Automating work processes

Most companies have at least one routine that eats hours without creating anything. We find it, and rebuild it into something that runs on its own.

What this is about

Automation is rarely about replacing people. It is about removing the typing, the copying and the chasing that sit between the parts of the job that actually need a person.

The gain is almost always in a process with many small steps. Each one takes a few minutes, none of them looks worth fixing, and together they eat a full position.

How the routine runs today

Pull out the numbers
Type them in somewhere else
Send them on to the right person
Follow up by hand

MonTueWedThuFriand the same again next week

Every step waits for a person to do it

Once it is set up

Runs itselfevery day, without anyone starting it

The system does all of this by itself:

Pulls out the numbers
Registers them somewhere else
Sends them on to the right person or system
Follows up without anyone having to remember

You do none of the steps any more, you just see the result

Does any of this sound familiar?

If the answer is yes to one of the points below, there is usually something to gain.

01
The same information gets typed in twice
Somebody reads it off one system and types it into another. That is the clearest sign there is something to gain here.
02
The monthly report is made by hand
Numbers are pulled out, pasted into a spreadsheet and formatted again. The same work every time, for the same result.
03
The process stops when somebody is away
If a holiday or a sick day puts a routine on hold, the routine lives in a person rather than in a system.
04
Follow-ups happen when somebody remembers
Reminders and chasing live in somebody's head or on a list, and go out when there happens to be time.