Robot versus human jobs aside for a moment, this happiness-productivity mantra is frequently extolled by HR departments, while new studies linking employee satisfaction to productivity are released on an almost daily basis.
Usually, research of this type tends to reach a conclusion that suggests an extensive package of employee benefits such as flexible working, a bonus scheme and subsidised healthcare are key to reducing workplace stress and boosting employee performance.
The general principle of this is unquestionably valid, and the perks mentioned above all have their place in a forward-looking strategy.
But whilst these benefits focus on overall work-life balance, a key facet of employee satisfaction tends to be neglected the actual tasks involved in the working day.
The process-driven productivity drain
For many people in the working world, administration and repetitive tasks are draining their productivity and leaving them little time to focus on the creative and strategic tasks that interest them.
In fact, a recent Kronos study found that admin and process driven tasks were taking up seven per cent of the average working week. Workers involved in the Kronos research pointed to reducing administration and paperwork through automation as the optimal solution for tackling this issue.
This was an interesting finding in a climate where robotics and automation in the workplace can be treated with suspicion. In contrast to oft-cited concerns, Kronos found a latent demand for automation from overworked staff who wanted to focus on the more interesting and impactful parts of their role.
Making human jobs?more creative
Human resistance to automation is a key concern for businesses who are looking to implement technology to boost productivity within their organisations. However, it’s important to note is that more automation does not go hand in with a reduction in staff.
In fact, as identified, by employees in the Kronos study, automation has an important role to play when it comes to enhancing the quality of human jobs.
One of the biggest technology trends for the year ahead is Robotic Process Automation (RPA) which shifts repetitive, process driven tasks from human jobs to software robots. Given that robots can work 24/7, implementing RPA saves organisations huge swathes of time and money.
In fact, against human jobs, a robot can now deliver three-five times the work of an employee with zero errors, so efficiency is significantly improved, helping businesses meet the demands of expectant customers and increasing satisfaction levels. However, just as importantly, automation can provide a huge psychological boost for employees.
Continue on the next page for details of the sectors where human jobs can be made more creative.
Working in perfect harmony
An element of autonomy and creative input is crucial for people to be truly satisfied at work. Many enter professions because they are a commercially viable way of living out creative aspirations. As such, people are driven to succeed through making individual contributions and using their own initiative to improve ways of working and drive business growth.
The possibilities for RPA and people to work together in harmony are endless, we are only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potential use cases.
However, we have outlined some examples below where RPA is already freeing up employees to add something new to the business and human jobs, rather than merely keeping things ticking over.
Data science
With the number of Internet of Things devices growing exponentially, as a society we are creating more data which can reveal valuable insights into our preferences and interests, helping businesses better tailor experiences and offers.
However, this mass of data needs to be scraped and organised which can become a time-consuming part of the data scientist’s role. This is where RPA can add real value, automating these processes to save time for data professionals.
Data scientists are freed up to focus on the analysis of this data, understanding reveal trends developing creative solutions that help the business improve and personalise services.
Insurance
Whether you insure people’s health, cars, homes or pets, the advent of comparison sites means that the industry is facing a race to the bottom on pricing. In this climate it a combination of customer relationships and cutting edge digital services that keeps consumers engaged and loyal.
However, many staff at insurance providers are too busy dealing with claims processing, policy administration and pricing to focus on the value add. RPA can lift the burden of these time consuming, high volume tasks and, according to Accenture, free up 20 5- 30 per cent of employee capacity.
This means that staff can focus on relationship building, gaining a better understanding of what consumers are looking for and suggesting new services or problem solving techniques to sustain and grow client relationships.
Financial services
There is no doubt that the traditional financial services industry is under huge pressure as smaller, sexier FinTech startups disrupt delivery models from foreign exchange to retail banking.
Established organisations need to invest in innovation to tackle the threat from startups but this can be difficult in an industry burdened by compliance and process.
However, RPA allows financial service providers to streamline transaction-laden activities including transfers and deposits, account reconciliation, audit support, credit card processing and mortgage approval. This means that staff are freed up to focus on strategic and creative work such as competitive analysis and digital service innovation.
As we have seen above, the potent combination of automation couple with more creative human jobs has the potential to turbo charge businesses across all sectors. This is critical in an era where no sector is safe from digital disruption and businesses must move at pace to keep up with demand from digitally savvy consumers.
By using automation to enhance process driven work and empowering your people to focus on experimentation and innovation you can stand ahead of the pack as you move forward.
Guy Kirkwood is COO and chief evangelist at UiPath
Image: Shutterstock
