10 Steps to Engaging End Users for Successful Automation

Let’s face it, organizational change is difficult. Business leaders who can take an innovative idea and push it forward to adoption within their organizations are hard to find, and they are often rewarded when successful.

When undergoing a new automation initiative, choosing the right technology partner is important, but engaging end users and preparing stakeholders to adopt a change mindset is of equal importance. Here are 10 steps for making your Automation initiative a success. 

• Choose the right process - Collaborate with end users to choose the right process. Initially, choose a process with high impact but low complexity that you can roll out quickly and will generate excitement for end users.
   
• Analyze Stakeholders – Research and identify ALL the stakeholders who will touch, or are touched by the process, including users, managers, and administrators.
  
  
• Communicate! -User buy-in is incredibly important, so discuss the benefits of automation with users, and explain how it will make their job easier.
  
  
• Gather Requirements - Document both the inputs and outputs of the process as well as any pain points, with the context provided by your stakeholder interviews. 

• Map out the current process and define requirements –Sketch out the process from beginning to end, considering the view from the end user’s perspective, and try to implement new efficiencies. 
  
• Build iteratively – Regularly check-in with stakeholders to get feedback on progress and take note of any evolving requirements. 
  
  
• Train end users –Explain to users how to use the new system and to run the process, so they are comfortable with using it.
  
  
• Documentation - Create a process guidebook. Good documentation of the process and how to use it is the key to enabling your users to do self-serve troubleshooting. 
  
  
• Test and tweak -Ensure that Stakeholders test the process and that process designers make tweaks based on the feedback.
  
  
• Roll out to production and monitor the system closely – Have needs been met? Is everything running smoothly? Watch for ways to further improve the process as it runs.
  
  Interested in learning more about how to successfully launch a business process automation initiative?  We're ready to talk.