in the automation field is also quite encouraging as compared to software development. Study shows that 20% of RPA developers are women. In software development, their percentage is just 8%.

What It Suggests To Business Leaders: Don’t get stuck to a certain educational background while hiring. For simple automation, where no-code/low-code is required, any meritorious person with good cognitive skills and aptitude can do good justice to an automation job. Also, be open to offer automation roles to software developers who are doing well internally in your organization. Consider finding candidates amongst your existing employees. They might surprise you with their superb learning skills. 

Right from process discovery, RPA development, testing, deployment, and maintenance, all stages require complex technical skills. In technology, things do not remain the same for long. Constant advancement happens in all technical areas and RPA is not untouched by it.

What It Suggests To Business Leaders: Always keep a close watch on the latest trends related to RPA. Do follow famous automation blogs, subscribe to newsletters, participate in webinars/seminars/automation expos, etc. Establish a discussion forum, where skilled and experienced people can come and discuss ideas and the latest advancements concerning the RPA industry. Get ready to upgrade the team’s skills as per the new advancements and embrace new tools and technologies to deliver innovative solutions uninterruptedly.