Workflow automation: What it’s and the way it could make your job simpler

This text was contributed by Sergio Suarez Jr., founder and CEO of TackleAI.

Workflow automation, additionally referred to as knowledge automation, is the brand new buzzword within the tech trade, however what’s it, actually? To place it merely, workflow automation means getting data right into a system, launching duties to course of the information, and routing it to the proper folks. This course of is completed utilizing rule-based logic, and ideally with little to no human intervention essential. 

For some folks, a world of automation and synthetic intelligence could be overwhelming and even result in job safety issues. In actuality, automation and synthetic intelligence could be complementary work companions to most jobs, serving to people do their jobs extra effectively and successfully. 

One instance of workflow automation is in the best way most invoices are processed. The everyday handbook course of is tedious, time-consuming and vulnerable to errors. This course of normally consists of receiving an electronic mail, forwarding it to the billing division, and assigning it to somebody who then sorts out the vital data right into a payable bill. That data then will get despatched to somebody to take line gadgets and do a listing to verify the knowledge is right. Every time this course of includes one other individual, there’s a better probability of human error and undoubtedly extra time added to the method.

This is the reason automation, particularly associated to paperwork like invoices, could be massively advantageous for organizations when it comes to finance, effectivity and accuracy. Nonetheless, there are completely different approaches to workflow automation that pose completely different benefits to completely different organizations, and an knowledgeable determination between the 2 is vital.

There are two kinds of workflow automations – Clever and RPA (Robotic Course of Automation). The information that these two automation sorts course of could also be structured or unstructured. RPA can solely course of structured knowledge, which means knowledge that has labels or headers, and is staying in the identical a part of the web page each time. Clever Workflow Automation, which is true synthetic intelligence, can course of, extract and classify unstructured knowledge with out ever having seen the doc earlier than.

Within the instance of the invoices: with RPA, an organization will obtain an electronic mail, scan it, and practice the software program for that individual bill. This works effectively when the doc comprises structured knowledge, with the identical data in the identical spot, and has neat labeling or headers, and the quantity of area in line gadgets doesn’t change. 

With Clever Workflow Automation (IWA), as soon as it has realized one kind of bill, it now can learn any kind of bill, and extract and classify data, such because the payer and payee’s account data, and know which one is which. With every new doc, it not solely processes the information and is smart of it, however learns and trains itself to know the following doc sooner and with extra accuracy every time. That is important for a corporation to save lots of time and cut back error charges, as 85% of knowledge is unstructured.

Each RPA and IWA provide benefits to organizations. When it comes to functionality, Clever Workflow Automation wins out, however when it comes to startup value and upkeep, RPA can present a robust answer. 

There are a couple of steps to implementing automation into your corporation infrastructure, and so they differ barely relying on particular person goals, industries and technological capabilities.

First, establish the duty at hand: whereas a small gross sales agency would possibly look to automate a normal, structured bill, a hospital would possibly must course of quite a lot of dynamic paperwork and EHR knowledge. Relying on the complexity of the information, the sensitivity of the transferred data and the steps concerned in every job, one can choose both RPA or IWA as the popular automation choice. With advanced duties, IWA can go so far as finishing redaction, or knowledge extraction and validation, that are essential in medication, authorities and legislation. 

Second, choose your “supplier”: Will you rent a full-time developer? Will you interact with a agency? Will you implement a pre-developed answer? These are all sturdy choices that differ in worth between price range, and once more, the complexity of the duty at hand. 

Then, launch: getting automation proper requires lots of advantageous tuning, so when the ball is rolling, make certain to concentrate. The fantastic thing about the know-how is its means to repeatedly be taught and optimize itself, however a lot of this studying means relies on the human staff’s means to feed it clever data. 

A selected use case of implementing workflow automation occurred with a big healthcare knowledge aggregator. Hospital methods despatched the information aggregator lots of of hundreds of dynamically unstructured healthcare paperwork every day, which then wanted to be labeled, and have the information extracted and populated into every consumer’s digital well being file system. The workflow concerned sending the paperwork abroad, to be manually learn, labeled and typed out into an Excel spreadsheet. This course of took as much as 48 hours to finish every time, and had a median error charge of 10-30%, together with potential safety dangers and HIPAA violations. 

The lots of of hundreds of paperwork despatched have been all dynamically unstructured, so the healthcare knowledge aggregator went with IWA as an alternative of RPA for its automated workflow. The IWA was now finishing the identical workflow in lower than a second. Information factors have been now extracted from all kinds of unstructured paperwork, akin to prescriptions, MRIs, and oncology experiences. The IWA is 70% inexpensive than sending the identical paperwork abroad for handbook classification, and saved 50% of the operational price range. Now 73% of the paperwork are processed with IWA and wish no human intervention in any respect. The error charge was lowered to solely 0.03%, and the IWA can course of paperwork it has by no means seen earlier than. 

In brief, automation is greater than a buzzword. It’s a possibility to spice up income, optimize efficiency and accuracy, and use immense technological energy to permit human staff to maximise their potential exterior of repetitive and time-consuming knowledge duties. In 2022, automation is inside attain for companies and organizations of all sizes, unlocking alternatives for effectivity and income that weren’t beforehand obtainable. A enterprise with automation is a enterprise with a bonus – and it’s by no means too late to get began. 

Sergio Suarez Jr. is the founder and CEO of TackleAI.