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Performing manual tasks comparable to entering data into databases or spreadsheets, or taking inventory and reordering office supplies, can take little time at a time. However, if such tasks consistently distract you and your employees from your strategic priorities, the total time required to finish these additional tasks adds up. Therefore, implementing technologies that allow people to focus on their core responsibilities is fundamental to any company’s development strategy.
Enabling you and your employees to focus on higher-level, more creative and relationship-based activities, comparable to developing strategies or building and maintaining customer relationships, is the key to business success. It also increases productivity levels and motivates people to expand their work as they’ll go beyond doing routine work.
Walmart is a people-led, technology-driven company. We consider that technology should serve people, not the other way around. That’s why we invest in ways to enable our colleagues to focus on strategic priorities and creating opportunities.
One example of how we’re putting this into practice is our internal generative AI tool, My Assistant. We created My Assistant to assist our colleagues spend more time on necessary matters. Our colleagues in the US are already using this tool to get first drafts faster, summarize large documents in seconds, and get creative with ideas on a number of topics. Most importantly, it saves time so they’ll focus on typically human tasks comparable to generating recent ideas, developing strategies and building relationships.
We also integrate automation technology into the U.S. supply chain network to drive positive, people-centric results, comparable to creating recent jobs and profession paths that our associates find more enjoyable and rewarding.
For example, Chance Bayless, an associate at our high-tech regional distribution center in Palestine, Texas, participated in an in-house training program to turn into an automation equipment operator at his facility, forsaking a role he described as roughly 85% manual. In his recent technology-driven role, robots do most of the heavy lifting, freeing him as much as focus most of his time on problem-solving. He said that manual labor only makes up about 15% of his job and he finds his job more interesting and satisfying.
By empowering our associates like Chance to rework their day by day workflows and responsibilities, we also enable our regional distribution centers to ship nearly twice the variety of cases in comparison with a traditional facility, strengthening the shopping experience at on-site stores and our business overall.
We implemented technological solutions after a thorough assessment of tasks and workflows that qualified for automation. Regardless of the size of your organization, I like to recommend conducting this study in all areas of your business. Look at a few different metrics and ask questions like:
- How much time does an worker or team have to spend on a manual process or task each day, week or month?
- How many employees are needed to finish the task?
- What are the quantifiable costs of your current approach, the potential advantages of automating the process or task, and the level of effort and investment required to undertake automation?
Determining the answer will facilitate more objective prioritization based on a cost-benefit evaluation. Additionally, it’s a good idea to decide on a few quick fixes – tasks that are easier to automate and that have positive advantages for many – before moving on to higher-value, more effort-intensive processes.
Communicate and collaborate
Once you’ve got identified manual tasks that are ripe for automation, you possibly can evaluate available technology solution options. Please note that for some employees, the prospect of learning to make use of recent technologies could also be somewhat daunting. So before you implement recent technology, inform your employees about the reasons for doing so and help them understand how it would change their day by day tasks and what recent opportunities it might create.
I think the most vital thing a business leader can do is outline a vision for how he’ll use the recent tool and how it would improve the work of his employees. Highlighting tangible advantages, comparable to time savings or increased sales, will make the transition more attractive to everyone.
Encourage employees and management to repeatedly look for ways to extend efficiency, productivity and satisfaction. Consider collaborating in training and using recent tools yourself. You will show your team the way you directly address the challenges of using recent technologies. Host regular feedback sessions that provide forums for employees to share ideas, suggest improvements, and highlight areas where they could need additional support.
Whether it’s a lack of information of recent tools or processes, or a need for more advanced training in specific roles, responding quickly to their concerns will significantly improve overall implementation effectiveness and help employees feel competent and confident in adopting recent technology.
Measure your progress
Measuring direct and indirect advantages is essential. Direct advantages include a reduction in the time it takes to finish a task or process, the number of individuals involved, or the variety of errors. Indirect advantages include positive impacts on upstream and downstream processes, improved worker engagement and reduced turnover.
Ultimately, your goal is to enable you and your team to focus on more strategic and creative tasks, while improving operational efficiency and accuracy across the company. By rigorously choosing and implementing the right tools, you possibly can achieve productivity gains, reduce costs, and support a more engaged and motivated workforce.