Programmed robots have everything to help banks adapt their operating models to the modern market environment. Banks are looking for new tools, made possible by advances in robotic process automation (RPA) and related technologies, to automate numerous operations without the need for broad coding experience.
It’s not easy for finance teams to be flexible and offer the right level of visibility when so much of their time is taken up by manual processes, paper-pushing, and legacy systems. To combat this lack of agility, financial organizations of all sizes are using Robotic Process Automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and supporting tech tools to augment human employees and automate work processes from start to finish.
Automation is transforming finance
According to the McKinsey study, up to 25% of the banking processes are likely to be automated within the next couple of years. Their researchers also point out that in order to capture this opportunity, banks must take a strategic rather than a tactical approach.
Automating business processes creates an opportunity to focus on higher-value tasks. It also dramatically reduces operating costs, eliminates the risk of errors caused by the ‘human factor,’ and helps ensure regulatory compliance.
For example, the implementation of robotics in banking operations can reduce the time taken by human bank agents by 60%. This increases the speed of transactions and the overall productivity of the bank.
Scaling RPA efficiently
We have aggregated observations from successful RPA deployments across a variety of organizations to propose a roadmap for a successful 12-month period that can prepare an organization for the successful scaling of RPA. However, this roadmap to automation execution assumes two fundamental attributes:
- The company has already had successful deployments of RPA tools, and employees understand the technology.
- Top management and key stakeholders are aligned on the importance of RPA implementation in the long-term, and there is an identified RPA leader.
What banks need to scale RPA
- Set clear goals for RPA implementation to all the members included in the process. Having 'the whole picture' in front of you is always useful - it adds credibility to your initiative and helps to create a vehicle for future conflict resolution.
- Have technical support. Yes, to successfully use RPA, you don't have to have experience in coding. But implementation process requires a piece of specific knowledge in RPA technology, so an in-house developer or experienced IT integrator is recommended.
- Training. Employees have to get used to the 'digital workers', and if you want to make the transition as comfortable as possible, you should start the training sessions a month or two before the implementation.
Case Study
A global bank needed to blend RPA tools with several third-party tools to automate its financial reporting processes. RPA tool capability and its design allowed the organization to develop a robust and stable system that was rolled out across multiple functions without having to change the current IT infrastructure.
Benefits
Compressed processing time by 36 percent, boosted productivity by 60 percent, reduced the number of errors three times, and promoted financial analysts to more analytical and exciting assignments.
Implementing RPA at scale is a difficult task achieved by few organizations so far. In reality, there are just a bit more parts in the implementation process that need to be considered. Banks and other financial institutions that defined the goals of RPA implementation that have technical support empowered and trained teams, and a reliable implementing partner - have almost everything to transform their businesses and dominate their fields for years to come.
To learn more, contact our automation expert and start your automation journey today!