Let’s face it – we keep on seeing the word “quality” everywhere around us. Even in the business world, it seems like it is a buzzword and a goal for many organizations. Plenty of businesses tried to give it a new meaning, too – for instance, some coined the term TQI (Total Quality Improvement) and others used specific processes to eliminate errors from manufacturing, sales, order entry, inventory, etc.
Quality programs are being deployed all around the world as we speak. Most of them require intensive preparation, education, and training of all executives and managers – and some even need a full organization restructuring. With Robotic Process Automation (RPA), quality is a simpler goal. The goal of RPA is to build bots (software robots) that would act as a hand-off between the mundane tasks and all the processes that need human attention. Below, we are addressing the topic in detail and showing you how to boost quality with Robotic Process Automation.
With RPA, You Can Eliminate Human Error
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a process that helps with automating tasks step by step. Initially, you can work on all the tasks that are typically done by humans, and all the ones which are prone to errors. Most of these tasks are the repetitive ones, such as data entry – here, bots can be amazing and keep human error at 0%.
Whether it’s checking, reconciliation of record-matching, a bot can work to various specifications. It’s just one of the best ways to automate things – it won’t get tired, can work 24/7, and perform tasks with 100% accuracy and compliance. For us, that is certainly one great way to boost quality.
It’s A Process That Complies With Governance Rules And Regulations.
If you are worried about governance rules, protocols and regulations, you should know that Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is prone to compliance. In fact, most RPA bots are subject to governance controls when performing their tasks, but there are very rare situations where any issues are caught or submitted. Even if that happens, they can be easily fixed.
When deploying RPA, however, you need to rethink your processes and design them in a way that all efficiencies are optimized. You should ensure that the appropriate governance controls are put into place for the bots, and find a controlled way to deal with all the exceptions that potentially arise. For instance, if you deploy an accounts payable bot to flag invoices over a certain amount, you can be calm in ensuring quality of the business’ financial operations.
It’s A Process That Can Be Easily Audited
One of the common concerns for small, mid-sized and large organizations is auditing. Obviously, when deploying robotic operations, some of the first questions that might pop in your head is “how am I going to audit these operations?”. The good thing about Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is that bots perform continuously predictable and reliable tasks, and all of them are recorded.
In other words, you should not worry as all of their activities will be recorded, making auditing extremely easy. As bots begin penetrating business functions throughout the enterprise, auditors must audit them and ensure they comply with established norms and practices. An audit like this makes sure that all results are of high quality.
It Safeguards Your Data Quality
Another great perspective of RPA is the way it protects data quality. In an era where we see plenty of data breaches and even more organizations that are clueless about their data, RPA helps in strategizing and making important business decisions. A process like this serves customers well.
But what’s the direct influence of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) on data quality? The following points paint a better picture:
● Verification on the data that is missing
● Appliance of rules when validating data (checking the formatting, making sure everything is correct and applied to proper fields)
● Transformation of data into the correct format
● Doing complex pattern matching using regular expressions and/or wildcards
To continue with the above mentioned, businesses can get significant cost savings when using bots to improve quality. With better processes throughout the entire customer journey, RPA makes a significant difference in improving customer service and also the company’s bottom line.
Are you prepared for a robotic workforce?
At its core, the leading advantage and reason why people choose Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is its efficiency. Bots (robots doing specific actions) can handle repetitive and data-heavy tasks in an amazing way, posing a challenge to humans who get tired and bored. In comparison, robots don’t face obstacles like these, and are found to perform some tasks up to 500% faster than their human counterparts. An efficiency like this is hard to overlook.
Then, we have speed and repeatability, which are some of the direct factors that apply to productivity. Companies can accomplish more work in less time with the same number of employees – productivity gains like these are extremely valuable.
Then, we have safety. Robotic automation improves safety and makes workplaces safer. For instance, factory workers that work on vehicles are often exposed to toxic chemicals, extreme heat, sharp edges, as well as the general risk of being crushed under the vehicle. With a robotic workforce, even the most dangerous work becomes easily manageable, not to mention more efficient and faster.
Conclusion
If you are ready to focus on increasing your quality, know that RPA is a great process to begin with. However, be mindful about the challenges, too – businesses also risk over-applying robots beyond their capabilities. Even though bots can easily replace humans in repetitive and data-heavy tasks, they are not always the perfect replacement for human workers, which is why there needs to be a balance between humans and bots and a pepper hand-off. After all, bots are meant to help employees in their work, and not replace them.
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