How to Choose the Right Partner for Robotics Process Automation Companies

Robotic Process Automation (RPA), one of the most popular and effective technologies in the automation space, can take away human workers’ monotonous, repetitive, and rule-based duties. With RPA’s ability to allow heightened reduction in operational costs, time efficiencies leading to productivity gains, and improvements in the customer experience, companies are increasingly looking at RPA to get a return on their investments.

However, RPA, like all technology, can easily become successful or fail, entirely dependent on choosing the right partner to build, deliver, and support the solution. With the growing number of companies claiming to be RPA companies getting into the industry, deciding if a vendor fits your company’s needs on business, technical, or higher level strategy can be challenging. A good partner will not only know how to implement and build the solution, but look to set the roadmap for scaling and optimizing the RPA solution.

This article outlines a thorough guideline on how to pick the right partner for RPA based on their experience, technical capability, services, and the potential to provide ongoing future value. If you are new to RPA or have started down the RPA journey and want to scale your infrastructure, guide will help you feel informed and confident in your choice.

Business Impact of RPA

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a method that incorporates a software bot to replicate human behaviour when engaging with a digital or electronic platform. Bots can log into an application, enter data, manipulate the system by executing transactions, and invoke responses, which means routine tasks can be automatically performed without any human acknowledgment. RPA is generally non-invasive and executes processes on top of your existing systems, making it a valuable low-cost automation solution.

There is no question that RPA is a game changer for organizations. Companies who leverage RPA solutions see improved accuracy for data tasks, better compliance, faster turnaround times, and reduced administrative costs. RPA helps leverage worker capabilities by allowing them to focus on high-value activities instead of repetitive activities.

The role of the RPA Business Analyst is pivotal to the decisions made in the implementation of an RPA process. RPA Business Analysts will provide a bridge between the business (what they do and what needs to be done) and the RPA developer (how to automate it).

RPA Business Analysts have the responsibility to identify tasks/processes suitable for RPA, document business requirements, and validate compliance to strategic objectives after the RPA process has been implemented. To make sure the RPA process is cost-effective and efficient from day one relies heavily on the Business Analyst’s assessments and documentation.

What to Look for in RPA Companies

When evaluating RPA companies, it’s important not to get too caught up in bells and whistles or pricing, and to dig into the RPA company’s experience and capabilities. Here are the things you should consider most:

Industry Experience: A company with industry experience will have the experience of your pain points and process complexity, which can mean faster implementations and better outcomes.

Full Service RPA Solutions: The better RPA companies will provide end-to-end services across the RPA life cycle. This includes process discovery and RPA business consulting, through bot development, deployment and support. Having one partner across the lifecycle makes it easier to coordinate and hold them accountable.

Certifications and Partnerships: Be sure that your RPA partner has certified developers and partnerships with RPA platforms, UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism etc. Certified developers ensure they have the most advanced tools and access to best practices.

Proven Results: Ask to see case studies, client references and success stories. A company’s past performance is typically a good telling of its future performance. You want to see outcomes that are tangible to you, as it relates to Return on Investment (ROI), efficiency and scalability.

Customization: Every organization has unique requirements. Your RPA partner should be able to easily customize and adapt based on your IT landscape and business processes.

Role of an RPA Consultant in Project Success

Engaging an experienced robotic process automation consultant will greatly enhance the chances of RPA project success. These consultants have in-depth technical expertise, a defined process for implementing and measuring automation, and an external perspective of your business.

An experienced RPA consultant starts their work by understanding your current workflows and identifying areas of maximum value where automation may be a good fit. A proper assessment phase is invaluable for avoiding wasting time or resources on automation of a low-value or high-friction task, and also impact and support a proper automation roadmap aligned with your business plan.

Robotic process automation consultants are invaluable in allowing you to manage many aspects of stakeholder engagement and change management. The engagement support they can help you achieve is critical for getting executive buy-in, preparing employees for change, and assisting in managing cultural change from a manual process to an automated one.

To put it simply, a robotic process automation consultant is so much more than a technology consultant; they are a strategic partnership. Manufacturer’s and service’s respective interaction and service delivery are complex and interrelated, they have value for all parties involved. The relationship you will develop with a robotic process automation consultant will guarantee timelines, deliverables, and a structured approach, with a measurable outcome to provide you the added confidence that your RPA story has provided long-term value to your business strategy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Selecting RPA Companies

Choosing the wrong RPA partner can ruin the automation journey for your organization. Here are some of the major pitfalls organizations make when selecting an RPA partner, and how to avoid falling into the same trap:

Focusing Just on Price: Price is important, but based on price alone, selecting a vendor for RPA can lead to poor quality, poor support, or rework costs down the road. Always match price with value and expertise.

Not Acknowledging Support After You Deploy: RPA is not always a one-and-done solution. Bots will need attention for maintenance and updates and sometimes reconfiguration. Ensure that any partner you work with is going to provide ongoing, reasonable support after you go live, including monitoring and optimization.

Not Paying Enough Attention to Change Management: The most common reason RPA programs fail is because of resistance from employees. Your partner must help with training employees, communicating the value of automation, and establishing internal champions for automation.

Not Customizing Sufficiently: A one-size-fits-all approach rarely works in RPA. The partner will need to customize the solution to your systems and the business rules your organization has established.

Not Clearly Understanding Tracking ROI: Your partner should articulate what metrics are going to be considered KPIs for your solution and have a process for performance reviews. Without measuring ROI, it’s difficult to understand success to connect the dots to make data-driven decisions.

Long-Term Collaboration and Support

RPA is a long-term strategy, not a one-off project. You need a partner who can offer strong, ongoing support after the deployment and who is committed to adapting its model to your business.

A reliable partner will continuously monitor your bots to make sure they are working. Regular checks on bot health, optimization of performance, and identification/update of possible changes will be done as systems are updated and evolve your business. This proactive history helps with downtime and keeps everything running more efficiently.

Your partner should also be doing ongoing governance and compliance. This means you need audit trails, version control, and documentation, a must in regulated industries!

You also have to consider scalability. Your RPA needs will change as your business grows or diversifies. A good partner will help you with intelligent automation, which includes RPA and AI, ML, and analytics to address more complex workflows.

Finally, a good partner should help train and upskill your internal teams. This will allow you to build your in-house capabilities gradually, while also decreasing reliance on external support, and increasing internal ownership of automation initiatives.