The Automation Myth:
How to reset your practices using people power
@SuiteFiles
Kim Anderson, Marketing Executive, SuiteFiles Kim is a passionate Jane-of-alltrades marketer who fell into software a bit by accident after trying her hand at design and teaching high school English. She’s one of SuiteFiles’ first employees and loves learning about how businesses tick. Her goal is to make file management less boring.
Automation is the way of the future, but how do we know we’re automating the right things? Here’s how to take a step back in your business and utilise people power to get your processes right! E
lon Musk, CEO at Tesla, recently tweeted that ‘excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake… Humans are underrated.’ That’s a pretty big admission from, arguably, the King of Automation. Elaborating in an interview with CBS, Musk said that fully automating the final stages of their Model 3 car production wasn’t working. In fact, they had gotten rid of a ‘crazy network of conveyor belts’ because it was slowing them down. In their pursuit of speed and automation, Tesla had created a highly complex web of machines that was difficult to maintain. Do you have too many conveyor belts? In the accounting industry, it’s common to hear that automation and apps are the way of the future. And why not? - Automation can improve productivity and help you work more efficiently. It saves time on manual tasks and minimises human error. It ensures that tasks are done correctly and on time, and data is often more secure, more accessible, and more connected to other important systems. However, automations are still processes – ones that need to 42 / Issue 15
be maintained as part of a wider network of workflows and tasks within your business.
of automation, here are some questions to ask yourself and your business:
• Has our productivity increased due to automation? • Despite automating processes, are we still using a lot of workarounds? 1. Applying it as a band aid • Have we over or a replacement for automated? E.g. bad processes, and 2. Neglecting “The people in your Do we have a lot of automations once business are your apps that we feel like we’re not using they’re in place. single greatest well or that are asset” difficult to maintain? This can easily • Are we using our lead to greater apps effectively or do we inefficiencies and cause need more training? businesses to lose sight of • Do our apps integrate with each how they’re actually doing. other? • What areas do we feel we need to Do a health check-up of your automate, and why? processes There are two key risks that businesses run when introducing automation:
Whether you’re new to automation in your business, or you’re an Elon Musk-level pro, it’s always a good idea to temperature check your business. Asking yourself questions about the state of your processes and how well automation is working for you so far is a great way to start.
These questions can be difficult to answer. However, one effective way to get clear insights into your processes is to use something that you already have near to hand – your team.
If you’re worried that you’ve missed the big picture in pursuit
The people in your business are your single greatest asset. Over the
Why is people power so important to your processes?
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