Workplace Automation for Today and the Future
When it comes to automation, images of self-driving vehicles or drones and robots of an advanced future tend to come to the mind of the general public. But, do you know that automation has already appeared in many aspects of our daily lives, including at the workplace? And, this technology is here to stay.
Automation in Workplace Today
Thanks to the help of robots, artificial intelligence and other technological breakthroughs, automation now can come in all shapes and sizes. In a workplace setting, the most popular form of automation is business software programs. These tools replace the need for human resources dedicated to repetitive and dull tasks, or perform complicated calculations and algorithms that are too hefty for the average mind. We have made a list of benefits of RPA to optimizing office resources in one of our previous blogs for your reference.
According to Smartsheet’s Automation in the Workplace report, 86% out of the total of 1,000 responders said that this technology makes employees more efficient and productive. Furthermore, 78% reflected that it will allow them to spend more time on the interesting and rewarding aspects of their job. Thus, it is clear that automation is not only an efficiency improvement method for the organization but also serves as a motivation boost for people working there.
Thanks to the abundant strengths of automation, as well as its versatility and adaptability, automation can now be found in any company and its department. The same publication from Smartsheet also reported that a majority of workers now employ automation in their day-to-day work.
Of those workers not using automation already, 28% said their department has plans to do so in the future — with 75% of that group expecting it to happen within two years.
So what are the real-life of workplace automation today? Here are a few that will definitely hit close to home.
Real-life Applications of Automation
1. Analytics
Working with big numbers and a vast pool of data is a difficult task for any humans beings. Errors and mistakes are prone to happen. With automation software, one the other hand, this is a breeze. Many solutions using artificial intelligence, machine learning, robots, etc have been launched for this specific demand. They excel at extracting important details from the sea of data in a short amount of time, without fail.
2. HR
Though robots and machines can indeed replace humans in many positions nowadays, the importance of having high-quality staff is no less significant. In fact, hiring the right kind of people can mean life or death to an organization. However, for headhunters, sifting through a plethora of applications is a strenuous task. With the help of automated hiring tools that scan desirable keywords, applications can be sorted quickly and effectively, even if there are thousands of them
3. Facility Management
Software such as Emaint, Kisi, or Comfy has been in use for a long time to improve working conditions for employees as well as ensure efficiency for facility management. These applications record and measure facility data, optimize usage and electricity save and alert real-time issues, ensuring that the office can run smoothly at all times. Some automation even provides access to in-house meeting rooms or workplace systems such as heating insulation or lighting, allowing them to customize their working conditions.
4. Customer support
For international business, customers come from many different time zones. This causes many difficulties for in-house phone operators. This is where chatbots come in to help. They don’t require sleep like humans do, which means that they can work 24/7 to ensure customer satisfaction. In addition, these add-ons also eliminate the lengthened period between email exchanges, as customers and chatbots can discuss directly through messages. Previously, chatbots are considered subpar to actual humans as their ability to process human languages is limited. But now, as time passes and their library expands, chatbots can easily pass as humans.
A Glimpse into the Future
There is no doubt that automation will only expand in the future, entering more industries in more countries than today. No longer just add-ons and supporting software, in the future, the role of automation in the workplace will definitely become more vital and technical-driven. What this means is that automated tools will be customized to suit the specific demands, which typically require significant expertise, of different segments in the economy.
At the same time, more automation will mean less human labor need for replaceable positions. To some, this might be a scary vision ahead, with looming widespread unemployment. However, it has been proven by many research that automation will not make so many people redundant as many may have thought. Instead, it created an incentive for prospective employees to strive for a higher level of competence and efficiency in order to prove that they are an asset to their organization. Thus, automation will not only help enterprises improve their operational processes but also indirectly provides them a much stronger human workforce.
In conclusion, workplace automation is the way of the future and the only option that businesses have is to embrace it.
CMC Global has long acquired strong competence in automation. In December 2019, CMC Global acquired 10 RPA Automation Anywhere certificates, proving our capacity to deploy automation projects. With extensive experience in RPA projects, we proudly offer our clients the highest quality IT solutions and services on the market with a competitive pricing policy.
