Assembling an RPA Team
In 2011, the prospects for Adobe looked dim as the growth had stalled. The company’s CEO, Shantanu Narayen, knew he had to take bold actions to get things back on track. One of his moves was to transition the business model to subscriptions and the cloud. There were also efforts to unleash more innovation across the organization, such as with its Sneaks program (where employees submit ideas and Adobe then provides resources to commercialize some of them).
But there was something else that was critical for the transformation – that is, a focus on streamlining operations with more automation. To this end, Adobe launched its RPA implementation in the summer of 2018. It was a challenge, though. Keep in mind that the company has more than 21,000 employees across the world.
To help with this, Adobe set up a CoE. In a blog post from The Enterprisers Project, the senior vice president and chief information officer of the company, Cynthia Stoddard, writes: “Adobe is still very much in the growth phase of RPA implementation. We continue to find applications for it. Nearly two years in, I would attest that any CIO or IT leadership must insist upon a CoE as part of any kind of RPA program. I don’t think we would have achieved nearly so much success so quickly without it.”1
There was a 79% reduction in hours spent on the creation of purchase orders for hardware.
The RPA system now handles 82% of the work for wire transfer requests.
There was an 82% reduction in manual hours spent for contract creation.
All in all, the results were standout. And as should be no surprise, RPA is a strategic priority at Adobe.
So in this chapter, we’ll look at the CoE and some of the best practices.
What Is the CoE?
According to UiPath: “A Center of Excellence (CoE) is essentially the way to embed RPA deeply and effectively into the organization, and to redistribute accumulated knowledge and resources across future deployments.”2
This is a good high-level definition. But there are different variations and approaches to the CoE. It could be a small team, say, two or three people – or much larger. Or there could even be a CoE for different divisions in a company or departments.
Regardless of the structure, the main focus should be on the “E” of CoE. In a blog from Automation Anywhere: “All businesses require focus and alignment in order for RPA to be implemented successfully. Setting up a CoE will provide leadership, best practices, research, and focus on areas for higher business efficiency. Of course, there are many reasons for implementing RPA, such as compliance, cost reduction, improved service levels, revenue, and error reduction. You may have 200 ideas in the pipeline, but you need a dedicated focus to implement a few of them with automation.”3
In fact, as an indication of the importance of the CoE, Automation Anywhere has created its own dashboard for this (it is accessible from a mobile app). With it, you can easily see the ROI, time savings, and other key metrics of the RPA system.
Finally, a CoE can be run completely by the company that is implementing the RPA system. Or, in some cases, it could be outsourced to a consulting firm (however, there will likely be members from the client company on the CoE).
Why Have a CoE?
There are really few drawbacks when creating a CoE. Perhaps the most reasonable one is that – if you are mostly testing out RPA technology – there is probably not a need to get formal.
However, if you are committed to making the technology work for the long haul, then a CoE should be a part of the process. It is a clear sign that your organization is serious about RPA. The CoE shows that you are willing to make the investments of time and money. And yes, employees will take notice, which will help with the training and adoption. This is highlighted even more if some or all the members of the CoE are full-time.
A CoE provides a way to get a 360-degree view of the RPA project. This makes it easier to get the full value from the technology, as there will not be the problems with silos and multiple RPA systems. There should also be a faster implementation, better creation of bots and more diligent monitoring.
If the CoE is self-run, then there could be lower costs. But of course, there will be much more control over the RPA project, as your organization will be in a better position to experiment and innovate.
The early phases of RPA tend to be successful. However, the real issue is when the technology is scaled. But with a CoE, you have a better chance with this because there will be concentrated effort on the RPA system.
The CoE allows for buy-in. This means getting involvement from the C-suite (e.g., in the example of Adobe, there was collaboration between the CIO and CFO). But there should also be involvement with those on the frontlines who use the technology.
“Implementing a Center of Excellence (CoE) for automation is crucial to sustain RPA success,” said Agustin Huerta, who is the VP of Technology, AI, and Process Automation Studios at Globant. “A proper CoE is necessary to serve as the guardian of technical standards and impose a single methodology for approaching automation, so as to ensure that the technology can work most effectively across the organization once implemented. The CoE must also act as the gatekeeper of the processes that will be automated, so as to ensure they have a proper ROI, along with governance of the new digital workforce.”4
Forming the Team
When it comes to forming the CoE, it is usually in four to six months after the start of the project. This makes sense because the time allows for learnings, such as experimenting with proof of concepts. But during this period, it’s a good idea to think about the CoE, such as by identifying the potential members and considering the goals. This will certainly allow for a much smoother transition.
OK then, so what are the different roles for a CoE? Well, in general, you want to get a broad representation of the organization impacted from the RPA implementation.
“Often, the firm will partner with experts to support part of the team who understands how RPA works,” said Pat Geary, who is the chief evangelist at Blue Prism. “The subject matter experts (SMEs) work alongside those who understand the automation and process management roles to help them come together and prioritize the most effective automation strategies. The technology team must be a part of the CoE from the beginning as well. While process-based work may not be second nature to the IT team, the technology to support the automation certainly is. By engaging IT teams early, they can gain a better understanding of the platform and can provide additional guidance when configuring digital workers, following unique requirements for security, compliance, and auditing. As IT teams become more familiar with the platform, they often adopt digital workers to support their own processes. This teamwork allows a digital workforce to be more easily integrated into an organization’s core fabric.”5
On a more granular level, you can look to UiPath’s own approach to setting up a CoE. Actually, it’s quite extensive, involving a long list of roles! However, when starting out on an RPA project, it’s recommended to start small and build over time.
Despite this, it is still good to see the potential roles from UiPath (regardless if they are part of the CoE or not). In this model, there is one that we’ve already mentioned in this chapter: The RPA sponsor. Yes, this is someone from the business side of the organization, such as an executive.
RPA Champion: This is the evangelist. That is, he or she will be the person who gins up excitement for the RPA project, such as by putting together videos, workshops, and blog posts.
RPA Change Manager: This person is similar to a champion. In other words, he or she will look for ways to get buy-in with the RPA project. A big part of this is through the creation of a communication plan.
RPA Service Support: This person will be the first line of assistance for the RPA project.
RPA Infrastructure Engineer: This person helps with the server installation and monitoring. He or she may also assist with the architecture of the RPA implementation. The position requires deep technical skills, such as for network protocols and administration, security, cloud systems, server layouts, database technology, and virtualization (say, with VMWare, Citrix, or Hyper-V).
While all these are important, you will notice – at least when you check out online jobs postings – that the main roles include those for the business analyst, developer, solution architect, and RPA supervisor.
We’ll next take a look at each:
Business Analyst
This person manages the duties between the company’s SMEs (subject matter experts) and RPA supervisors – who have certain requirements for achieving revenue and cost goals – and the developers. It’s a tough job and requires a blend of skills that cross business, process planning, and technology. No doubt, he or she needs a deep understanding of the RPA platform.
Develop documents that set forth clear-cut descriptions of the goals of the project and what needs to be done. One is the process design document, which is often created with the help of the RPA developers.
Look at ways to improve current company processes. From this, a business analyst will come up with an opportunity assessment document.
Have a high-level understanding of technologies like programming languages and AI.
Experience in evaluating different RPA solutions.
Work with IT for integration, security, and governance.
Put together test cases to determine if the RPA implementation is hitting the goals.
Help assemble the CoE.
Monitor and maintain the bots.
Depending on the size of the RPA team, the business analyst may serve the role as the project manager .
Developer
The identification of opportunities to improve business processes through automation. This may involve understanding concepts like lean Six Sigma.
The creation of comprehensive process definition documents (PDD) and technical definition documents (TDD). This will require collaboration with the team members.
The conduct of code reviews to make sure the bots are working properly and are consistent with company goals and guidelines.
The monitoring and maintenance of bots when they are put into production.
The focus on finding ways to reuse existing bots and code so as to increase the speed of development.
The creation of easy-to-understand documentation and training materials.
In terms of background, a developer will usually have a technical education, whether a degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics/statistics, or management information systems. And yes, this person should have a certification with the RPA system. Keep in mind that many of the vendors have their own education programs.
Scripting languages (like JavaScript and HTML) or computer languages (like C#, Java or .NET).
Agile development techniques.
Databases like SQL or NoSQL systems.
Enterprise applications like Salesforce.com, Oracle, and SAP.
If your plan is to have a sophisticated RPA implementation, then a developer should have an understanding of technologies like AI.
Because of the high demand for technical talent, the compensation for a developer is on the high side. According to ZipRecruiter.com, the average salary is $109,135 per year.6 Although, in order to reduce the costs, a company may retain a developer on a freelance basis. The rates can range from $70 to $150 an hour.
RPA Solution Architect
There is not a bright line between an RPA developer and RPA solution architect as both require strong technical skills. But there are still some differences. An RPA solution architect is generally for the early stages of the project, such as with designing the core foundation for the technology. A big part of the job is to select the right technologies that are best for the goals of the organization.
Create an infrastructure that will scale over time.
Look at next-generation technologies like AI.
Put together models and prototypes.
Analyze the security risks.
Look at testing procedures.
For the most part, an RPA solution architect will need to have the ability to collaborate with different departments. He or she will also document the procedures.
RPA Supervisor
This is the point person who manages the RPA system. He or she will be responsible for the overall performance but also for the budget. While the role will not include development, there will still be a need for a good understanding of RPA technology and the use cases. There should also be experience with project management. And this does not have to be with RPA. For example, an RPA supervisor may have a background with other software implementations, such as for CRMs or ERPs.
Understanding of customer requirements.
Be able to work with compliance and security.
Have strong communication skills.
Have a track record on delivering on projects.
Be able to put together clear-cut plans of action.
Provide ongoing reports and updates.
Be able to implement controls and guardrails for monitoring and dealing with exceptions.
What Should a CoE Do?
The phrase “center of excellence” sounds kind of like another name for a committee. This could lead people to believe that it is more of an afterthought, in which much does not get done! As Fred Allen once quipped: “A committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing, but who, as a group, can meet and decide that nothing can be done.”7
Unfortunately, when it comes to CoEs, the performance can be choppy. In some cases, the group is really a nonfactor.
But as we’ve seen earlier in this chapter, the CoE has been critical for companies like Adobe. The key is that they understand how to set forth the mission.
Automation Strategy: Here, you will look at the vision and roadmap of the RPA project. What is the business case? What functions will be automated first? What is the target ROI? What are some of the qualitative goals, such as improving innovation and customer service?
Technology Strategy: This is more than about selecting an RPA platform. There will be a need to consider bolt-on software, such as for OCR, NLP, and AI. Moreover, a technology strategy should focus on the long term: how to build a solid foundation and scale the technology.
Governance: This involves setting up a compliance structure that is backed up with roles and responsibilities. However, governance is often neglected – which can lead to major problems with the RPA implementation.
People Enablement: What are the skillsets required for success? Granted, this often gets too focused on technology. But there should also be consideration for strong project management and change management.
Operating Model: This is concerned about the organization around RPA. For the most part, this is usually about the business side of things.
Bot Development and Support: This involves setting up the methods and standards for the automation. There will also be strategies for reusing bots (say, from a bot store) and managing them over time.
Demand Management: This is identification and priority of automation approaches.
Bot Development: Here you will build, test, and deploy the bots.
Bot Support: This will include monitoring and handling of exceptions.
Organizational Change Management: This is a broad topic, which is for getting the organization to fully use the RPA system. We’ll cover this in more depth later in the chapter.
Centralized Model: All the duties are managed by the CoE team. This is particularly useful when an organization is already highly centralized, the RPA implementation is in the early stages, and there are relatively few opportunities for automation. In terms of the advantages of a centralized model, they include easier sharing of knowledge and best practices and lower costs. Then again, it can be difficult to manage, especially for large organizations.
Decentralized Model: This is where there will be multiple CoEs across the organization. This is helpful if there are unique requirements in the departments. Thus, a centralized model should allow for greater ROI. But of course, it could lead to complex silos, duplication, and higher costs.
Federated Model: With this, the automation CoE is centralized but the scalable automation execution engine is spread across the organization. This approach is meant to help get the best of both the centralized and decentralized models. Yet it can be difficult to pull off.
Communication
In the comedy show The Office , a major theme in the first season was the threat of a downsizing. There were rumors among the workers – and lots of fear. Some were preparing their resumes.
But the boss, Michael Scott, had no clue what to do. In one scene, he said: “Am I going to tell them? No, I’m not going to tell them. I don’t see the point of that. As a doctor, you would not tell a patient if they had cancer.”9
True, most bosses do not say something like this! But it is not uncommon for them to avoid hot-button issues either. Yet this only makes things worse.
With RPA, it’s inevitable that words like “automation” and even “AI” will be scary for workers. Will their jobs be axed? Will they actually be training the bots to replace themselves?
So when it comes to a CoE, a major imperative is how to handle these sensitive discussions.
Then what to do? Something to note is that transparency is paramount. Employees have a pretty good way of detecting when they are being mislead. Basically, you should provide the goals of the RPA project to everyone impacted. And if this means that one of them is to ultimately lower head count, then this should be disclosed.
On the other hand, make sure to talk about the benefits of RPA. Describe how the technology will mean having to do fewer tedious activities. That is, there will be more time to devote to more crucial activities.
This messaging should be repeated. You can also put it in videos, blogs and other educational materials. Another approach is to bring in a guest speaker from a company that has had a successful RPA implementation. Or, if this is not practical, you may instead have a short video testimonial.
Yet temper the enthusiasm. Talk about what is realistic. If the bar is too high, then there will likely be considerable disappointment. As the old adage goes: “Underpromise and over deliver.”
What’s more, management must be accessible for any questions. In a LinkedIn post from the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and eBay, Meg Whiteman: “Stop the emails and start talking to your teams. Just letting people know that you’re conscious of the challenges, aware of the issues and actively dealing with them matters. At the end of the day, improving communication is a continuous process that depends on individual action – new corporate initiatives and tools will only get you so far.”10
Change Management
In June 2011, the beleaguered retailer J. C. Penney announced the appointment of Ron Johnson as the company’s new CEO. Investors loved the move, as the stock price soared.
Prior to this, Johnson had served for 11 years as the senior vice president of retail at Apple. He had also spent 15 years at Target, where he was key to the merchandising strategy.
As for his move to J. C. Penny, Johnson said the following (in a press release): “I’ve always dreamed of leading a major retail company as CEO, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help J. C. Penney re-imagine what I believe to be the single greatest opportunity in American retailing today, the Department Store.”11 He even invested $50 million in J. C. Penny stock!
But unfortunately, Johnson’s actions at the company would prove to be disastrous.
He made radical changes to the store design and pricing. He also refocused the merchandising on younger demographics.
The upshot: The loyal customer base stayed away from the stores, as sales plunged. Employees were demoralized and productivity suffered.
It was a classic case study of how “change management” can go awry. For the most part, people do not want too much change.
Change management is a vital part of RPA as well. As seen in this chapter, employees will likely be resistant because of the fear of losing their jobs or having to be relocated. But there are other things to note, such as that many companies have legacy systems – perhaps even mainframes. So to be successful, it’s important to be mindful of the cultural impact and issues. If anything, change management is often one of the leading causes of RPA failure.
Step 1 – Create a Sense of Urgency: There needs to be a major change agent that motivates the organization into action. This can be done by the use of a story or analogy, without jargon and buzz words. There also should not be too much reliance on data. You want to win the hearts and minds of the organization. An example of this is Mark Zuckerberg, when he energized his company to make the transition from web-based technology to mobile in 2012. He made it clear that this was urgent – even existential. He also personally showed his commitment to the vision. “I basically live on my mobile,” said Zuckerberg at the TechCrunch conference. “I wrote the founder’s letter on my phone. I do everything on my phone. I still use our web site. But I think it’s really clear that you check in more, share more on mobile. A lot of the energy in development is going into mobile more than the desktop.”12
Step 2 – Build a Guiding Coalition: Change is more likely to happen if it is powered by influential people within the organization. Yet this is not a list of executives. The power can be based on expertise, credibility, leadership, and reputation. You essentially want to create a wave of momentum for the project.
Step 3 – Form a Change Vision: Boiling things down, this means there must be a destination. This will greatly help drive real change in an organization. Some of the factors for a successful vision include the following: it is clear, worth achieving, realistic and attainable, and flexible. Kotter writes: “A useful rule of thumb: if you can’t communicate the vision to someone in five minutes or less and get a reaction that signifies both understanding and interest, you are not yet done with this phase of the transformation process.”13
Step 4 – Communicating the Vision: It’s common to create a vision and then not do much with it! But great leaders are constantly reinforcing the message – to the point where it seems almost too much (Kotter actually advises to amply the message by a factor of ten). But it takes time for an organization to absorb something new. You should also not assume that the employees are clear on what’s happening. Patience is key.
Step 5 – Empower Broad-Based Action: There needs to be a focus on making sure people are recognized for their efforts. This should be the case even if the results do not meet expectations. After all, there should be a willingness to allow experimentation, which means there will be some failure. The main constraint is that the vision must be the focus. What’s more, the leaders in the organization should take actions to reduce the barriers and friction in making the change happen. “In some cases, the elephant is in the person’s head, and the challenge is to convince the individual that no external obstacle exists,” writes Kotter. “But in most cases, the blockers are very real.” But there are other obstacles to note, such as the compensation structure and the reliance on employee titles.
Step 6 – Generating Short-Term Wins: Who doesn’t like a big win? But in the early phases of change management, this is not realistic. It can easily take a couple years for there to be real transformation. This could drag on the organization and lead to more resistance. This is why it’s better to look at short-term wins, which should help build momentum.
Step 7 – Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change: It’s good to celebrate a win. But be careful. Do not give the impression that it is the end of the project. Rather, make it clear that this is one step in a journey – and then reinforce the long-term stretch goals.
Step 8 – Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture: Sustaining the change is perhaps the hardest part of change management. As much as possible, you want to get to the point where people say: “This is the way we do things around here.” Basically, the change has become a permanent part of the culture. Kotter says that this is possible when the following are done: there are clear examples of how the change improved the organization (this requires lots of communication) and allowing enough time to make sure new managers can adopt the approaches.
Kotter’s methodology is extensive and is far from easy to pull off. But he has demonstrated that it has led to great outcomes.
Gauge the Sentiment: It can be tough to understand if the change is taking root. Do the employees really believe in it? To help with this, you can have periodic surveys (say, with SurveyMonkey) to see how things are progressing.
Gamification: As the name implies, this is about using methods that mimic a game. This could be having a score for a project or even having contests – say, prizes for the most creative bots! By applying gamification, you can make the process more engaging and productive.
Strategy: The case of J. C. Penny – while notable – is not an exception. The fact is that many change management efforts fail. But even using Kotter’s methodology has its issues. Why? The reason is that the process really does not matter if the strategic goals are not the right ones. This is why there should be lots of analysis and thought on whether to pull the trigger on an initiative. This certainly goes for RPA. Even though many companies are doing it right now, this does not mean you should too. Your organization might simply not be ready yet. But interestingly enough, even if you select the right strategy, there are still land mines! For example, the management team will have a solid understanding of the plan. But the temptation is to implement too quickly. Consider that it will take some time to educate the organization on why certain actions should be taken.
CoE Case Study: Intuit
Intuit is the developer of some of the world’s best-selling software, including Mint, TurboTax, and QuickBooks. The company generates $6 billion in revenues and has $1.5 billion in operating income.
In 2018, Intuit initiated a pilot program for RPA with the implementation of UiPath. The focus was on the finance department, which had 450 full-time employees. Around 150 to 200 would be involved in some part of the RPA effort.
Intuit’s outcomes for its RPA implementation
Bot | Process | Hours Saved | Turnaround Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Charge backs offsets | A bot verifies that the chargebacks are in the right system. | 745 | 1 day to on demand |
Manual invoice Mail merge | The bot conducts a mail merge that has individual invoices attached to the corresponding database record. | 702 | 1 day to on demand |
Sales tax exempt | The bot will release the orders with the proper tax exemption received from the database records. | 715 | 4 days to on demand |
Credit limit and order placement | The bot sets the credit limit for customer accounts, then releases the quote resulting in the order being placed correctly on credit. | 580 | 1 day to on demand |
End-user retail returns | The bot turns off the license for the returned product and processes a suspend order in the Intuit system. | 450 | 10 days to on demand |
The leaders of this RPA effort included Mark Flournoy, the VP corporate controller and chief accounting officer, and Maaly Mohamed, the finance automation CoE leader. From the start, they wanted to pursue a digital transformation where the employees could have more time for innovation.
“Digital transformation is as much as a mindset and cultural shift as it is a business and technical shift,” said Flournoy. “This includes applying this mindset to our operating model, and finding ways to efficiently scale our team and capabilities, whether this is through partnerships or new ways of operating, like RPA.”14
It definitely helped that there was cooperation with the technology teams from Day 1, which allowed for building a solid infrastructure. There was also strong executive sponsorship.
Driving digital transformation strategy for now, short and long term, in partnership with the technology teams.
Offering a variety of automation options to meet business requirements, including RPA as one option.
Educating that process simplification always comes before automation. Don’t automate broken or bad processes.
Minimizing tech debt, which is not reusable technology that becomes obsolete.
Following the standard software development life cycle methodology.
Ensuring that information security and controls are maintained to Intuit’s standards. There is no greater risk than human error.
In terms of training, two employees were certified on UiPath. But this was just the start. There are actually 25 signed up for this.
So then what does the CoE look like? According to Mohamed: “We have a team of four, which consists of a leader, an analyst and two developers. The CoE leader is responsible for automation program management, strategy and execution, program change management and team management. The RPA analyst is responsible for roadmap and backlog management, business process assessment, prioritizing opportunities, reporting and tracking ROI. The RPA developers are responsible for automation building, development for process design, testing and deployment to production as well as ongoing support, monitoring and enhancements.”15
Something that’s very interesting about Intuit’s approach is how it onboards bots. It’s actually similar to the process of bringing on a human employee!
“The CoE will submit a request for a bot,” said Mohamed. “Then a Digital Worker account is provisioned in our HR & Identity Management Systems so that the RPA platform can programmatically request credentials. Once the bots are created and provisioned into requested Intuit Financial Systems and ready to execute their assigned tasks, credentials are stored securely and are updated after every login. Once this process is no longer needed, the bot will be de-provisioned and reassigned to a new set of credentials following the same process. This will leverage the existing access management controls that we use today for humans.”
Conclusion
According to the senior product manager at IBM Watson IoT, Heena Purohit: “Over time, the CoE can help create a repeatable process for any team that wants to embark on their own RPA journey and can provide expertise and knowledge sharing for all aspects of an RPA project from project initiation and readiness assessment to delivery and ongoing support. The CoE team can act as ‘in-house consultants’ to help other teams realize value through automation.”
This is a good way of looking at it. The CoE is a combination of management and change agent – which should lead to ongoing strong results.
Now, as for the next chapter, we’ll take a look at the bot development process.
Key Takeaways
A CoE is a group that helps implement, deploy, and manage an RPA system. It can be a small group, say, with a couple people, or large. It may also be run completely internally or outsourced to a consulting firm.
Reasons for creating a CoE include getting a 360-degree view of the RPA project, improving governance and security, building more effective bots, getting higher ROI, and gaining buy-in from the organization (this is especially the case if there is involvement from executives).
The RPA sponsor is someone from the business side of the organization, such as an executive. This person is often crucial for the commitment to the project.
The RPA champion is the evangelist for the project. He or she will help with videos, workshops, blog posts, and so on.
The RPA change manager will look for ways to get buy-in for the RPA project.
The RPA service support person helps with the first line of assistance for the RPA project
The RPA infrastructure engineer’s role is to manage the server installation and monitoring.
A business analyst manages the duties between the company’s SMEs, RPA supervisors, and developers.
The RPA developer will design the bots but also help with deployment and monitoring.
The RPA solution architect generally helps with the early stages of the RPA project, say, with the design of the core technology foundation.
The RPA supervisor manages the team players for the project.
Infosys has come up with a structure of a CoE that has two main stages: the automation CoE (which is for the setup) and the scalable automation execution engine (which is focused on recurring activities).
In the automation CoE, some of the main functions include the automation strategy (what is the business case?), technology strategy, governance, people enablement (what skillsets are required for success?), the operating model, and bot development and support.
As for the scalable automation execution engine, some of the duties are to handle the ongoing bot development and deployment, demand management (what should be prioritized?), and organizational change management.
The Infosys model also shows the different approaches for deploying the CoE: centralized (all duties are managed by the team), decentralized (there are separate CoEs in the organization, such as for each department), and federated (a hybrid of the first two).
With the CoE, communication is critical. But there needs to be transparency about the goals. Do not try to avoid certain issues, such as potential job loss. It is also important to highlight the benefits of the RPA project. This will help to encourage higher adoption.
Change management is essential for RPA success. It’s about changing the culture by making automation a priority.
There are different change management frameworks but there is one that is one of the most used: Kotter’s 8-step strategy. It recommends to create a sense of urgency, build a guiding coalition, form a change vision, communicate the vision, empower broad-based action, generate short-term wins, consolidate gains and produce more change, and anchor new approaches in the culture.