Standard operating procedures (SOPs) define the steps and procedures required for a particular task or process. SOPs make it easier for employees to transition into new roles or to fulfill each other’s roles. They also make automation tools easier to use by clearly outlining the steps that need to be automated.
Large organizations realize that SOPs are essential to achieving consistent process replication and results. Large companies experience employee turnover regularly, so they need to be able to replicate processes across many teams and locations. However, small businesses often don’t realize the value of SOPs early enough. This is understandable, as startups don’t want to be limited by lots of rules or spend time documenting things that everyone on the team already knows. But as adoption increases and some turnover occurs, over-reliance on organizational memory can lead to consistency and efficiency issues. And without clearly defined procedures, it’s even harder to address these issues through automation.
Training your users is a best practice when automating business processes, but some companies don’t think about training until it’s too late. Employees need to be trained on the new technology, but they also need to be trained on the new processes. Because new technology usually requires expertise to use it, companies are more likely to recognize the need for technology training. However, automating business processes often involves changes in procedures and responsibilities, even for those not directly involved with the new technology. Therefore, employees may need training to learn the new procedures.
Apart from the challenge of making training interesting, a tricky aspect of training is timing. You can’t start training employees too early, before the new processes are fully defined, but you also can’t wait until the old processes are completely replaced. In some cases, you may need to delay the implementation schedule to allow time for proper training. But your employees will quickly learn any new automated system, so it’s better than having to deal with emergency situations all the time.
What if your automation doesn’t work as expected? And if you’re using a supplier’s software solution, what if your supplier suddenly changes the way they do business or even goes out of business? What if a change to a different workflow changes the inputs to an automated process in a way that the process was not intended to be?
The solution to these problems is a backup plan. This plan can be as simple as making sure you provide an option to revert to the old, non-automated way of doing things. It’s important to have a plan. Automating business processes can be extremely valuable, even transformative, but no one can guarantee a 100% success rate with every deployment.
For many companies, ERP software plays a key role in BPA and can create even more value through automation. NetSuite ERP has built-in automation capabilities that save time and money, reduce errors, improve consistency, and better track activity. Using a single, integrated platform, companies can automate many areas of their business, from sales and finance to manufacturing. ERP software adds another dimension to the value added achieved by BPA because it integrates enterprise data across processes, geographies, and functional areas.
