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A hybrid workplace allows employees to work wherein they're most productive. As such, it effectively combines remote and on-site work. Identifying which setup will work best for every employee is part of the struggle. Another struggle is how to keep your remote and on-site staff collaborating effectively. When people work in the same physical location, collaboration is more effortless. There are still challenges in this setup. But it's easier than gathering people from different areas to work on a single task.
Automation as the answer
Marie feels frustrated. She has been working remotely and attempting to send her reimbursement claim to her company. Marie is doing this through their automated payment system. She needs to complete certain forms to get paid, but she can't seem to locate them within the intranet. Usually, she could just ask the person next to her office desk to help her out. Then again, this is not feasible when you work remotely. As a result, she wasted an hour on this simple task.
While hybrid work is the future, it's not a foolproof system. Employees can get distracted, struggle with technology, or go through virtual overload. The answer to these challenges, according to experts, is business automation. It can make your workforce more productive.
What is business automation?
Automation refers to the digital technologies necessary to replicate processes you normally complete manually. According to IBM, automation is the process that lessens human inputs.
In businesses, this means automating redundant processes and allocating human resources for more complex tasks. Here are some examples of business tasks you can automate:
- Scheduling meetings and other appointments
- Making a to-do list
- Sorting and replying to emails
- Scheduling social media posts
- Completing online forms
- Backing-up data
- Recruiting, interviewing, and hiring people
- Generating proposals
- Collecting and signing documents
The good news is you can automate every process in your workplace. It doesn't matter if it's Marie's expense report, extensive data analysis, or completing complex reports. Even in sales, customer service, and legal, automation is workable.
How can automation help a hybrid environment?
You should automate to keep your talented workforce focused on the tasks that matter. These are the tasks that make the most sense in your operation. Here are some ways workplace automation can help a hybrid work environment.
Automation addresses the lack of human resources
People in a hybrid work environment need to access work-related applications and programs. You can find these programs within and outside the company's official network perimeter. Fortunately, multi-cloud adoption expanded people's notion of enterprise perimeters. Companies realize that a hybrid cloud approach like cloud-based architecture demands new strategies.
Businesses are attempting to build a stable and secure hybrid work system. These new systems are tackling system security issues within the cloud seriously. When companies digitized and automated their processes, cybercriminals also shaped up. They also automated their tactics. They can create multi-vector and sophisticated attacks executable at machine speeds.
Humans can't keep up with these changes. This is why organizations should consider automation. They need to make it a considerable part of their security plan. While AI provides the necessary visibility, automation addresses the lack of human resources.
Automation hastens administrative decision-making
With technological advancements, agencies can now make automated decisions easier. Then again, the catch is that automated systems are prone to abuse. It can adversely affect individual privacy and rights. So, it is a must for the organization to find a balance. They need to automate and ensure to use it only when necessary and appropriate.
Administrative decision-making can be challenging in a hybrid environment. With people working from different locations, consensus can take time to gather. This is true for crucial decisions. But you can remedy this by automation. By setting metrics and conditions, there's no need to wait for the team to sit down and vote. The system can decide intelligently based on the premises.
The best-automated system knows that people are affected by a decision or process. It should also maintain the fairness and respectful treatment of manual decision-making. If applied where necessary and managed appropriately, they can improve the organization. It can improve transparency, accuracy, and consistency in administrative decision-making.
Takeaway
A hybrid workplace is the future of businesses. This may seem like a novel idea for some. But its convenience and flexibility make it worthy of widespread application. With automation, any organization with a hybrid system can thrive continuously.