How to assess whether it’s time to automate

As employers grapple with labor shortages in some industries and countries, and the challenges involved in the recruitment process, it’s a good time to consider whether you should be looking at automation to fill some of your staffing gaps. But it’s important to consider the full implications of automating any aspects of your operations.

The first step you should take is to assess the maturity of your shared service operation.

Level 1: If you are at the sub-optimized stage, you are just starting to think about a service delivery model that optimizes your non-core business processes, such as finance and accounting, or human resources. You have probably recognized that fragmented processes are holding you back and are costly, as well as unreliable, and the quality could be improved. Therefore, you should start with a limited number of functions to develop processes that will service the business with limited governance. 

Level 2: If you are at the rationalized stage, you already have a consolidated service delivery model and are able to leverage economies of scale from transactional services across a number of functions, with a delivery center set-up where you might benefit from wage arbitrage. There is likely to be variation in terms of inclusion of processes and supporting technology. You are using outsourcing models tactically, but you still need to further develop governance.. 

Level 3: If you are at the strategic stage, then you have a shared service model that seeks to be at the stage of continuous improvement in terms of process optimization, leveraging of technology, and governance with global process owners.  

Level 4: If you are at the stage of having integrated business services, then you have a multifunctional service delivery model with coordinated and technologically supported processes, and a governance system that allows smooth interaction with the business. Typically, this also means having found a balance of capabilities internally and externally that deliver services with clearly defined global process owners.  

Before you proceed with implementation of any digital shared services, do a check for the following:

1) degree of process change

2) degree of technological change

3) degree of standardization of process

4) degree of internal capabilities – the greater the process and technological change and the lower the standardization of the process and available capabilities, the more you need to potentially re-evaluate your ability to deliver on your business case.                              

Also, keep in mind the social responsibility of business leaders to ensure training is available for low-paid workers in highly automatable sectors who are unprepared to move into the new roles technology will create, along with advising government policy on education that would boost workforce development.