Abstract
As ever-increasing advances in automation and artificial intelligence solutions create more opportunities for businesses to streamline their operations, the key challenges for managers are to identify the appropriate use cases for automation solutions in their organisations and to integrate the solution effectively to meet the objectives of both the firm and its employees. This case study examines the impact of implementing a machine-learning robotic process automation (RPA) solution that is aimed at reducing manual data entry tasks for employees in a financial services firm. The study employed an action research approach to follow a single team in the firm before and after the RPA implementation — a period of six months. The findings showed that RPA improved productivity in the team and created more positive work experiences for employees, as they had more time to dedicate to creative, cognitive, and customer service tasks. The study also found that the roles of employees were being redefined during the integration process, with employees reporting a high potential for broader transformation in the business as a result of the RPA implementation.
Highlights
The eagerness of business leaders to embrace the expanding pool of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology solutions in pursuit of ever higher levels of performance reflects their belief in these sophisticated, cutting-edge tools as a kind of silver bullet for operations management
This was the central finding at the heart of the pre-implementation model, shown in Figure 1, which highlighted the potential for an automation solution: the misalignment between the requirements for meeting the needs of clients, and the ability of employees to meet those requirements under the current process
In the light of the task overflows, most team members did not have a good understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) and its capabilities, the introduction of robotic process automation (RPA) was perceived as a positive change that would eliminate repetitive tasks, make the employees’ lives easier, and make internal processes more seamless
Summary
The eagerness of business leaders to embrace the expanding pool of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology solutions in pursuit of ever higher levels of performance reflects their belief in these sophisticated, cutting-edge tools as a kind of silver bullet for operations management. This attitude, which puts the solution ahead of the problem, presents a risk to the business, as the value of advanced automation technologies is not in the models themselves, but in companies’ abilities to harness and implement solutions across the organisation [1]. This study examines an example of a business taking this approach to answer the central research question of how the implementation of an automation solution impacts operational performance in terms of productivity as well as employee experience
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