Automating your business can bring simplicity back to some of your tasks and give you back your time. With the algorithms available today, automation is easier for businesses of all kinds to take advantage of.

What is Automation?

Automation is the process of using technology and intelligent algorithms to perform tasks traditionally carried out by humans. Automation can be used in a variety of different settings, including factories, hospitals, and even our homes.

Automation has become an incredibly important tool for businesses seeking to improve efficiency and reduce costs, but it also raises some concerns about job losses and worker displacement. Despite these drawbacks, automation will continue to play a major role in shaping the future of work. Whether we like it or not, we are all moving towards a future that is increasingly automated.

Choose What You Want to Automate

Choose the tasks you want to automate carefully. You need to understand automation and what it can do because most tasks you can automate shouldn’t be automated. The best tasks to automate are those that are repetitive, time-consuming, and easy for algorithms to complete accurately without your input.

Publishing WordPress posts, bulk image resizing and optimization, analytics reports, sending invoices, scoring leads, and automating email responses are all tasks that can be automated.

Tasks that require creative thinking and a lot of human input, such as content creation, design processes, or problem solving, should not be automated.

Do you need to import spreadsheets between Excel and Google Sheets six times a day, or could you automate this process? Automation can save you time and money, and once you get a feel for what it can do, you may come up with more ambitious strategies that transform your business entirely.

Choose Your Automation Tool

Choose the automation tools you’re going to use based on the tasks you want to automate. There are many platforms available.

Zapier is a basic yet powerful automation system that creates mini automations for your favorite business applications. For example, you can automate adding Google Calendar entries from Trello cards, or updating ActiveCampaign contacts from Facebook and MailChimp leads.

Set Your Automation Goals

Before investing time and money in automation, make sure to set specific, measurable goals that will show whether the automation is successful and worth continuing.

What is your goal for your business, and how will automating certain processes help you achieve it? Make sure your goal is measurable so you can see the impact of even small changes. Be specific and set targets for each quarter to gauge your progress.

Measure the Impacts and adjust as needed

Without setting targets and choosing the right KPIs, you won’t be able to measure the impact of automation on your business or identify opportunities to improve results.

When automation allows you to multiply tasks almost infinitely, a simple change to your workflow can greatly increase your profit margins.

Create a Culture of Automation

Create a culture of automation in your workplace. Automation is not just a technology; it is also a way of thinking. Always look for ways to automate tasks and improve existing automation.

This mindset is all about efficiency and getting the most results with the resources you have. You want your team members to recognize when they can automate tasks to free up time for other tasks. This doesn’t come automatically, so make it a constant presence in the workplace and reward your team for turning automation into better results.