The challenge of effective communication in RPA transformation projects
Automation in companies is one of the areas of greatest specialization that has been booming in recent decades, and at the same time the application of new systems or platforms is expanding, ranging from the creation of an e-commerce portal to robotic automation for projects that exploit millions of information records and automation of processes of all kinds. To have a successful project, communication is undoubtedly of vital importance within a work team, and sometimes it is the main obstacle for many development projects, since maintaining a constant communication system, knowing the different team roles, or simply knowing how to listen, are often the most underestimated aspects in automation projects. Consequently, projects tend to fail or lower the productivity and quality of the team. To avoid this and to have a successful project, do not lose sight of the following points:
- Lack of collaboration and commitment: If the staff involved in each phase of the process, and this in turn does not feel integrated, their degree of commitment would be very poor. In many cases of development projects, there is a lack of collaboration from the users towards the process consultants and developers, this is a result of the management investing a lot of time in defining the strategic objectives, mission, and vision. But then, by not communicating them properly, it does not achieve the alignment of the staff with the corporate strategy so necessary for a good working environment and results.
- Problems of adaptation to change: a weak or no Change Management is one of the most common obstacles that can occur in a transformation project, and in many cases, these are generated by a poor communication of strategic objectives, which in turn include new procedures or implementation of new technologies, therefore, the user tends to fear losing their responsibilities and core functions. The best tactic to overcome this situation is to provide or communicate through a channel the main objective of the project to all users involved in the organization, as well as to clarify doubts and eliminate rumors that may run within the same and that these are communicated through a trusted person who has credibility in employees, following the guidelines or best practices of change management.
- Team conflicts: Communication within a work team is of vital importance in transformation and process automation projects to achieve a successful project. Conflict is a natural feature of human interaction and is inherent in the management of any project, therefore, often occur at different levels of the organization, which generates a barrier in each of the project members. That is why it is essential to prevent, to achieve the proposed objectives, having a systematic process with clear objectives, specific roles, a single communication channel and a communication and behavior protocol.
- Ignorance of the company’s organizational chart: in a transformation project it is essential to have the organization’s organizational chart well defined, since having an opaque internal communication will prevent the team from being clear about the company’s departmental organization, the people who are part of it and their functions. In such a way that they will not know who oversees what and consequently, it will generate problems to resort to the right person for each subject, which generates negative effects on productivity and generates duplication of work instead of the desired collaboration.
The importance of communication in transformation projects
To communicate means to share, to put in common ideas, sensations, opinions, and thoughts. That is why in most transformation projects it usually becomes a problem that is directly related to a bad or unplanned management of that internal communication. Not solving these problems in time, whether due to lack of knowledge, analysis, adequate tools, or professional approach compromises the organization and ends up affecting the business objectives and benefits of the organization. So, it is essential to identify and act immediately on these difficulties that arise during the process and at some point, stop a moment to give it the importance it deserves, because without communication nothing would be possible, and that communication will not always be the problem, but is always part of the solution. The points mentioned above will help you identify and analyze if you are falling into any of them, if so, act immediately so you can successfully carry out the completion of your project.
For more information please see the following post: 7 things to avoid in an RPA project
