"What can we automate?" is the right question!

I watched a video briefly and the hook was that leaders asking "what can we automate?" are asking the wrong question. I don't believe that to be true.

It is the right question. It is a necessary question.

What I will say is that it cannot be the only question, and it should not be asked in isolation - as in, walking into a meeting, asking what can we automate, having people rattle off the top of mind things, and then going off to automate whatever was called out. I would like to think no one is actually doing that, but the question does need follow-through.

After the team has identified the options, the next question is: what do we need to do to get there?

That is where you look at process readiness, people readiness, data readiness - whether the information is available, clean and accurate - and whether it is aligned to business goals and ultimately delivers value to the customer.

Then there is a third question: how do we transfer that value back to the customer?

A practical example - take any recurring administrative request that comes in by call or email.

A customer needs a document. It goes to an agent or a back-office person, it is two or three touchpoints and a two to three day turnaround. Automating the document generation means it can be produced on the first interaction. Fewer touchpoints, faster turnaround.

A good next step is making that document available through self-service - the customer retrieves it without contacting the business, inbound volumes reduce, and it drives traffic to digital tools which supports the ROI of those tools and creates awareness for the customer to find value there in future.

The third step is predictive - the data tells you which customers are likely to need this and when, so you send it before they ask.

Could you skip the steps in between and go straight to predictive? Yes. There are opportunities and costs on either side, and what that means for your team and your larger items is worth considering before you do.

Automation Sequence

The question sequence for me is: what can we automate, what do we need to do to get there, and how do we transfer that value to our customers.

I say this because in this hook culture that seems to thrive on making leaders feel like they are not doing enough - it is important to ask the what can we automate question, and then sit with the work and the subsequent questions that follow.

Those are necessary questions.