Training and engagement are the key to unlocking automation

Automation for automation's sake doesn't work, argues Krishnanand Nayak of SAP Fieldglass

Automation's lofty promises of new business models, leaner ways of working, more efficiencies and profit growth would undoubtedly whet the appetites of any business, but the chasm between excitement and adoption seems wide. A recent survey of over 500 workers around the world shows that, in reality, few businesses are making the most of the automation opportunity.

The survey, by Adaptavist, found that for 60 per cent of workers, less than 40 per cent of their workload has been automated. Over time, that's a huge number of hours wasted on tasks that could be passed to a machine - and, importantly, continuing on this trajectory would limit business growth. Slow adoption rates are driven, in part, by a clear skills gap, and filling this gap is essential for businesses wanting to thrive in the next 10 years.

Here is a case study example, from very close to home. Our teams at SAP Fieldglass spent much of their time negotiating a labyrinth of disparate communication tools, meaning they lacked the level of accuracy and transparency needed to thrive. With no central repository, data was scattered across many different applications, leading to challenges finding the right information for fast decision-making. We needed to improve team productivity and communication across all levels of the business - 1,000 people - to accelerate automation, reduce manual footprint and drive the next phase of growth.

However, we also realised automation for automation's sake doesn't work. Even with all the best tooling in the world, organisations still won't benefit unless they can successfully help teams understand how to properly use tools and create a culture of automation and eagerness to learn. For example, we had a number of automation tools that allowed us to feel the power, but not the speed needed for rapid development, decision-making and innovation.

Investing in a training programme to on-board teams and get them up to speed quickly is an important way for businesses to realise the full benefits and capabilities of automation tools and strategies. It's also a crucial part of engaging teams and instilling best practices from the outset.

Teams need this training, and an instilled willingness to engage, by doing more than simply receiving (often dry) training - and this needs to be led from the top. Those leaders looking ahead at what future skills will be needed will be more likely to see the benefits of automation. Think of the possibilities if automation could be applied within legal, human resources, marketing, finance and customer service teams. All of this is closer than we may think, as automation tools become more accessible to non-technical users across the business.

Time is the most significant resource we have achieved with automation. By increasing automation and engaging users we have been able to reduce our manual footprint significantly, allowing our teams to focus on achieving higher-value goals for the business and to work on more interesting tasks. Increased time for innovation has enabled teams to explore new ideas and focus on delivering a superior customer experience.

Krishnanand Nayak is QA lead and Jira expert at SAP Fieldglass