RE: how does good looks like

I’m a Solutions Consultant at Workato. And in my role, I speak with many prospects who are looking to improve their current situation and have no idea where to start.

It can be a difficult conversation. Because where should we start? Should we start talking about their desired dreamworld ideal scenario, or should we start from how amazing an automation platform like Workato can change their automation strategy?

Here’s what I’ve learned. The answer is neither.

From my experience, automation really begins from the mindset. It’s great that a prospect is talking to us because it means that they are trying to solve their pain. And so when somebody comes to us looking for how does good looks like, the answer is often within. They need to dive deep into their processes, and get rid of unnecessary steps which are often a result of legacy processes. I don’t really have an answer for them.

We work with so many customers in different domains and industries. We have seen so many amazing transformation to minimize manual processes. Don’t get me wrong, not all manual processes are bad. Some are necessary, like the manual approving of important requests. Or eyeballing key information to make sure the numbers makes sense. We can’t blindly automate everything away.

We have to view automation in different perspective. If you think about it, automation is change management in disguise. Consider this when we relook into reengineering business processes: the higher the rewards (i.e. time saving, productivity gain) , the more disruptive it is to the business unit.

So what our customers really need when they are looking for how does good looks like, is a methodology to achieving enterprise automation.

Here’s what I typically do:

1. We can sit down together and deep dive into the current processes and situation. What’s working and what’s painful?
2. Then, we can share use cases on what are other customers are doing. How are they doing things differently?
3. Our next step will be exploring to automate a painful business process together. We will then automate this process together using Workato platform. Or what we call a workjam. From the session, it will provide a good idea on how much time savings and productivity gains that the team will stand to benefit.
4. Of course, then we have to get all stakeholders involved and start building and go live with the project.
5. Finally, as we see the fruits of our labour, we will reflect upon what went well, and how can we make the next automation cycle better.

Automating business process is a continuous cycle of improvement. There is no fixed definition of how does good looks like and it definitely will not be the same for everybody. Every business has its own unique set of challenges — be it legacy systems, niche industry, proprietary systems etc. What’s most important is to work together in creating the best solution for your team.

Ultimately, the answer is deep within and speaking to the right people can help uncover the potential of how does good looks like for your organisation.

PS: Workato does this really well. The platform is application agnostic and has great extensibility. But don’t take my word for it, you should find out and hear what other customers have to say about their automation journey.