More and more companies and organisations are realising the true benefits of RPA and are turning to this technology to offer their staff more streamlined processes, helping to free up the time of valuable team members. For organisations who have not yet realised the potential for RPA within their operations, Robiquity have explained what RPA is and how it can have a positive impact on your business. 

What is RPA? 

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) refers to a type of modern software which can be programmed to complete a variety of repetitive tasks across various applications. By implementing RPA technology into an organisation, the software can be programmed to complete tasks like data management.

The software will be programmed (taught) a number of steps to complete a chosen task within an application. For example, it can receive forms, send a message to a customer/client, check the form received for data, place the form in a folder, update a spreadsheet with the form details etc. This type of technology is ideal for removing repetitive and mundane tasks from your team’s workload. 

How Is RPA implemented

To begin the RPA implementation into your organisation, an assessment will have to be carried out to identify the processes requiring automation and which are suitable for RPA. This is really important in identifying problem areas within your business. Note: not all business processes will be suitable for RPA, so it is important you complete this initial assessment. The next steps are as follows: 

1. A Feasibility Assessment will be performed to identify to what extent each process can be automated.
2. Gather User Stories. This will help to gather detailed descriptions of how these processes are completed. 
3. Start Development Process. The development process can then begin. The developers, at this stage, will get to work on choosing and creating RPA tools specific to the business needs. 
4. Test RPA Process. This step will identify any issues with the performance of the software, allowing the development team time to make any changes and fix any bugs. 
5. Reconfirm and deploy. Once the tests are complete and errors have been corrected by the development team, the automation software can be confirmed for use and deployed. 

Benefits of RPA for businesses 

Once implemented the RPA software will simply complete the tasks it has been programmed to do. Unlike other software, it will not learn as it works, nor will it try to amend the process in any way. As long as the user stories have contributed to a detailed description of the task and the software is programmed correctly, your repetitive processes will be completed efficiently. There are a number of benefits this implementation will then provide your company, including: 

• Your staff can spend their time on much more valuable work within the organisation where they will feel valued and more motivated 
• Within customer service, RPA can contribute to enhanced customer interactions 
• Reduced Costs. RPA is considered a much cheaper alternative to other software. 
• Advanced Governance. 
• Removes the risk of human error when dealing with large data sets.