No one has time to waste.
There are only so many hours in the day, you want to ensure you maximise each one. Especially if it means you can finish work on time and enjoy time with your pets or family!
If you are trying to boost productivity and efficiency in your business, there are two key areas to review:
Firstly, you need to ensure that you have the right people, with the relevant skills and experience, and that they are handling the right jobs. This means essential tasks are being done correctly and efficiently.
The second area to consider is automation. Are you and your team wasting precious time on repetitive tasks that could easily be handled with automation?
While both aspects can increase your bottom line, it’s important to distinguish between the two. Automation and expertise offer different benefits, so let’s investigate how best to use each in your business.
The Difference Between Automation And Expertise
What Is Automation?
Have you heard of bots? You probably have.
Do they make you think of robots?
Robots are cool! But unfortunately, you can’t employ Rosie from The Jetsons to take care of your invoicing.
Although automation does cool things for your business, it really doesn’t have anything to do with robots as you might picture them. Instead, it refers to “bots.”
“Bots” are programmable applications that can be set up to handle straightforward tasks. Often they come in the form of cloud-based software or apps that you can implement in your business.
You can use automation to streamline a wide range of systems and processes that occur in your business – from employee onboarding and purchase order requests to invoicing and email funnels.
Why You Need It
Because automation is programmable, systematic, and organised, it provides efficiency, clarity and consistency. There will be fewer mistakes, increased accuracy and compliance, and a resulting boost in productivity. These changes trickle right through to the customer experience, helping your business meet customer expectations.
Plus, it can save you oodles of time on repetitive tasks that don’t have to be done by you.
The Downsides
While automating repetitive, predictable tasks works well, there’s only so far that bots can go. Granted, technology is getting smarter, and machine learning is becoming a reality, but currently, automation has its limits. Most programs do what you tell them and nothing more.
They are not adaptable or responsive, have limited versatility, and still require a base level of competence to use correctly. Plus, too much automation can make people feel like they actually are dealing with robots as opposed to real people. It’s about striking the right balance.
When To Invest In Expertise
As mindblowing as automation and artificial intelligence is proving to be, what’s currently available to the general business world pales in comparison to a real-life human brain!
Once your bookkeeping information is collated, your leads have been drawn in, and your market research data gathered, you are still going to need an expert to turn all that information into useful business strategies.
Part of your streamlined systems and processes should include automation where feasible. The rest requires identifying the expertise and sourcing it when needed by delegating or outsourcing to professionals.
Why You Need Expertise
Customer satisfaction should be at the core of everything you do. It may be tempting to automate every possible aspect of your business to make life easier for you, but how is that going to affect your customers? No chatbot or automated email funnel can replace real human connection and feedback.
As advanced as a “bot” might be, it can’t problem-solve for the unexpected issues that crop up in every business from time to time. Automation can deal with the standard information that it’s designed for, and the human experts can use that precious time afforded by technology to problem solve and adapt as required.
Do you need some expertise to accompany your automation processes? Then get in touch with the team here at Admin Army. Our expertise in bookkeeping and administration can help to take your business to the next level. Get in touch with us today!