In business, ingenuity and automation can go hand in hand

by Janice Allen
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Laura Scotti is the CEO of ScottiWorks Advice.

In the pursuit of success, I believe there is no single more valuable or necessary quality to possess than resourcefulness. If certain according to the Oxford Dictionary, resourcefulness is the “quality of being good at finding ways of doing things and solving problems.” In its simplest form, being resourceful is an unusual thinker.

The past few years have been challenging. Resourcefulness is a skill that has become more necessary, especially for today’s leaders. Innovative managers think outside the box. They visualize different ways of doing tasks and see the bigger picture of getting things done. They are often tenacious, sloppy, inventive, collaborative and driven to find a way to get what they need and want. Resourceful people and companies approach problems with a growth mindset. And as innovative – and often persistent – individuals, resourceful people often lean on outside forces to help them find a solution. One of my clients offers an automation solution, and working with them on their marketing has given me first-hand experience of how automation tools can be a great tool for leaders.

Automated solutions for a more resourceful business

As a business owner, leader or entrepreneur, you will face many challenges in growing your business. There are the obvious ones, such as managing your employees, marketing your product or service, and finding new customers. And there are also less obvious challenges that can be a major hurdle to overcome and have a significant impact on your bottom line, such as business transparency, audit risk, and service responsiveness.

With the future of work changing so fast, companies increasingly rely on automation to help them keep pace and eliminate common bottlenecks, such as removing the labor-intensive task of manual processes and improving workflow efficiency with cloud-based platforms.

Busy work versus productive work: every resourceful business leader knows the difference. The first is often time-consuming and inefficient work that requires little attention or effort. The last, productive work, produces the best results: work that is meaningful and benefits the company. This is the area where automation can really shine.

In short, all companies want to do more with less. By automating and streamlining workflows, companies can maximize their available resources, including their time, money and staff. Ultimately, there are four main goals that companies want to achieve with this type of optimization:

Increased efficiency

Automation can reduce the manual effort required for tasks and help streamline workflows. Repetitive and time-consuming tasks can be automated, freeing employees to focus on strategic, high-value activities, leading to increased productivity.

Cost savings

By eliminating a majority of the manual labor required for routine tasks, leaders can reduce labor costs, minimize errors and limit operational costs associated with everyday tasks. As technological advancements become more sophisticated, so does the complexity of the tasks they can perform.

Improved accuracy

Manual processes are prone to human error. Automation can remove much of that risk and ensure accuracy and consistency in tasks such as data analysis, report generation, and payroll processing. It can even help you comply with laws and regulations.

Scalability

The goal of any business is to grow. Manual tasks that might be easy for a company of 10 employees can become impossible for a workforce of 1,000. As businesses grow, automation can help them handle larger volumes of tasks without requiring a proportional change in resources. This scalability enables companies and their leaders to adapt to changing market conditions and enable expansion.

Questions to ask when considering an automation solution

The number of automation tools on the market has given organizations more options than ever, and selecting the right platform can be challenging. Knowing what questions to ask helps resourceful leaders make decisions that are aligned with the needs of their business.

The first step is to determine which options allow you to automate workflows across multiple departments. Which solutions can streamline processes from customer service to IT? By leveraging a single company-wide automation service, companies can collaborate across departments, reducing redundancy and improving productivity.

Which platforms will then adapt and change along with your organization? These solutions should continue to grow and evolve with you, ensuring you get the most out of your investment and continue to see returns on productivity well into the future. Look for applications and services that provide technical support and updates, provide training, and integrate their services with the legacy platforms you already have.

Finally, look for companies and services that are committed to ongoing research and development. What tools have they recently developed? How can those solutions benefit your business? Platforms that are constantly improving their solutions are more likely to provide advanced solutions to problems you might not have even considered.

Welcoming change for business growth

Resourceful individuals deal with obstacles with optimism and determination and make the most of what they have at hand. Many are successful, others not so much, but each hurdle is a learning experience that adds skills to their repertoire that probably weren’t there before. What sets these people apart from the common people is their ability to find a solution to increase efficiency mainly through technological advancements in the modern workforce. They welcome change and invest in the right systems that pay off in both the short and long term.


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