Automation should be top of mind for any business. It doesn’t matter if your business has 5 employees or 5,000 employees. Every business from a growing start-up to an established enterprise should use business automation solutions for their everyday workflow. 

Any process you can automate will save time, making room for you and your employees to focus on the more important tasks at hand. There are many ways you can use software to automate your business. Each case varies depending on each company and industry. We compiled a list of the automation solutions we develop most often so you can identify these potential bottlenecks in your own workflow. 

Customer Feedback and Reports

Generating reports, processing documents, and sending forms to clients can become a tedious task. Many times the same set of data needs to be imported into multiple documents, and copy and pasting take over.

When it comes to documentation, especially anything involving important data or financials, accuracy is critical. But, human error is inevitable with excessively repeated tasks. By integrating automation using simple APIs or custom software, you are able to eliminate steps in the process. When you streamline these processes, accuracy is increased because there is less opportunity for mistakes to be made.

Our team recently worked on a project where a customized reporting solution was needed. The company wanted to streamline its reporting by sending out automated quarterly and annual releases to clients. Our developers created a custom web app that imported specific sets of data from QuickBooks and compiled them into customer reports. Instead of manually calculating each report and sending them off, the team now is able to create a report, review the data, and send off each document with just a few clicks. With just one simple automation process, the company saved hours of time and made their customers happy with timely and accurate reports.

Eliminate Steps, Save Time, and Improve Accuracy

With any task completed within the workday, there is a chance that mistakes will be made. It doesn’t matter if it was a simple typo or a miscalculation, with each error there is potential for an unhappy customer and time or money lost. 

Even just implementing a simple API or tool like Zapier will compound time saved by employees and increase accuracy in tasks. By making simple app connections that you toggle through daily, employees can quickly run through their tasks with a streamlined process. By slowly integrating more streamlined processes in the workday, productivity begins to increase. An automated company runs smoothly and efficiently.

When we use automation, we are able to focus on more important tasks that a computer or software system can’t do, like talking to customers or creating valuable content. It also allows workers to stay in work mode and not worry about pivoting tasks and disrupting workflow.

Improve Standard Operating Procedures

Every business has standard operating procedures that they work from, some more defined than others. On their own, these are a form of automation, but you can also streamline each process to make them more efficient. 

SOP’s improve performance because they are an established routine that employees can count on and use repeatedly. Having these outlined and known are important so they can be easily found and followed. You can use standard operating procedures in any part of a company, from onboarding to your sales cycle. 

To automate your SOP’s, you first need to define the processes that are commonly performed throughout your business. Then take a look at what steps are slowing down the procedures and how you can speed up that process. By implementing automation in these tasks that are commonly performed throughout your company, you can further streamline.

Improve Training Experience and Ramp Time

There will always be a learning curve and slower integration time for new employees. This can be slightly offset this by using automation techniques. According to GlassDoor, having a streamlined employee onboarding process can improve retention rates by 82%, yet most of us still have work to do. Many new hires have to engage in activities like setting up an email or signing papers. This can be sped up by automating certain tasks like auto-filling documents.

This can also be used in training with current employees. New processes and systems will be adopted over time in your business, and automating the training experience will get employees back to work faster. By speeding up the rate of productivity and ramp time, your employees will feel valued and fulfilled.

Enhance Customer Onboarding and Conversions

Similar to onboarding new hires, the more efficient your customer onboarding process is, the better your company will perform. The more steps you can take out of the pipeline, the quicker you can deliver results and the more customers you can take on. 

Quicker conversions ultimately equal more money flowing through your pipeline. It is important to still balance this process so new customers have interaction with your company contacts as well as your automated processes. Business is all about balance and taking time to show your customers that you care during onboarding is crucial.

These are just 5 examples of how to use business automation practices in your company, but this is just the start. If you are interested in getting more information on the basics of Automation, check out our Automation 101 blog post. If marketing and sales are your specialties, we also detailed How to Automate your Sales Funnel. 

How can Software Harmonics, LLC Help with Automation?

Every business is different, and out-of-the-box software options aren’t always an option. Our team knows how to streamline any business process to automate your workday. Efficiency and productivity are top priorities in our company, and we can get yours up to speed too. 

Looking to automate? Let’s set up a discovery call and make it happen!

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