How automation can increase employee engagement

In the past, business automation technologies have been fraught with contention between enterprises that see its economic and operational benefits and the employees who fear they’ll be out of a job. However, there are signs that this fear is fading as employees see the benefits to themselves in adoption. 

A new survey conducted by Kyocera Document Solutions reveals that almost half of all managers, C-Suite or specialist workers say their employees are keen to adopt new BA solutions. In contrast, just 19.64% said their employees were hesitant or resistant.

Business automation can actually increase employee engagement in a multitude of ways. The benefits are far-reaching and can help companies, teams and individuals to achieve significant, measurable improvements across almost every business function.

Given that 55% of ANZ companies believe automation will play a bigger role in their business in 2023–25, there is a great opportunity to use this technology to improve more than just operations. In this blog, we outline the key ways that automation can enhance employee experience:

1. Optimising hiring and onboarding

Automation is fast becoming HR’s best friend. The ability to track and centralise applicant information and streamline the onboarding process accordingly is a huge drawcard. With automation, you can even screen candidates to ensure you’re hiring top talent. This function helps to minimise the impact of unconscious bias by focusing on essential criteria or data metrics rather than gender, age and other demographic data. Not only does this help level the playing field in recruitment practices, but it can also create a more meaningful approach to workplace diversity and inclusivity, which have proven positive effects on employee engagement.

Once you’ve chosen the best person for the job, automation can ensure that onboarding workflows are completed accurately and in a fraction of the time it would take to do them manually. These efficiency gains can instil confidence in your new recruits and demonstrate that your organisation is innovative and forward-thinking.

2. Reduces repetitive tasks

Automation reduces tedious and monotonous tasks. Rather than replacing the need for human employees, this takes away the tasks that staff typically find frustrating and boring, like creating reports or processing invoices day in, day out. Automating these types of tasks means staff can shift their focus towards more value-driven and purposeful work. This opens up new opportunities for staff to contribute more strategically to the company’s vision rather than performing labour intensive work that doesn’t make the most use of their talents.

In fact, 25% of organisations across Australia and New Zealand identified that their primary goal in implementing business automation was to free up staff to focus on higher-value tasks. With more purpose, your employees will find more fulfilment at work and engage with the company mission on a deeper level.

3. Enables staff to find flow in their work

According to one school of thought in positive psychology, “flow” is when a person is present, engaged and absorbed in their current activity – essentially, it’s the science behind people loving their work. Flow is important because engaged employees fuel their own professional success, contribute to your business's growth and empower other team members to follow suit.

Some flow requirements include concentration, focused attention and tasks that present an appropriate challenge for the individual. Automating workflows can go a long way to helping your employees enter into flow by connecting your team, minimising disruptions, improving productivity and decreasing tedious and unchallenging work. When employees have access to environments where they can thrive, it dramatically increases engagement and the results you can expect.

4. Encourages leadership to adapt and evolve

With increased knowledge and rapid access to data, automation makes decision-making at an executive level more informed and effective. Of course, this includes decisions about practices, processes or technology that increase employee engagement. On the other side of the coin, increased agility takes away decision-making fatigue, so leaders can trust their judgement without personal or external factors getting in the way. This means leaders have more time to actually lead, and employees can depend on them to do so.

The business automation story is entering the next phase as it expands its role in our tech stacks and transforms the way we work. Download our new whitepaper, An Automated Future, to learn how business automation will shape Australian and New Zealand organisations in 2023–25.

KYOCERA Document Solutions supports Australian and New Zealand businesses on their digital transformation journey with innovative products and software solutions.