Key Points

• Automation is intended to boost productivity across all industries.
• Implementing the right sort of automation can free up valuable human resources for other efforts.
• Automation is being used in industries where it wasn’t seen even a decade ago.

How is automation boosting productivity? If you’re even plugged in slightly to the news cycle, you likely have heard pundits espousing the benefits of automation. There are definite benefits to using automation to cut away the chaff and get your team focusing on the work that matters. However, there is also a fair amount of misinformation surrounding automation.

So, today, we’re taking a closer look at how automation functions in the real world. We’ll look at ways it boosts productivity, along with taking a closer look at some of the companies that are leveraging technology to aid their business processes. If you’ve been on the fence about automation, you’re in the right place.

What Is Automation?

Automation is a means of utilizing technology to streamline or simplify processes. It has been part of the business world since the introduction of more robust electronics starting sometime in the 1990s, but the increasing digitalization of the workforce has seen it take off since well before then. In a nutshell, automation is used to handle menial tasks.

You don’t want your knowledgeable employees sitting around sorting forms all day when they’ve got more pressing work to attend to. As such, it makes sense to engage in automation to make the most of your business processes. Further, it is difficult to think of an automotive company that hasn’t embraced automation.

The days of hand-assembling automobiles are relegated to the luxury market. At some point or another, you’re engaging with automation, but is your company doing the same? If you’ve got workers sitting around manually entering data into spreadsheets, you could likely free up those human resources to focus better on the tasks at hand.

Defining the Types of Automation

There are several different types of automation in use by businesses around the world. However, for today’s article, we’re going to illuminate two of the primary ones that see use. First up, you have process automation. Process automation is delegating any menial, yet vital task, to technology. Consider something like entering data into a spreadsheet. Your organization relies on the data, but it is a time-consuming endeavor.

The second major type we’ll be focusing on is industrial automation. This is grander in scale and can encompass multiple different processes. However, the intended goal of this sort of automation is to reduce operational costs while boosting productivity on the whole. Since technology is handling menial tasks in an industrial capacity, this also gives way to greater overall precision.

Engaging with automation can have higher costs associated with it than hiring low-level employees. However, it doesn’t contain the same sort of pitfalls you’ll see with most human employees. Machinery and technology are less prone to errors, especially when the programming is suited to the tasks at hand. Manufacturing companies have been making use of industrial automation to ship out automobiles and other goods that are less prone to defects compared to output even 30 years ago.

Examples of Automation Boosting Productivity

So, now that we’ve taken the time to outline some of the particulars surrounding the subject, how is automation boosting productivity? You’ve likely seen the automation revolution happening all around you. However, there are some distinct forms where AI and automation intersect that have been yielding fantastic results for many organizations.

At the end of the day, organizations are trying to minimize operational costs, boost productivity, and ultimately provide high-quality goods and services to their customers. No matter the task at hand, automation is well-suited for just about any industry you can think of.

Coming from a tech background, I can say for certain that we leaned on automation heavily to handle the information technology pipeline. IT operations are crucial for the continued operation of any business, but taking the menial part of the equation out makes sure that technicians can maintain business continuity.

AI Chatbots

If you’ve gone on any website in the last six months, you’ve encountered an AI chatbot. This is a fantastic demonstration of automation boosting productivity. You no longer have to rely on the likes of low-level employees to handle support tickets or answer simple questions from customers. They can simply engage the chatbot which typically has a wealth of institutional knowledge at its disposal.

AI chatbots aren’t a cure-all for handling customer needs but are a great way of reducing low-level requests. By the time a customer has circumvented an AI chatbot’s wealth of knowledge, it very well may be a problem only a person could solve.

Organizations like Amazon and Google have made good use of AI chatbots, integrating artificial intelligence into basic services. If you have a simple question about how to implement something in Google Docs, for example, it’s a simple prompt away.

Employee Onboarding

The hiring process is already largely automated these days, but employee onboarding is one area where we’re seeing greater pushes toward technology. Onboarding itself can be a tedious affair, with the plethora of documents and forms needed to be done before the work itself can start. However, artificial intelligence is changing the very nature of onboarding.

It serves as a great example of automation boosting productivity. New employees receive the required materials needed before work starts and technology can track the process along the way. This is something already being seen in most larger organizations.

Automated onboarding is something done at the likes of Google and Meta, who have been at the forefront of technological processes in the modern era. It is only a matter of time before other larger organizations with a longer shelf life like Ford or General Motors are embracing the likes of automated onboarding for their employees.

Automatic Sorting

Nothing can grind an assembly line to a halt like having to halt things to sort through items. This can come in the form of raw materials, assembled products, and so forth. However, this is one area where automation boosting productivity truly shines. Automatic sorting makes sure that machines are handling the sorting process and automatically routing things where they need to go.

The internal workings of a modern manufacturing plant are something to behold. With very little in the way of human hands working on the harder processes. Humans are still there because quality control is only done so well through the lenses of a machine. However, you don’t have to lose precious time worrying about the likes of sorting.

This is another area where Amazon is showing where it leads the pack. Packages are automatically sorted in distribution centers based on the shipping labels. Further, you’ll see similar sorts of industrial automation hard at work in places like the United States Postal Service.

Form Processing

No one likes paperwork, at least as far as I can reason. However, this is another area where automation boosting productivity is being handled. Artificial intelligence can be trained on the typical forms used in any organization and let loose to handle things. The result is a robust and flexible means of collating data from digital and paper forms with utter ease.

With so much of the modern business requiring reams of data to operate, it only makes sense that this is an area where automation is excelling. This allows more knowledgeable employees to operate with the data on the forms without having to go through the mundane tasks of creating new entries by hand.

This is one sort of automation that is taking off in areas like finance and healthcare alike. Imagine handling your forms for a doctor’s appointment and having your wait time greatly reduced. That isn’t just a pipe dream these days, but a reality for the future of many industries.

Predictive Maintenance

Most technology can report on itself when considering the overall health and well-being of its infrastructure. That’s something we’ve seen in computers for ages at this point. However, what if a machine could schedule its maintenance processes? This is another area where automation boosting productivity is being applied to great success.

Predictive maintenance isn’t just about scheduling the ideal time to restart your computer. Think of it more as a robotic machine taking the time to analyze its current performance and then go about maintenance on its own. Machines aren’t foolproof after all, they require regular maintenance to function as intended.

Predictive maintenance is likely the future of robotics going forward, and something we’re already seeing in companies like Tesla.

Streamlining IT Processes

My former wheelhouse, IT, has been a big proponent of automation for decades at this point. For every catastrophic computer failure you have, there is going to be someone who lacks the understanding a simple restart could fix their mouse not working. So, how do you navigate this sort of thing? Well, you could have someone at the help desk sorting tickets manually, but that’s a waste of time.

Most IT departments are going to have an automated ticketing department that analyzes the content of a support ticket. From there, severity scores are assigned, with lower priority tickets taking less human resources over something like a catastrophic failure.

This helps in two major ways, this leaves the more knowledgeable technicians free to diagnose and ultimately remediate problems. Further, it makes sure that technicians with less experience are getting vital hands-on time with the bread-and-butter work associated with the IT field.

Payment Distribution

If you do a fair bit of contract work, invoicing is a necessary evil. So, what if you could take the guesswork out of the equation and send out invoices as they’re completed? This is another area where automation is taking the reins. I know quite a few freelancers who are opting for this sort of automation, and it’s freeing up their time and resources to better focus on obtaining additional clients.

Employee Monitoring

The final area we’re highlighting where automation boosting productivity is taking hold pertains to employee performance. This may give off a bit of a “Black Mirror” vibe, but it isn’t anything quite so insidious. Instead, artificial intelligence systems can monitor the work done by employees, the accuracy of the work, and track overall performance.

This helps to separate high-performing employees from lesser ones. Further, it gives a quick reference for doling out the likes of rewards and promotions to your most valuable workers.

Other Useful Tools and Concepts

Now that we’ve highlighted automation, let’s shift gears for just a second. You might want to take a closer look at the change management models hard at work across businesses. Change management is a crucial way of handling change in the workplace, and knowing which approach to take can make or break your change efforts.

Further, you might want to take a closer look at how to implement Lean Six Sigma alongside Agile. Both of these methodologies are popular for good reason, and you’re missing out if you’re not applying these principles across the board for your organization.

Conclusion

By now you hopefully know just how automation boosting productivity measures can benefit your organization. The more time you spend on the fence, the more time and money you’re wasting while the competition pulls ahead. It’s time to push your organization into the modern era.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Depiction Images/Shutterstock.com.