In the age of digital transformation and advanced technology like AI, automation is a critical element for organizations to stay competitive. That’s why many C-suites are considering incorporating a Chief Automation Officer (CAO) into the fabric of their organization to provide senior executive oversight of automation initiatives. But is a whole new role in the c-suite needed and necessary to successfully implement AI and automation into your organization?
The desire to create a dedicated position to lead automation initiatives stems from the rapid widespread recognition of the pivotal role and impact that automation plays in streamlining business operations and enhancing efficiency. While process automation is recognized as a central element in the digital transformation strategies of 70% of organizations, according to the Wall Street Journal, could a more collaborative c-suite approach lead to better implementation and adoption?
Instead of pouring new resources and energy into new roles that are created off the back of hype, what is needed is executive sponsorship and leadership of advanced automation programs at the highest and most influential levels, underpinned by the appropriate business knowledge and network to be able to drive real change.
Automation is Everyone’s Job
If you are serious about automation, it needs to be embedded into a primary C-suite role that’s not transitional, and a person able to tie-in, and federate tasks or projects across the organization.
Automation champions need to be a senior leader tasked with driving digital transformation, by optimizing resources and able to keep pace with evolving customer demands, and fluid market and technology dynamics. They are also the pathway to efficiency and agility, streamlining workflows, enabling the organization to allocate resources to focus on higher-value activities, while maintaining compliance according to internal and external policies.
To succeed and unleash the full potential of intelligent automation (IA), organizations need to foster collaborations with their sales, finance, compliance, legal and other functions, as they deploy automation to boost productivity and revenue opportunities across the enterprise. It demands strategic vision, cross-functional collaboration, and a deep understanding of the enterprise’s digital infrastructure.
This is where your product and IT support teams become indispensable as – with a top-down mandate from your CIO / CTO and CEO – everyone is laser-focused on faster tangible outcomes and can capitalize on synergies as internal communication channels are more open and have less barriers to overcome. And if you’re working in a constantly changing fast-moving market, as you automate, you’re more flexible and better able to control and direct customer conversations based on outcomes when scaling digital workers.
Strategic automation, when backed by the C-suite, can transform a company’s growth trajectory. With executive support, automation efforts can expand beyond isolated departments and permeate the entire organization, allowing for rapid scaling. This top-down approach not only speeds up the realization of automation’s benefits but also drives growth at a much faster pace. Ultimately, the faster you can scale, the faster you can realize growth – and to scale you need everyone in the C-suite onboard.
The Benefits of Automation at Scale
An outsourced employee benefits provider, we worked with, serving over 20,000 employers across the retirement and consumer-driven healthcare markets, is a compelling example of what can be achieved when advanced technology is adopted at scale. With over 6,000 plans available nationwide, the client servers benefit plans to companies of all sizes. The company was tasked with finding a way to scale operations efficiently, enhance accuracy and provide customized service to clients. To help execute these goals, they implemented Business Process Management (BPM) more than a decade ago. As the company grew, 20% year-over-year, maintaining it proved challenging without the right technology. The company needed a way to scale its operations without being required to hire and train a large group of new employees.
Fourteen years later with process automation, the technology has helped transform its operations and provide a competitive edge. Last year alone, the company onboarded over 1,200 new plans — something competitors struggle to match.
In addition to enabling the company to work differently across the whole enterprise, they’ve also been able to go deep into specific areas. They use tools like an intelligent document and email processing tool, to automate work with phenomenal results, achieving 99%+ accuracy, levels that are even better than humans can achieve. These technologies have allowed the company to onboard 6 times more plans in one year than the total number many of their competitors have on their books.
This type of success would not have been possible if only one person at the c-suite level led the initiative. The buy in, input, sponsorship, and expertise each member of the leadership team has been vital to the sustainable success and evolution of integrating advanced automation into the business.
Building the “E-Suite” with the Right Set of Skills
Placing automation directly in the boardroom signals a paradigm shift in managerial leadership, but it also raises questions about the required skills and qualifications.
While a CAO sounds great in principle, you need a diverse skill set encompassing technology, business strategy, and change management gained from a process management and IT systems background and a diverse network and knowledge of the business and IT environment.
In most cases, your CIO and/or CTO is the orchestrator of automation initiatives, driving alignment between technology investments and business objectives, understanding of both the technical aspects of automation and the strategic imperatives driving business transformation. They may choose to identify a dedicated role within their leadership team, but will have the overall mandate, breadth of influence and knowledge to drive true transformational and cross departmental change.
Looking ahead, automation is poised to become an increasingly critical part of your organization as the technology driving it continues to evolve. With the proliferation of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and process orchestration, the scope of automation initiatives will only expand. As such, organizations that invest in building automation capabilities and placing automation leadership within the primary C-suite will be best positioned to thrive in the digital age.
Having strong leadership and support from the top is crucial for implementing and maintaining a successful digital transformation initiative. With this approach, companies can innovate faster, streamline their operations, and stay competitive in today’s fast-moving market.
Dr. Lou Bachenheimer is the Chief Technology Officer for the America’s with SS&C Blue Prism. Before joining Blue Prism, Lou was a Senior Client Technical Specialist for IBM Watson and Cloud Platform where he was distinguished as an IBM Recognized Speaker. Lou earned his Ph.D. in computational nanotechnology from the University of Connecticut and taught graduate and undergraduate-level robotics and mechanical engineering courses. Lou also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of AI, Robotics & Workplace Automation.