By Sarah Dell’Aringa
As an AP leader overseeing and guiding your department through their day-to-day functions, most likely you’ve been thinking about how automated processes can be beneficial to your employees. What does this new, modernized workplace entail? What are the specifics of how automation within AP departments will change the way things operate, moreover within your company? For many higher-ups, personnel is their top priority; if you can keep your workers happy, your business will reach maximum productivity. As a result, concerns about layoffs, how employees may have to transition to other roles, and changes regarding teams are all crowding the minds of finance professionals. In this blog, we will cover what changes you may see resulting from automation, as well as answer many of the specific questions that will cover the transitions your company may face.
Automation’s Background
Many finance professionals have already looked into the role of automation within AP departments and deemed it worthy and necessary for their own workplace – but for those of you who are still only beginning to comprehend how the changes may assist you and your employees, let’s start by breaking down how automation can improve office morale. It’s no secret that executives within companies are always seeking ways to keep their employees content with realistic ideas. One of the main ways that automated processes can improve the workload of AP employees is saving time. Since automation eliminates manual invoice processing, invoices are completed much quicker and are extremely time-conscious; instead of taking over a week to process, invoices are processed within a mere matter of days. When more time is available to your employees, you can present multiple opportunities for bigger projects, and possibilities are endless. In a leader position within AP, you may find yourself assigning more tasks that are a part of the bigger picture and more fulfilling for your employees, but nothing mundane or time-consuming that will hold them back any longer. As real-time, accurate invoice capture and coding becomes available, your company will be up to speed with current practices, and the moods of finance workers will be boosted.
Keeping Employees, Yet Eliminating The Need for Unnecessary Hires
A large burden hindering accounts payable departments is the need to constantly be hiring more staff to take on more data input and more invoice overseeing; overall, having to match the number of employees with the number of tasks. New hires can often bring unnecessary stress by burdening teams with having to bring each worker up to speed on every process within their organizations. Existing employees also may feel threatened or intimidated by another individual potentially taking their job, or clashing with their preferred approaches. With automated processes, this specific issue also will be eradicated and change functions within your company, as lower costs plus quicker processing equals even more advantages for your current staff. Most likely you will notice an improvement in the overall success of your employee’s average workday, since their jobs will become so much more than tedious, time-consuming tasks, and there will no longer be a need to excessively seek out new personnel. Automation will present more opportunities to employees within AP for important projects within their departments that have not been completed in the past, or have fallen by the wayside due to time constraints.
Office Morale and Culture Improved
As automation supplies us with an upgraded budget, more time for smarter work, and more success and accuracy within accounts payable, consider how significantly the morale of your staff will improve. Stress from our jobs can very easily bleed into our personal lives and affect both our mental and physical health, so when it can be lessened in any way, employees will thrive at home and at work. It’s no lie that essentially no employee enjoys performing monotonous, manual data input or any other tasks that make their energy feel misspent. Employees using automation will be able to utilize all of the skills that they are proud to demonstrate in the workplace, including creativity, intuitive problem-solving, and strategizing how to improve their company – skills they most likely have put on their resumes and need experience honing. Not only are you making a smart decision for your company, but for your employees, whose best interest should always be taken into account. Automation can also be used as a strategic device towards competitors; with regular tasks automated, success is practically guaranteed from your AP department. Since faster invoice processing, higher accuracy, and an overall higher performance level will help your individual department thrive, your AP department will soar above the rest regarding efficiency and customer service. In addition, automation may even provide you the option of finding additional payment discounts from your suppliers.
In Conclusion, What Will AP Departments Look Like After Automation?
Putting all of the previous information covered into basic terms, here are some things you can expect to see within your department after changes from automation take place:
- Teams will be able to expand their daily duties and branch out as they are given more time devoted to better opportunities instead of simple data capture.
- AP departments will begin to work and flow better with other departments, as their own individual success will provide them with more chances to integrate and face-to-face with other department heads.
- Current employees will no longer feel disposable or threatened by new hires, but instead more valued as their positions will be kept due to the company’s new ability to scale better through automation. Morale will also be boosted as they are given the chances to truly utilize skills they originally applied for their positions for.
As your company continues to progress alongside modern technology, understand that comprehending the positive aspects of automation is necessary to move your accounts payable departments forward. The specifics of what will change regarding our average workdays shouldn’t be feared, but celebrated, as the health and happiness of employees should always be prioritized. Feel free to reach out to an oAppsNET Partners consultant for all of your questions and concerns – we look forward to the future, and to the success of all companies utilizing automation to improve the worklife of their finance professionals.