What is Business Process Automation? 5 Best Practices (2024)

Thriving in the modern business world demands striking a balance between technology that meets business objectives without inhibiting a brand’s ability to meaningfully connect with customers.

BPA (Business Process Automation) is a method that simplifies and optimizes internal operational practices, allowing teams to focus on growth and enhancing relationships with customers.

Here are some facts about BPA’s many benefits, a step-by-step implementation process, and a list of powerful BPA tools to help your organization thrive.

What is Business Process Automation (BPA)?

Business process automation is a software solution that automates repetitive tasks and decreases manual data entry, which helps improve operational efficiency within an organization.

Eliminating redundant manual entry helps promote productivity, accuracy, and increased revenue. From scheduling calls to managing project timelines and improving compliance, BPA (business process automation) tools are useful and part of a growing industry with no signs of slowing down.

According to a 2024 Global Process Automation Market report, the “Process Automation Market,” was valued at $10.8 Billion in 2023, and projections estimate it will have $19.16 billion in growth by 2031.

Why is it [BPA] relevant in today’s business?

With technology, market trends, and consumer expectations constantly changing, modern businesses must find ways to innovate if they want to remain viable. Efficiency is crucial to creating resources and bandwidth for creative thinking and growth.

Automating business processes frees up employees’ time, decreases the risk of error, and helps reduce costs so businesses, regardless of their size, are prepared for the future and have more flexibility to pivot.

5 Benefits of Business Process Automation

Now that you know more about what (BPA) business process automation is and how it influences a business’s ability to stay competitive in the modern business world, here are a variety of benefits of BPAs that help companies greatly improve their day-to-day operations.

1. Improved Operational Efficiency

One of the most immediate and noticeable benefits of business process automation systems is increased efficiency. By eliminating the need for workers to manually process repetitive manual tasks (like payroll, scheduling, or data entry), skilled workers can invest more time on higher-priority projects, or contribute to growth initiatives.

2. Error Reduction

The pressure of the modern working environment demands professionals wear many hats and are prepared to multitask. While this appears productive, it is a breeding ground for lost productivity due to human error. A 2022 study by VentureBeat revealed that 90% of issues were directly related to human error.

(BPA) business process automation drastically reduces the risk of human error because it eliminates the mental strain of unnecessary multitasking on processes that can be executed more quickly and accurately with automation tools.

3. Cost Savings

By eliminating labor hours spent on manual tasks and the costs of human error, BPA can also help free up your budget. For example, according to Gartner, integrating hyper-automation technology with improved operational procedures would reduce operational expenses by 30% by 2024.

4. Improved Compliance and Risk Management

In the same way that mitigating human error can help improve compliance and risk management, automated record-keeping can help ensure paperwork is up-to-date, accurate, and organized by automatically digitizing and centralizing the data.

Certain compliance-specific business process automation software can even handle compliance processes by collecting and analyzing data and then generating reports and recommendations for improvement.

5. Enhanced Employee Productivity and Satisfaction

When implemented ethically, automation not only improves productivity but also the quality of life and work satisfaction for your team. When your specialists no longer have to spend countless hours on menial and headache-inducing tasks, they can focus on the work they’re passionate about and invest more time in creative thinking that fuels growth.

And, when your productivity and employee morale are high, the benefits extend to your customer experience.

5 Steps To Implementing BPA

To maximize the efficacy of your BPA implementation, it’s crucial to develop a system that your organization can consistently rely on, no matter what tool you integrate, or what stage of growth you’re in. The steps below are a solid foundation to establish your business process automation system, and apply regardless of the vertical you serve.

1. Identify Processes Suitable for Automation

The first thing to do is analyze current procedures to look for areas where automation processes can improve. Perhaps payroll is too intensive and time-consuming because AP specialists must chase after paper timesheets and approval. Or, maybe your sales process could be more effective if customer touchpoints were more responsive.

Regardless of what business operations you’re looking to improve, auditing your current processes gives you a clear picture of where to start.

2. Evaluate and Select Automation Tools

Once you know what needs to be optimized, you can start researching which automation tools and software are the best solutions for your unique needs.

3. Develop an Implementation Plan

Once you have the data and the tools, work with stakeholders to determine the best implementation strategy. Define timelines, KPI (Key Performance Indicators), and forecasting projections you can use to measure how effectively the BPA tool supports your business goals.

4. Train Employees and Stakeholders

Develop a training schedule, orientations, and resources that ensure everyone who interacts with the business process automation system is prepared and confident.

Additionally, be ready for errors and the need to tweak your processes. There will be a learning curve.

5. Monitor and Optimize Automated Processes

Optimization is an ongoing process. Schedule regular audits and meetings with your team to assess how things are going, and ask for feedback. Doing these things ensures everything operates at the best possible efficacy, and you can proactively resolve issues before they get out of hand.

Consider starting with quarterly reviews as everyone learns the software, and then, as processes smooth out, extend to annual process audits.

What matters most is creating a schedule and sticking to it. Consistently assessing KPIs allows your team to ensure the automation tool is pulling its weight and not just collecting dust.

11 Popular BPA Tools

Effective business process automation is heavily reliant on integrating the right tools. But, if there is one abundant resource in the modern business world, it’s productivity and project management software, which can make it hard to choose. As tech evolves, there are solutions with impressive pedigrees thanks to intuitive UIs, collaborative efficiency, and remarkable automation technology. Here are several top choices for (BPA) business process automation tools that optimize productivity and workflows.

1. Asana

One of the most well-known project management tools, Asana’s no-code customization and automation help teams of varying sizes avoid errors and improve workflows with features like Rules, Templates, and integration capabilities with popular apps including Gmail and Slack.

2. ProcessMaker

For enterprise-level organizations, ProcessMaker is a powerful low-code BPA platform that blends simplicity and functionality with advanced tools that automate complex tasks, future-proof your stack, automate cross-functional workflows, and help eliminate data silos.

3. ActiveBatch

This composable automation platform is designed to future-proof your tech stack, protect your data with high-level security, and automate critical IT business processes. While very IT-focused, ActiveBatch is user-friendly and centralizes data in one place. The platform’s “limitless integration, pre-built connectors, and Super REST API” offer end-to-end automation and efficiency.

4. KissFlow

Whether you’ve got devs on your team or have no coding experience, KissFlow offers both low- and no-code options on a platform that helps users create, deploy, and manage enterprise-level applications. Features like process automation, case management, and even legacy modernization help expedite development and workflows.

5. Hootsuite

This BPA focuses on your social media management strategy, making it easier and more efficient to stay connected with your customers, build brand awareness, and grow your industry authority—all while saving you tons of time. Trusted by major brands across a spectrum of industries, Hootsuite claims to increase growth across users’ social channels by 500%.

6. Basecamp

An intuitive project tracking, management, and collaboration platform, Basecamp offers a community-focused UX with chatting and message board features. Its automation tools help you auto-assign tasks and due dates. It’s a user-friendly, yet comprehensive, platform that integrates with other major productivity apps such as Zendesk, Trello, HubSpot, and others.

7. Comindware Tracker

This project tracker is a no-code solution with drag-and-drop capabilities that helps “non-technical users design, run, and modify processes.” Its user-friendly setup, cloud and on-premise compatibility, and Open API that supports practically limitless integration allow this tool to adapt and grow as your business does.

8. Laserfiche

Developed for enterprise content management, Laserfiche boasts the highest overall rating in the 2024 Gartner® “Peer Insights™ Voice of the Customer: Content Services Platforms” report. Scalable and user-friendly, it makes it easy to automate repetitive tasks that help teams work smarter, while integrations and templates enhance efficiency.

9. Quuu

Another powerful, AI-driven social media automation platform, Quuu helps businesses stay top-of-mind by automatically curating and scheduling engaging content in your brand voice. Coupled with Audience Engagement Insights and Brand Tone Analytics, Quuu offers an intuitive and effective way to stay connected with your customers and prospects.

10. TrackVia

Designed to help businesses avoid the clutter, frustration, and problems associated with traditional paper and spreadsheet processes, TrackVia digitizes documents and automates processes to increase accuracy and productivity—all while eliminating silos between teams. It also offers fully customizable workflow configurations without the need for coding.

11. Podium

One often overlooked aspect of business process automation is the efficacy of customer-facing communication—and we’re not talking about just engaging on social media. Regardless of whether you’re in retail, Ecommerce, auto dealerships, or even rentals, tools like Podium’s remarkably human AI Employee handle all of your incoming and outgoing communication touchpoints—creating a better experience for both you and your customers.

Your new AI Employee ensures there’s always a helpful and knowledgeable chat representative to answer customer questions, automatically generates meeting minutes, processes all scheduling, automates follow-up calls and SMS, collects payments, and more without ever getting burned out, missing calls, or making errors.

Aside from the drastic increase in bandwidth, businesses who use Podium increase their lead generation by 5X by drawing in more customer reviews and ensuring there’s always a personalized and responsive representative available 24/7.

Watch a demo now.