Wednesday 22 December 2021
Over the past eighteen months, the pandemic has impacted daily practices for many organisations. As we continue to adapt to an ever-changing marketplace, businesses are looking to future-proof their practices by creating flexibility within their operations.
Automation has a big part to play in this process, helping to save time and money, and increase customer satisfaction. Its benefits have been demonstrated throughout 2021, with the automation industry gaining momentum amid efforts to adapt to the ‘new normal’.
So what's next? In this blog we take a look at five of the potential automation trends for 2022, and the benefits these could bring to you and your business.
1. We'll witness the arrival of task-based workflows
Currently many employees need to open up various different applications to determine the work that they need to complete each day. This can be a tedious process and can become a barrier to productivity at the start of a working day.
In 2022, we'll see an increase in the use of automated virtual assembly lines to deliver relevant tasks straight to employees' desktops.
These automated task-based workflows will take the complexity out of day-to-day planning, save time and help to avoid a loss in productivity as people learn to use new or updated applications. They will also give employees the freedom to focus on high-priority tasks that add real value to a business.
2. Automation will underpin sustainability strategies
The role automation can play in organisations’ sustainability initiatives is set to finally receive the recognition it deserves in 2022.
Although the importance of this role has been evident for some time, the onset of organisations announcing renewed sustainability frameworks, and committing to tackling climate change, will drive the adoption of automation across a variety of industries.
Automation can support the achievement of sustainability objectives in many ways. It can be used to power down systems when not in use, helping to reduce electricity costs, or to lower paper consumption through the automation of previously paper-based tasks.
Automating repetitive, manual processes can also cut carbon emissions by reducing the spaces needed for these activities to take place and their associated costs, such as electricity needed for lighting and gas for heating systems.
3. Employees will be empowered to automate tasks themselves
As we enter 2022, we'll see an increase in toolsets and platforms designed to make automation more accessible to employees with a basic knowledge of technology. This will allow individuals to automate everyday, simple tasks so that they can focus on more interesting work that fully utilises their skillset and adds value to the business.
Empowering employees to automate tasks themselves can increase productivity, improve consistency and contribute to a more engaged workforce.
4. We'll see an increase in physical robotic machines
It’s likely we’ll see organisations who specialise in the provision of services begin to increase their use of physical robotic machines, countering the number of unfilled job openings seen since the pandemic.
These machines will use automation to carry out job roles that typically pay a low wage and require difficult working conditions, as often present in industries such as food preparation, healthcare, surveillance and maintenance.
Tasking robotic machines with these job roles will create robust ways of working that better weather future disruptions to the marketplace, as well as increase rates of accuracy and consistency.
5. Automation will be championed from the top
As more and more organisations have taken steps to automate straightforward and time-consuming processes in 2021, trust in automation has grown. Automating these simple tasks has demonstrated the benefits of automation to those in senior leadership positions, and there is now demand to build on this capability even more.
This means that in 2022, we're likely to see support for automation activity increase, along with the ability for organisations to automate more complex processes that require buy-in at a senior level. Successful automation requires this high level of support from senior leadership, which will ultimately be rewarded through business growth and increased profitability.
As you can tell, we’re expecting big things for automation in 2022 and in return we’re predicting big benefits for businesses. If you’d like to talk to us about how automation can enhance your business in the year ahead, use the form below to drop us a line. We look forward to working with you!
