Automation of management processes: a complete guide

All business activities aimed at its development and growth must be effectively monitored and managed. Modern technologies provide sets of programs, services, and IT systems for this purpose. Automation of management processes in the company is designed to integrate them into a single whole. The staff gets rid of the routine and switches to important key tasks. Time and money savings are achieved, errors are minimized, business processes are accelerated, efficiency and productivity are increased. Business is reaching a new level of development and competitiveness.

Automation of business processes – what is it, why is it needed

Business processes are classified into three groups:

1. The main ones are sales, marketing strategies, and target audience engagement.
2. Supporting the internal functioning of the company. They relate to divisions and human resources.
3. Managerial ones. They implement the mission and goals, the development of values, and a long-term promotion strategy.

In modern companies, the processes are processing client requests, document management and accounting in accounting. This and similar repetitive routines can and should be automated.

Automation of management processes is designed to transfer the execution of routine tasks to assistant services, saving staff from additional work in favor of more serious tasks.

Automation is used for processes:

1. Accounting in electronic form. Payments, reports to the state tax service.
2. Transfer of the entire document flow to the electronic form of EDI with digital signatures. Exceptions to paper documents and repositories.
3. Sales process management. The lion’s share of managers’ time is spent communicating with clients. The routine will be performed by a CRM system with robot assistants – sending messages, placing orders, and answering questions.
4. Project management. The supervisor uploads the task to the application, and the status is monitored with comments. This is how projects are planned, with assignment of tasks and timely execution.

Automation solves problems productively:

1. Savings and budget savings. After the correct settings, the system works 24/7 for five people, without additional processing fees, sick leave allowances.
2. Minimizing the human factor. People get tired, their concentration gets lost, mistakes are made. The data in the letters and their addressees are distorted, transactions are disrupted or postponed. The system will perform the tasks accurately.
3. Simplify and speed up the team’s work. While robots are engaged in routine and mailing lists, accepting orders, specialists have time to negotiate with partners, make decisions on the design and content of the site, form tactical and strategic plans, and creative projects.

With the help of 1C programs, accounting and resource base are streamlined. Financial, accounting, and general documentation, as well as the exchange of documents with counterparties, are performed in electronic form.

What processes can be automated?

Any business processes are automated, but the degree of automation is determined by the level and readiness of the processes.

In strategic planning

Smart systems create a set of tasks in accordance with specified parameters and with realistic time constraints, which is related to the finite capabilities of the people setting the parameters. Within the framework of the set goals, indicators are being digitized and evaluated, identified with goals, and responsible persons are being appointed.

In financial management

Finance requires special responsibility and tight schedules of senior staff. But the CFO will not need to work meticulously with the tables. The progress of financial transactions and budget control are monitored by system programs, with rapid collection and verification of information – the basis for any management decision. Defining areas for development and allocating the budget to profitable projects. The system provides clear relationships and reliable data.

In marketing management

This is an advanced automation technology, a dynamically developing area that is always waiting for new effective tools. Innovations are often tested here, and they are adapted to their needs.

Initially, CRM was created just as electronic customer databases for sales departments – independent segmentation of the target audience in accordance with specified parameters, and movement along directional funnels. System analytics evaluates the performance of paid promotions and A/B testing. The service implements the mailing of emails according to the groups selected by the algorithm. Artificial intelligence puts forward a number of creative ideas for operational tasks of strategic planning.

In the implementation of HR processes and human resources management

As the company grows, the HR director has questions about choosing staff to delegate various tasks. The choice is simplified with the CRM system. It automates a lot of repetitive operational tasks. After setting up, the robots publish job listings, filter out unnecessary applications, and check which ones are suitable for the company’s needs. They will monitor the timely completion of assignments and scheduling of vacations, and prepare the necessary documentation.

With the introduction of the system, the team works productively, recycling disappears. Manual control of such processes is excluded.:

1. Staff adaptation. It is enough for a new employee to get acquainted with the onboarding materials and get a starting task with explanations. The robots will appreciate his performance.
2. Task management. Distribution of workloads and project managers, reminders about pending cases.
3. Professional development. Organizing retraining schedules, courses, and webinars. With demonstrations of student progress, motivational bonuses and rewards.
4. Motivation of employee satisfaction by automatic surveys with their assessment and sending.
5. The distribution of rest and time off on the corporate portal according to the built-in calendar. When overlapping schedules for key employees, you can timely negotiate with staff about convenient transfers and make changes that suit everyone.
6. Storing information with privacy settings.

This way all work tasks are automated, leaving the team to creatively create.

Who needs automation

This modern transformation with a set of effective tools is needed by everyone in business: factories and industrial organizations, developers and online schools, banks and government agencies, small and medium-sized businesses. Before deciding to automate, it is necessary to analyze the internal state of the business. We need a roadmap with a detailed sequence of processes from start to finish, with a search for weak points.

Automation is relevant if the following sore spots appear:

1. Managers are busy with routine, monotonous tasks.
2. The disorder of work processes.
3. With the rapid growth and development of the company.
4. When most employees work remotely.
5. An organization should not slow down its pace of movement in the face of the threat of being bypassed by competitors.
6. Loss of customers.

Automation is necessary in all situations where personnel are critically overloaded and the pace of development is lost.

Which systems are used for automation

Modern automation processes are based on the principle of a designer, with the sequential addition of parts and components, when each previous element serves as the base for the next.

Types of advanced systems:

1. CRM complexes. First of all, they help sales departments in collecting customer data, sending reminders on pending transactions and orders, and assigning tasks to managers. CRM processes incoming requests faster, communicates with consumers. They manage the project, staff schedules, and statistics collection and analysis.
2. ESP systems (Email Service Provider) are automated mail messengers of letters to client databases with A/B testing, simplify the work for marketers, organize databases with letters.
3. Accounting services – automate accounting for corporations, or help entrepreneurs keep records on their own.
4. Automation of calls to companies and call centers provides hot and cold calls to customers, with analytics and collecting feedback about the service.
5. CMS (Content Management System) systems – automation of administration on online resources.
6. HRMS (Human Resource Management System) – comprehensively manage HR policy. Organizing employee data: qualifications, employment, processing, vacation and sick leave data, time off. Accepting resumes through integrated HR bots, testing and sorting candidates.
7. TMS (Time and Attendance Management System) – scheduling and monitoring of employees’ working hours.
8. LMS (Learning Management System) – under the control of the program, remote training modes for personnel are implemented, with monitoring of their progress.
9. Programs that collect feedback on the company, management, and tasks. They are intended to motivate staff.
10. EDMS (Electronic Document Management System) – these systems perform electronic document management with the storage, processing and transmission of documentation in digital form.

Of the listed systems, some can comprehensively manage a business, while others perform separate tasks.

How CRM systems manage a business, their importance

CRM was created to manage sales with funnels, attract leads, and track orders, and they do it perfectly. They manage the stages of transactions from start to finish, they can do the following:

1. Maintain and maintain a history of customer relationships. For purchases, payments, requests, and delivery methods
2. Improve the efficiency of the working managers and departments of the company.
3. Automate business processes by distributing workloads across employees and departments.
4. Create and manage sales funnels, a marketing tool that guides customers from offers to purchases.
5. Increase employee productivity. With data acquisition, inventory control, commercial offers, and billing.
6. Analyze and visualize customer routes: where they came from, what resources they used, what products they viewed, bought, or left in the shopping cart.

In addition to trading, modern CRM systems work in services, finance, real estate, and education. The most popular and widespread now in Russia is Bitrix 24.

The pros and cons of business process automation

Planning and management are automated, and benefits are achieved:

1. It saves time and resources. Routine repetitive tasks for employees disappear, they are performed by robots. Electronic document management.
2. The human factor is leveled. Mistakes and duplicates disappear. The risks are minimized.
3. The speed and quality of service are improved. Fast responses to queries, an increase in the number of orders. Computational accuracy and performance
4. Transparent processes. The dynamics of projects is demonstrated to employees in real time. Automated reporting.

Situational disadvantages include the following:

1. Large investments at the start – for equipment, programs, and training.
2. It is difficult to implement and maintain with low qualifications.
3. We need to protect ourselves from unauthorized Internet access and cyber attacks. Internal leaks are possible. Demanding employees with clearances, especially when loading the system.
4. Dependence on food energy.
5. Individual systems are not flexible and adaptive enough.
6. We need to keep updating.

Of the significant disadvantages, only the cost of implementation. But proper setup and operation should pay off the investment and bring profit.

How to implement automation: steps

The launch of the system requires qualified specialists. Therefore, it is necessary to either invite a development team to the staff for development and commissioning, or hire a contractor under a contract. Recruitment of employees is often necessary when the processes in the company are highly confidential. By inviting staff to carry out inspections, leaks can be minimized.

By choosing a contractor (vendor), you spend money on paying for services and licensed software. But you will get professional development and constant technical support. They will not resign, demand sick leave, or go on vacation.

To implement automation:

1. Determine the goals and objectives, business processes that need to be automated. What problems need to be solved. You need to describe the current processes and what you want to get from them after implementation.
2. Draw up a technical specification for the contractor. Include your wishes and required parameters.
3. Choose the product version, taking into account your direction, structure, and set of indicators.
4. Test the system and ask employees how convenient and easy it is to use.
5. After the acquisition, staff training will be required – from ordinary employees to top managers, according to their admissions.

During operation, the system will be updated and maintained by the contractor in accordance with the contract.

Automation of which business processes is not recommended

You can automate everything by writing algorithms. But a number of non-standard original processes should not be subjected to this, due to the dynamism that is not described by the usual laws. For example, such:

1. Creative and creative. Not every such task fits into machine templates. These processes are designed for original solutions, when it is impossible to expect results from standard techniques. A real–life example is from the Lego company. Parents complained about children swallowing small parts in construction kits. The parts began to be covered with X-ray-visible material. This allowed doctors to quickly see the details and extract them.
2. Tied to emotions. Team greetings and weekend trips cannot be formalized. People value personal attention that is not equated with job descriptions and event schedules. Also, dismissal for any reason in personal communication will be more humane than from a bot in a chat.
3. When critical thinking is required. The machine formally tests skills and analyzes resumes in accordance with algorithms. But you can only choose a specialist or supervisor in personal conversations. A critical and adequate assessment of the applicant will follow only from the HR officer.

Any processes are already being automated with artificial intelligence. But the unique processes of creative individual developments still remain the prerogative of man.

Measuring efficiency in automation

For a real assessment, each process must be measured according to its own criteria. It is customary to evaluate automation results based on the analysis of such parameters:

1. Whether there was a payback by the scheduled date.
2. Transaction cycles have decreased.
3. Employees are completing more tasks. There are fewer refunds for them to be finalized due to mistakes made.
4. Revenue and sales growth, while reducing costs.
5. A significant reduction in the cost of business processes, and a reduction in time for their implementation.

A striking example of a positive assessment of automation is when there were losses of applications and calls, and the approval of transaction documentation lasted for weeks, the implemented CRM sends reminders for forgotten contacts, quickly prepares documentation on blanks, and submits it for approval. The deadline is one or two days.

Frequent questions

Which management processes can be automated?

The following areas are perfectly amenable to automation:

• strategic planning;
• HR management and HR processes;
• Marketing;
• website support;
• task management and document management;
• accounting departments;
• warehouse and production control;
• various forms of feedback.

How do I select a set of tools for automating management processes?

The following is necessary:

1. Defining goals and objectives.
2. Evaluate the program offer by market. To study which products are used by the companies of partners, competitors, contractors or customers.
3. Choose according to your needs.
4. Test, train employees, and use it.

What is the impact of automation on team productivity?

The following results are observed:

• It is not affected by the human factor;
• managers are given more time for creative tasks;
• There are no errors or data losses, they are completely fine;
• employees manage to maintain a balance between work and personal life, which was often not observed without the implementation of the system.

What mistakes and unacceptable actions should be avoided during the automation of management processes?

Avoid the following:

1. When deadlines are not met. This leads to chaos and project deadlines. We need a roadmap with those responsible for deadlines.
2. Automation immediately leads to confusion. We need to act consistently in directions and stages.
3. The staff resists the changes. It is necessary to show examples of successful implementations, to show their benefits from automation. Provide comfortable learning conditions.
4. There are no ratings, despite the work of the processes and the satisfaction of the employees. You need to rely on real analytics reports to assess the actual dynamics of development and profitability.

What is the outcome

Automation of management processes helps in the development of any business– both small and large, in all directions. By choosing the right programs, you will eliminate the routine and relieve the staff. Transactions will become timely, along with salaries on time. Document flow will take seconds across a region, country, or between states.