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As we barrel towards the latter stages of 2023, it’s becoming more obvious that automation will play an increasingly pivotal role in shaping the future of work. No longer a nice-to-have, businesses across all industries — and of all sizes —must start integrating automation-powered solutions in order to thrive in the digital age. Here’s how you can harness the right technologies and future proof your business.
Embracing the rise of automation
The path to business productivity will be paved with smart technology, yet a lack of time, resources or basic understanding of automation tools is holding many business owners back. A recent Deloitte global study found that while 94% of business leaders agree that artificial intelligence will be key to their success over the next five years, more than one in five are failing in their AI-adoption ambitions.
To remain competitive in the increasingly AI-heavy business landscape, understanding how automation can transform your operations is essential. With the right integrated solutions, you can not only streamline your day-to-day processes, but also reduce costs, boost efficiency and collaboration, and deliver superior customer experiences. With automation taking care of repetitive and time-consuming tasks, you can also spend more time on strategic and innovative jobs.
Identify areas for automation
The first step to leveraging the power of automation? Identify the areas within your business that could benefit from being automated — or at least partially automated. Start by listing the tasks that are repetitive, manual or prone to human error. Some of the most common jobs in this category include data entry, invoice processing, inventory management, customer support and social media scheduling.
Depending on your current business needs, there’s a huge swathe of automation tools and software options to help you manage these tasks. Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, for example, can take care of lead management and client communications. Accounting software, like MYOB can streamline all your business’s financial processes — think invoicing, expense tracking, reporting. Then there are holistic project management tools which can automate task assignment, progress tracking, team collaboration and even build greater collaboration among your team.
Leverage tools for marketing, customer engagement and e-commerce
If you feel like your customer-engagement strategies and general marketing efforts could use a boost, there are plenty of solutions that will streamline your marketing campaigns, personalise customer comms and nurture leads throughout the entire sales lifecycle. Email-marketing automation, for example, is one area where you can have personalised email journeys created for your company — based entirely on data about your customers’ behaviours and preferences.
If you’re looking to make the most of the e-commerce explosion, then integrating automation solutions is a no-brainer. From inventory management to order fulfillment to shipping oversight and everything in between — there are ready-made tools that can support your operations management while improving client satisfaction. The results include more accurate stock levels, less chance of overselling and a more seamless order-processing experience. With automated email notifications and tracking systems, your customers will also be updated about their orders in real-time.
Retain your top talent with upskilling
There’s no denying there’s a fear element around automation and AI in general. But that’s why getting to grips with this technology in its early stages is so vital. Because as tech becomes more prevalent in the workplace, your employees will need the skills to thrive in an automated environment.
Instead of worrying about job losses, take a step back and look at automation through the lens of opportunity: it’s a chance to upskill yourself, as well as to reskill your workforce. You could start by offering training programs and professional development opportunities for your staff — ones that are focused on emerging technologies and data analytics.
By investing in your team’s growth, you’ll start creating a future-ready workforce that is complemented by automation — rather than displaced by it.
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MYOB is a leading business management platform in Australia and New Zealand, providing solutions to streamline key business workflows, from finance and inventory management, to employee onboarding and payroll. With a core purpose of helping more businesses with 0 to 1000 employees in Australia and New Zealand start, survive and succeed, MYOB offers a richly curated, integrated and flexible platform that enables a business to make better decisions, unlock its full potential and confidently grow. For more information visit myob.com
