August 25, 2022

Robotic Process Automation in Shared Services: A Comprehensive Guide!

Robotic process automation has a lot to offer for your shared services business. Get more information about the benefits on offer.

If you're in a shared services environment, you must have heard about robotic process automation (RPA). It has grown in popularity over the past few years, with many companies adopting and investing in RPA projects. But what is robotic process automation? What does it entail, and how does it work? And why should shared services organizations be interested in it? We explore these topics in more detail below.

What is Robotic Process Automation?

Robotic process automation is one of the newest technologies that's changing the way shared services organizations work. It's an exciting time for those businesses and employees alike, as the potential of RPA is endless. The global RPA market size was USD 1.89 billion in 2021 and will grow at a CAGR of 38.2% till 2030.

RPA is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that has become a popular tool for automating repetitive tasks. In simple terms, you can think of RPA as automated software tools that work on your behalf. RPA tools mimic human interaction with an application or system by recording and understanding user actions and then replicating them automatically.

You can use RPA to automate manual and repetitive tasks. These include data entry, accounting processes, and even entire customer-facing business processes such as claims processing and order fulfillment. The result? Organizations can improve productivity while reducing costs and increasing customer satisfaction by leveraging RPA technology in their business processes.

Why is Robotic Process Automation in Shared Services Important?

Automation of repetitive tasks is a critical part of any shared services business. You can achieve this through RPA. The benefit of robotic process automation is that it is a scalable solution that can get used in multiple processes. You can use it across different departments and reduce the workload of your employees.

As an emerging technology, RPA allows your employees to perform tasks more efficiently without requiring human assistance. For example, an RPA solution can automatically populate information into applications based on the data entered by users. In this way, you can automate tasks, which can help you scale up and improve the quality of service.

An example is an insurance agency that wants to offer its customers 24/7 support services over the phone or via email. While humans can do this job well enough for most situations, there can be times when they get tired due to increased workloads. It is especially when dealing with people post the regular working hours.

An RPA solution can help an insurance agency automate its customer support service. The company can provide 24/7 support without requiring an additional number of staff members.

Benefits of Robotic Process Automation in Shared Services

Here are the various benefits of robotic process automation in shared services.

Accelerated Digital Transformation

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of RPA is the ability to create an automated process. But what about digital transformation? That's where RPA really shines. According to a survey, 63% of respondents agreed that RPA is a vital component for enabling digital transformation.

With a shared services organization, it's easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day tasks and lose sight of the big picture. With RPA, you can take a step back to see how your processes work together and ensure everything runs smoothly.

 

For example, there could be a process for sending invoices that don't match the other. There could be a step in one process where people manually enter information, but another step requires them to use a specific template. You will eventually find out about it sooner rather than later when they get confused or frustrated by their workflows.

Cost Savings

When it comes to shared services organizations, robotic process automation can help you save money in multiple ways. By reducing the time it takes to perform administrative tasks, your team can complete them more quickly and move on to other work. Fewer people will be required to complete these tasks, which reduces your overall headcount costs.

 

RPA also reduces the number of errors in your system because there's no human factor involved. Bots are programmed to do their jobs flawlessly every time, which means fewer payroll costs associated with fixing mistakes caused by human error.

 

Finally, RPA is also ideal for tasks like data entry or document scanning without requiring any additional labor costs whatsoever. This makes it a valuable tool for reducing overall expenses.

Improved Adaptability

As a shared services organization, your goal is to optimize workflows and reduce costs by shifting tasks from high-cost employees to low-cost technology. In addition to reducing costs, robotic process automation enables you to meet increased workload and occasional spikes more quickly than ever before.

 

For example, if you have too many incoming calls from customers who need help with accounts payable or accounts receivable, RPA can help you handle them without hiring additional staff.

 

It also gives you flexibility in case of an emergency. If your employees suffer from high turnover rates or illness, RPA can handle their duties until they return. It can make your organization more efficient by eliminating the need for manual processes and freeing up employees' time to focus on other tasks.

Improved Accuracy

RPA can improve the accuracy of data entry and document management processes. While these are still valid use cases for RPA, there are many other ways that RPA can improve accuracy. In some cases, this is due to the nature of the work performed by the employee. For example, if an employee is processing invoices daily and knows the exact steps involved in completing the task, they may not be as likely to make mistakes.

However, if an employee has to look up information from multiple sources or perform research before sending an email or placing an order, there is more room for error. Even with thorough training and documentation, these tasks can be difficult for employees to perform accurately and consistently every time.

With RPA, you can automate these tasks with little or no human involvement. You can complete them quickly and accurately every time.

Improved Compliance

Operational and regulatory compliance is an issue for shared services organizations. There’s the obvious challenge of meeting SOPs and other government regulations. However, there can also be other requirements governing information security management.

 

Automating your IT processes can help you ensure compliance by providing transparency into what’s happening in your environment at any time. For example, RPA allows you to track internal changes, like configuration changes or access control changes. You can identify who made what change and when it happened. If someone makes an unauthorized change or deletes a critical system file, you will know about it immediately.

 

RPA also ensures that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive data and that they aren’t performing potentially dangerous actions like deleting critical files or changing permissions on protected directories without authorization from IT staff.

Skyrocketed Productivity

RPA is an effective tool for improving the productivity of your internal teams. One of the benefits of robotic process automation is that it allows you to create a system that you can use across multiple departments. It is helpful for organizations that have a shared services model.

 

For example, an organization may have five different departments, and one of them has a particular task they need to complete every month. However, this team would also need collaborative support from others. They can create a single RPA framework that helps everyone work on this task seamlessly. 

 

This also helps with consistency. The more consistent your processes are across departments, the easier it is for employees to learn and know what they're supposed to do when they get requests or tasks from their manager.

Improved Business Value

RPA allows businesses to get more value from their employees. It automates repetitive and time-consuming processes, allowing employees to spend their time doing higher-value work. It helps companies reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve customer satisfaction. All these factors ultimately lead to growth.

 

RPA also makes it easier for employees to perform their jobs because they don't have to spend time on tedious tasks. And since these tasks get automated, they don't need constant monitoring or adjustment by human beings. Employees who would have been monitoring those tasks can instead work on new projects or propose better solutions that can propel business growth.

Satisfied Employees

RPA can help your organization become more efficient and save money by automating repetitive tasks. When you invest in RPA, you can expect results like happier employees and lower costs.

 

One of the benefits of RPA is that it makes your company more efficient. Employees no longer have to waste time on repetitive tasks, so they can do the work they love. With RPA, employees can focus on higher-level activities while their computers take care of the mundane stuff.

 

A happy employee is one who feels like they're being well supported and cared for by their company. Shared services organizations that use RPA can provide better care for their employees, which helps them feel more fulfilled in their work, and ultimately results in increased productivity.

Reasons Why Robotic Process Automation in Shared Services is Growing Swiftly

Here are some reasons why robotic process automation in shared services is growing at a faster rate across the world.

Improved ROI (return on investment)

The ROI is what makes robotic process automation so attractive to businesses. The technology can pay for itself in a matter of months, and the savings keep coming after that. RPA offers a quick way to automate repetitive tasks, resulting in lower transaction costs. 

 

Robotic process automation in shared services can be set up quickly and easily, allowing it to get implemented with minimal time or effort. There is less need for highly trained employees who will have to learn how to use the system and perform tasks manually.

 

Another reason for the almost immediate ROI is that RPA is a way to increase efficiency without needing additional resources. It also allows employees to focus on more crucial tasks, like innovation and customer service.

Minimal Investment

RPA is growing swiftly because it offers you a way to implement automation without a significant upfront investment. It allows you to create workflow processes that can be executed automatically. It frees your employees to focus on critical tasks while still getting the work done. 

 

It also allows you to streamline processes and reduce costs by eliminating redundant work. Imagine you are running a customer service call center, where your executives are constantly handling queries. With RPA, you could have an automated system like chatbots that can directly handle customer queries and guide them. Your employees can enter the scene only when your customers need advanced support.

Disruption-Free Working

The growth of RPA is driven by several factors. However, one of the most important is that it doesn't disrupt the underlying systems in an organization. RPA allows you to improve your processes without changing the way you do things. It is not just better for you to implement but also much more likely that you will be able to make the switch successfully.

You can deploy the RPA software either on-premises or in the cloud. Robotic process automation in shared services can automate several business processes, including administrative and back-office operations like IT service management, finance and accounting, human resources, and more. RPA can also speed up processes and increase productivity. It will help you save time and money while increasing accuracy and reducing errors.

Low-Code Environment

To create software, you have to build the code that will make it work. That's not easy—it's time-consuming and expensive. With robotic process automation in shared services, however, you do not need to worry about that part of the process. RPA offers a low-code build environment, which means less time and money spent building the product.

 

The low-code build environment allows for a highly collaborative procedure. Your teams can work together with RPA software to create processes that are easy to understand and use. The low-code aspect of this environment also allows you to allocate resources better and improve your bottom line.

Scalability

Revenue growth often leads to hiring more employees and investing in new technologies. But when it comes to scaling operations, there's still a lot of manual work involved, especially if you do not have enough time or resources to invest in training those new employees. 

 

RPA can help you scale your business without adding manpower or spending too much on training. You can add more accounts or customers easily with RPA because it does not require any additional investment in infrastructure or hardware setup costs.

 

RPA automates repetitive tasks in your organization. Its primary use is to replace manual, paper-based processes with software robots that follow precise rules to perform high-volume work.

Is RPA and AI the same?

RPA is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), but it's not the same. When we talk of robotic process automation in shared services, it refers to software you can program to run repetitive tasks, such as insurance claims processing or loan application review. These systems are often called bots because they usually mimic human behavior. For example, asking for more information or waiting for a response before proceeding with the task.

AI, on the other hand, involves giving computers the ability to learn and adapt over time through algorithms that process data and make inferences based on their findings. The goal is to give machines common sense. In other words, the ability to reason like humans do so they can solve complex problems without human intervention.

Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing a Robotic Process Automation Tool

Choosing the right robotic process automation tool is a big decision. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a robotic process automation in shared services tool for your business.

Know your Needs

The first step in choosing an RPA tool is understanding what you need from it. You should be aware of what kind of processes you want to automate and whether you can perform them with a software robot or not. For example, if you want to automate manual data entry tasks, an RPA tool may be right for you. But if you want to automate complex processes that require human judgment, this might not be the best option.

Consider your Budget

When deciding which RPA solution works best for your company’s needs, it’s vital to consider your budget for automation projects like this one. If your budget is flexible enough, it makes sense to start small and scale with time. Alternatively, think about how much money and time each tool will save for your team to make an informed decision.

Size and Complexity of your Organization

If you're a large corporation with complex processes, you will want to find an RPA tool that meets your specific needs. Conversely, if you're a small business with minimal processes and limited resources, other options may work for you.

Security and Compliance

You need to ensure that any data collected is secure and protected, as well as comply with any regulations around data collection. You should also ensure that your employees are safe from cyberattacks within or outside your organization. If you have a lot of sensitive customer information, you must pick an RPA solution that can easily get audited by external regulatory bodies.

Bottom Line

RPA can manage the operations on behalf of your employees in real-time. The robotic process automation in shared services solutions frees your employees to pursue higher-level goals instead of performing mundane administrative tasks. While RPA and other forms of artificial intelligence have been around for years, shared services organizations are increasingly finding them efficient as a means of cutting costs and improving efficiency.

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