The Forgotten Investment When Automating: Your Workforce

Automating processes can have huge benefits for an organisation. But only if they don’t forget to take their employees on for the ride.

From daily tasks that have been around forever, to new and ever-changing requirements, such as global invoice and tax compliance, there is no question that the finance landscape is complex. To get help with this, more and more companies are looking to automation technologies.

More than half (54%) of finance and procurement leaders intend to significantly increase their investments in data automation over the next 12–18 months, according to ‘Visible Commerce: Overcoming Operational Blind Spots‘, a report by Basware. This is promising news, as the pandemic clearly proved that manual operations must be minimised.

There is one caveat we must raise though…

Don’t Forget Your Employees

Because of the “Great Attrition” or the “Great Resignation” – whatever you name it – the war for talent is raging. The Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index showed that more than 40% of the global workforce is considering leaving their current role this year. So now, more than ever, you must prioritize your most valuable asset – your human capital – in every way. 

So, what is the one critical key to unlocking accounts payable (AP) automation success and employee retention? Investment in your workforce. If an employee is confident in their job security and is offered upskilling opportunities, chances are they’ll be willing to stick around. The last thing you want is a world-class automation investment without any world-class talent to support it.

Protect Your Most Valuable Assets

Let’s talk about a sound investment strategy that combines soft and hard tactics.

First, put an end to fear over job loss. Help employees understand how AP automation doesn’t necessarily mean job elimination, but instead will lead to greater job satisfaction by cutting out the tedious, repetitive, manual tasks that are likely dreaded anyway. In fact, AP automation often means job gains. The World Economic Forum predicted that automation, “contrary to popular fears about job losses,” would result in a net increase of 58 million jobs.

Encourage wider thinking about automation’s benefits, like how it serves as a lever to pull out the manual tasks, freeing time for much more strategic tasks, ultimately setting up AP departments to transform from cost centers to profit centers.

Most AP automation solutions flag out-of-compliance pricing and automatically prioritise invoices with early-pay discounts. Your employees’ eyes might light up when they realise these types of tasks can be removed from their plates. As such, emphasise that automation presents new opportunities for them to add more value through analysis and problem solving that they may not be able to undertake today – thus making the best use of their time. 

Continuing down the path of reassurance, make them feel heard. Ask for employees’ input and help during the process and encourage personal ownership through inclusion. Perhaps host a Q&A meeting and ask employees to email their questions prior to the meeting. Record the meeting, collect and transcribe all questions and answers, and provide a document to employees that they can reference in the future.

Embrace the Shift

You must also provide adequate training and show employees how to embrace the shift. Training could be presented (and needed) in a variety of forms: some that is specific to the technology and some, like global invoice and tax compliance, focused on ever-changing trends and regulations that impact the department.

Some businesses are already aware that technology alone is not enough. Visible Commerce: Overcoming Operational Blind Spots revealed that 60% of finance professionals plan to increase their investments in educating employees on the importance of compliance in the next three years.

When structuring your training, ask yourself what would keep you engaged. Perhaps gamify the change process to create a healthy inter-office competition. Or develop an awards program that recognises those who demonstrate the right behaviour. Don’t forget: shorter training times or modules are more effective to keep employee engagement high. So, make training short, sweet, frequent, and interactive. Don’t just talk at people; make them accountable for their own learning.

Lastly, keep the momentum going after the system is implemented. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Set KPIs that aren’t just aimed at the end goal, but also at progress milestones and discuss the project in phases so employees become comfortable with the idea of ongoing change and optimization. This helps keep people motivated and focused on continuous improvement – after all it’s a journey not a destination. 

By investing in your workforce and AP automation, you could truly take your AP department from zero to 60. Both are powerful assets; just be sure you empower them both, simultaneously.

More insights on building a business that is resilient and compliant are available in the recent Basware research report, Visible Commerce: Overcoming Operational Blind Spots.