Editorial
At the heart of successful automation initiatives lies a deep understanding of employee pain points and existing processes. Put simply, what do people find difficult or boring?
These are prime candidates for automation, because they’re the parts of people’s jobs that they will miss the least.
By directly engaging with employees on the processes and pain points that bug them, companies can tap into their organizational memory. This helps pinpoint opportunities where automation is not only technically feasible but also genuinely beneficial to the workforce and aligned with business goals.
User research and discovery phases are critical not just for identifying tasks that can be automated, but also for uncovering the nuanced human experiences behind these tasks. By understanding the human aspect of work, organizations can ensure automation is more effective and more readily embraced by users.
Automation Starts With Discovery
We can’t assume every process is ripe for automation. We must first understand contexts and goals, and why things are currently done in ways that might appear suboptimal at first glance.
Here it’s worth remembering a heuristic inspired by writer G. K. Chesterton. In his 1929 book “The Thing,” Chesterton recounts the case of the reformer who notices a fence, but fails to see the reason for its existence.
Chesterton explains that the fence didn’t grow out of the ground; each was planned and built by people who identified a need for one. We need to understand what that need is. Removing a fence without understanding why it was built in the first place risks second-order effects that cause damage later on.
Chesterton’s Fence is why user research acts as a crucial filter. It sheds light on tasks ripe for automation, but also on essential context like regulation or unintended consequences that automation could worsen.
It’s equally important to know of potential barriers to automation's successful implementation. These can be technical, such as legacy systems that may not integrate seamlessly with new technologies, or cultural, such as resistance to change from employees who fear job displacement.
User research can help illuminate these cultural and technological fences, but only if we provide a safe space for employees to express their concerns and aspirations.
Related Article: How to Identify the Right Workplace Processes to Automate
The Big Dirty Spreadsheet Secret
I’ll let you in on a secret: if you look around any large organization, you’ll find a myriad of business-critical operations being managed with spreadsheets. Case in point: the Formula 1 leader who recently found the instructions to build his team’s 20,000 part car in an Excel spreadsheet. He was surprised. I wasn’t.
These massive, ugly spreadsheets were created by someone who left years ago, and are being used for things for which spreadsheets were never designed. They are obvious candidates for automation, offering improvements to efficiency, accuracy and risk management.
But that seemingly obvious change needs to be handled carefully. These spreadsheets are familiar. People have learned The Spreadsheet. It has semi-mythical importance, sitting at the heart of their day and referred to regularly. They can’t imagine how anything will work without The Spreadsheet.
Moreover, The Spreadsheet has an owner. And by challenging the Excel Orthodoxy you are challenging their authority and status. So we need to take them with us on the journey to have the rest of the organization follow.
Realizing automation potential hinges on transitioning individuals, teams and organizations from a current state (of spreadsheet-dependency) to a desired, future state (of embracing automation).
Stakeholders may have reservations about automation for several reasons. Managers of non-automated systems, for instance, might worry about the implications for their teams and processes. There's often a fear that automation could lead to job losses or diminish the value of human expertise.
To address their concerns, engage in open, transparent discussions that focus on how automation enhances human work, rather than replaces it. That could mean exploring how replacing the fabled spreadsheet with automated business intelligence systems gives people better and faster data to make decisions, as well as reduces the risk of errors.
Robust change management and stakeholder engagement practices come into play here. They ensure a smooth, well-received, well-understood and ultimately successful transition that achieves its intended benefits.
Get Buy-in to Unlock Potential
The path to automation is paved with innovation and strategic foresight, but is doomed to failure without securing buy-in from stakeholders. Those stakeholders range from C-suite executives with wildly unrealistic expectations about productivity gains, to the managers of current, non-automated systems who may harbour concerns about the transition.
The challenge lies not only in presenting the technical benefits of automation. It also involves aligning these benefits with the company's broader objectives, addressing the human factors involved and sprinkling it all with a healthy dose of realism.
To win stakeholder support, we must highlight how automation aligns with the company's long-term goals and offers short term wins.
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It has become standard to make the case for investment with data-driven projections that illustrate automation's potential impact on efficiency, cost savings and competitive advantage. But we can do more to bring our more jaded colleagues around by sharing case studies and examples to provoke and inspire.
For example, pharmaceutical giant Bayer shares bi-weekly AI success stories on how colleagues are using their enterprise generative AI. This digest aims to encourage both adoption and experimentation.
Too many business cases focus on defined (if rarely delivered) benefits. This type of approach encourages people to experiment and find their affordances, while demonstrating how automation can — and is — resolving those common employee pain points highlighted in discovery.
And remember: Securing stakeholder buy-in is not a one-time task. It is an ongoing process of engagement, communication and demonstration of value.
Related Article: Human-Machine Collaboration in the Age of Automation
Human-Centered Change Management
We must help employees adapt to change, overcome obstacles and embrace new ways of working, augmented by automation technologies.
Confidence is critical. It’s essential that people have ample training and support so they can develop mastery and overcome fears. This can range from formal training sessions to ongoing support mechanisms like help desks or peer mentoring programs. Those who own existing systems (or, yes, spreadsheets) can be the most resistant to change, but they’re often those most interested in success. Harness their enthusiasm and potential to turn resistance into advocacy.
Show and Tell, Walk the Talk
Leaders need to walk the talk, too. Not only must they champion the change, but also model the new behaviors and practices that the automation initiatives seek to introduce. By actively participating in the change process, and perhaps identifying tasks of their own that can be automated, leaders can inspire confidence, foster a positive attitude towards the change and help to embed automation into the organization’s DNA.
By focusing on the people aspect of change, organizations can ensure a smoother transition, higher adoption rates and more sustainable outcomes. As businesses continue to embrace automation, those that master the art of change management will be best positioned to reap the full benefits of these digital transformation efforts.
Discovery, engagement and change management are not merely preparatory steps in the automation journey. They are continuous practices that ensure automation efforts remain focused on boosting the efficiency, creativity and happiness of the workforce.
As we venture further into the age of automation, organizations that prioritize understanding the human elements of their operations will not only navigate potential barriers more effectively but also unlock the full transformative potential of automation.
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