Remember the last time your star employee stayed late to finish work, only to leave some of it incomplete? Chances are, manual business processes have they time eat up. A reminder again this week or screenshot thrown into an excel sheet never costs anything. But when you tally that up over a month you are paying hours of wages for work that a tool could handle.
Defining Work That Should Run Itself
Any task that requires the same process every time, but is dependent on a person to keep things moving, is suitable. Entering web enquiries into a diary is an example. Sending each overdue customer an email is another. And over the course of a team, these all quietly add up to hours no one allowed for.
Four Corners of the Business Where Hand-Work Remains
The majority of owners underestimate when estimating how many mouse clicks. Take a closer look into these areas:
- THE SALE: enquiries scrawled on bits of paper, followups that are contingent on someone remembering.
- Finance: invoices drawn up individually, bank lines balanced manually, arrears called in by phone.
- Operations: rosters, stock takes, job sheets in spread sheets, which are long past their sell by date.
- People and HR: contract then produce, sign, scan, and file for every new starter.
Rate each one honestly. There will be at least one that comes to mind.
Signs Your Manual Processes Are Costing You
Your own workplace will usually reveal these symptoms:
- One Customer detail is typed into three different apps.
- There is a quote waiting around for days because the approver is on leave.
- Disagree in all totals, nobody knows which is correct.
- Training a new hire is mostly like teaching someone the tricks of the trade.
- Skillpeople complain admin takes away from the work they love.
What Hand-Done Work Really Takes From You
Time is only the beginning of the damage. Manual business tasks create tiny mistakes – and then you've lost even more precious time correcting them. The mood drops, when the best people start feeling more like data entry clerks than revenue generators. Then growth fights back – because every new customer creates new administrator. Handle it now to save your profit and your people.
An Approach to Correcting Manual Business Procedures
Or may-invoice-zip-zip-zoomed overnight onto a client's desk? Compile a list of everything you, your staff and your partners repeat every week, how long each task takes you, then take a hard look at the one that takes the most time or causes the most errors. Turn to automation for that first, then the next. One form set sent online can replace a potpourri of emails, a workflow sent next day can deposit an invoice while everyone still has their fingers on the keyboard. The Australian Government's business.gov.au site provides free, easyto-understand support to owners who want to digitalise.
How to Tell When an Expert Is Saving You Money
For other cases you need a professional's touch. Maybe you apps aren't sharing data, or your team is just so busy you don't have the capacity to implement anything new. One Hub custom-builds AI automation and workflow solutions for Melbourne companies. Book a free consultation and find out where the drain on your team's hours is.
FAQs
What do manual business processes really look like on a daily basis?
These are mundane tasks like redoing data, reminding, or building reports by hand, tasks which computer software could do more quickly, much more accurately, and leave humans to do what they do best.
Which should I automate first?
Pick the one that consumes most of your hours every week and makes the greatest errors, as solving it yields the best return on your invested time, money, and effort.
Are automation solutions affordable for a small business?
Most of the time, yes, simple and inexpensive tools like online forms and automatic email reminders cost very little and are generally paid back as soon as within one year of being implemented - often quite a bit earlier.
Could automating tasks threaten my employees' jobs?
No, it gets rid of the crap admin so your people can focus on the customer, thinking and the things that will grow your business in the long term.
How soon will I notice a difference after automating?
These can be made very quickly (within a matter of days), while larger workflow projects are typically able to see tangible benefits just a matter of a few weeks after launch, after your team has become familiar with the new setup.