Easter Holiday – Robot to help?

Easter is a common time for staff to take holiday. With schools closed, many families plan to take holiday. For business the peak in holiday requests can pose a challenge. Generally, business trading cannot stop, so the staff that are working have to cover for their colleagues’ holiday. Of course, non-urgent activity will be delayed until after the Easter break but many tasks still need to be completed to keep the business running smoothly.

In a survey of 500 SME business managers undertaken in March, 57% stated that they spend 4 or more hours a day on the computer. With that level of usage there is likely to be some tasks where a software robot could help.

A software robot is able to interact with IT systems just like a user does by using a screen and a keyboard. This type of automation is called RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and can involve robots that act as assistants to human activity as well as activity undertaken autonomously by a robot.

Using a software robot to undertake routine activity when there are less staff working during holiday periods can be an effective way of keeping up with business activity without putting additional pressure on staff who are working. In such scenarios, a software robot that acts as an assistant to the staff who are working can relieve pressure and empower the staff to be more productive just as if they were passing work off to their normal colleagues.

By creating software robot assistants, whenever staff are busy or colleagues are away due to holiday, sickness, training, etc, there can be an option to process some of the workload. This will benefit all staff but will be particularly useful at peak holiday times.

Software robot assistants can interact with CRM systems (e.g. Salesforce, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics), Service desk applications, ERP systems (e.g. Oracle, SAP, Epicor), Accounts (e.g. Sage, Oracle, SAP), as well Excel spreadsheets and email. While eating your chocolate Easter Egg this year, just imagine what a software robot could do for you.

For more information please contact us.