As we say robot, will our children say colleague?ey.com/betterworkingworld #BetterQuestions

ContentsA new world of robotic process automation 2

Embracing robotics in the work place 3

Which tasks could RPA perform? 4

Embracing RPA: The benefits 6

Robotics and artificial intelligence: a collaboration 8

Where do we go from here? 12

Key Contacts 14

S o will em bracing robots m ean rep lacing hum ans?A u t o m a t i n g r o u t i n e t a s k s c a n a l l o w h u m a n s t o f o c u s o n i d e a s , i n n o v a t i o n a n d h i g h e r - v a l u e w o r k .

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2 As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

In our changing world, robotic process automation (RPA) is becoming increasingly utilised in the workplace. The creation of robots to undertake jobs previously carried out by humans is fast being realised and all the indications are that as many as a third of jobs will be taken over by technology in the next twenty years.

Does this mean that robots be our colleagues in the future?

RPA is far removed from the idea of a physical ‘robot’ manually carrying out work - this is not a metallic humanoid with a digitised voice. Instead, a robot in this sense is the technology allowing organisations to configure computer software in order to complete various tasks.

A new world of robotic process automation

RPA uses software ‘bots’ to:

Capture and interpret existing

applications to process a transaction

Complete a

process

Manipulate data

Trigger responses

Communicate with other systems

RPA incorporates, rather than replaces, existing technology to enhance the productivity of the workforce.

3As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

Th e g row th of R P A is natural l y accom p anied b y a f ear th at soon al l of our j ob s w il l b e tak en over b y rob ots: th is, h ow ever, is not th e case. Th e occup ations l ik el y to b e rep l aced b y sof tw are b ots are th ose w h ich are rep etitive in nature, which will be made more time and cost efficient by th e use of R P A.

N oneth el ess, h um ans are stil l exp ected to m ak e up a significant part of the workforce, as RPA is effective for only a l im ited set of task s. I n f act, th e virtual w ork f orce w il l stil l b e control l ed b y b usiness op erations team s, and b usiness users w il l b e ab l e to train th e b ots. Al l of th is m eans th at our f uture is l ik el y to b e a coordination and col l ab oration b etw een p eop l e and sof tw are.

Em b r a c i n g r o b o t i c s i n t h e w o r k p l a c e

4 As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

W h i c h t a s k s c o u l d R P A p e r f o r m ?R P A is a rul es- b ased autom ation, w h ich is w h y it l ends itsel f to p erf orm ing m eth odical and system atic p rocesses. W ith rob otic autom ation, th e virtual b ot p erf orm s th e activities its h um an p redecessor used to, b y m oving th roug h and across th e rel evant ap p l ications w ith its ow n user nam e and p assw ords.

D ata m ov em ent

D igital enablem ent

D ata p rocessing

S o u r c i n g , l i g h t l y t r a n s f o r m i n g a n d l o a d i n g d a t a i n / o u t o f s y s t e m s a n d t o o l s e . g . s p r e a d s h e e t s o r d o c u m e n t s

A d d i n g a d i g i t a l / m o b i l e f r o n t - e n d t o a p p l i c a t i o n ( s ) , p a r t i c u l a r l y t o l e g a c y s y s t e m s t h a t a r e c h a l l e n g i n g t o i n t e r f a c e w i t h

R a p i d l y p e r f o r m i n g r e p e t i t i v e t a s k s o t h e r w i s e d o n e b y s t a f f t o r e d u c e c o s t , a c c e l e r a t e t i m i n g , i m p r o v e r e l i a b i l i t y a n d r e d u c e r i s k

E ssential l y, any p rocesses w h ich are structured, data intensive and rul e- driven h ave th e p otential to b e com p l eted b y th ese sof tw are b ots. R ep etitive adm inistrative task s such as data inp ut and oth er non- f ace to f ace activities w il l b e im p roved g reatl y th roug h R P A. P rim aril y, sof tw are w il l b e used f or:

5As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

6 As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

Embracing RPA: The benefitsThe benefits of utilising robotics for tasks and processes in the workplace are numerous. RPA allows employees to hand over mundane tasks to a robotic workforce, allowing them to apply themselves to core business objectives.

7As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

C o s tAccording to th e I nstitute of R ob otic P rocess Autom ation, R P A can create a financial saving of 25-50%1 . Th e creation and m aintenance of th e rob ots on averag e total s a th ird of an of f - sh ore f ul l tim e em p l oyee carrying out th e sam e j ob .

Efficiency The speed at which RPA completes processes is significantly less than th eir h um an p redecessors. R ob ots are ab l e to w ork around th e cl ock and can typically cover the workload of two to five employees

Q u a l i t yD esp ite th e h ug e cap ab il ity and sk il l of h um ans, errors w ith in p rocesses are inevitab l e. H ow ever, R P A is consistent and accurate, h el p ing to ensuring th at data is rel iab l e, l eading to op tim ised resul ts

1 http://www.irpanetwork.com/benefits-of-rpa

8 As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

H o w R o b o t s c a n b e u s e d i n H u m a n R e s o u r c e sAlthough the ‘human’ in its title may indicate otherwise, Human Resources (HR) could b e im p roved im m easurab l y w ith th e im p l em entation of R P A. W ith in H R , th ere are countl ess p rocesses th at are rep etitive and system atic, and coul d b e done f aster, and to a better standard, through the use of software bots. For example, the significant am ount of data entry and oth er rep eated p rocesses w ith in on- b oarding coul d b e efficiently carried out by RPA.

F reed f rom routine and m undane task s, H R em p l oyees can f ocus on sk il l s th at a com p uter cannot rep l icate, b ut th at are vital to g ood b usiness. J ob s such as l eadersh ip , and task s th at are m ore creative and interp ersonal in nature can b e b uil t on and b ettered. I n th is w ay, tech nol og y and R P A can b e used to im p rove em p l oyees’ sk il l s rath er th an g etting in th e w ay of th em . Autom ation is not m erel y ab out cutting costs, but rather enhancing business and this is particularly the case in the field of HR.

9As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

Where could RPA help?

Payroll

Time and attendance

Applicant sourcing

Data entry, maintenance and

cleansing

Analytics

Supporting recruitment

On/off boarding

1 0 As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

With RPA, software bots can quickly and efficiently complete tasks, but these m ust b e of a certain nature. I f p rocesses are not system atic and rep eatab l e, they cannot be undertaken by RPA. However, with artificial intelligence (AI), rob ots are ab l e to p erf orm duties considered to b e m uch m ore ‘ h um an’ .

F or exam p l e, l arg e el em ents of th e recruitm ent p rocess req uire j udg em ent, k now l edg e and sof t sk il l s, w h ich R P A is not ab l e to p rovide. Th is is w h ere AI com es in. R ecruitm ent and candidate sel ection is now m oving tow ards completion via AI, yet again providing greater efficiency, faster results and cost saving s.

R o b o t i c s a n d Artificial Intelligence: a c o l l a b o r a t i o n

11As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

Using AI, this is how the recruitment process would work:

1 An automated skillset recommendation is be created, based on the job profile. A hiring manager can prioritise skills, and the system would learn this, predicting skillsets for later job postings.

2 The system would post the optimised job description to multiple job sites and portals, and aggregate and unify the responses.

4 First level interviews are conducted using a chat bot, either online using ‘free-text’ or via a video software such as Skype. The use of video analytics can gauge personality traits, and an interactive dashboard compares candidates’ traits and performances.

5 Following this, the AI system arranges and schedules meetings with the selected candidates and HR, through an automated email conversation. At this point, HR takes over.

3 First level CV screening is carried out based on the skills prioritisation mentioned in the job description. The system subsequently analyses the CVs to identify the psychometric profile of the candidate, using social media profiles and interaction

AI is able to complete many more complex processes than RPA, and could revolutionise the way HR operates today. A collaboration between RPA, AI and people could result in an extremely efficient, cost effective and higher quality workforce and output.

It must be acknowledged, however, that AI would not be wholly appropriate for all roles, and that a certain amount of negatives, including the impersonal and arguably off-putting nature of being interviewed by AI, may be at play. These need to be carefully managed.

As we say robot, will our children say colleague?12

It is clear that RPA stands to be a huge benefit to the future of HR. These repetitive, yet wholly vital processes that have been taking up valuable time and money will be completed in a much more cost effective, reliable and efficient manner.

As RPA undertakes the systematic and behind-the-scenes jobs, AI will complement the software to add thought, judgement and intelligence to HR, as well as other departments. AI is set to become increasingly prevalent and key to the way in which we do our work.

By embracing these new technologies, we can drive business performance and help move our people higher up the value chain. Understanding and utilising RPA and AI is a clear path to work towards a better working world.

Where do we go from here?

C an R obotics unleash your work f orce p otential?A u t o m a t i n g r o u t i n e t a s k s c a n a l l o w y o u r e m p l o y e e s t o f o c u s o n i d e a s , i n n o v a t i o n a n d h i g h e r - v a l u e w o r k .

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Guy HeiserP artner, P eop l e Advisory S ervices, EMEIA Robotics Leader

g h e i s e r @ u k . e y . c o m +44 7951 8754

Sunil MehtaD irector, P eop l e Advisory S ervices, UK and Ireland Robotics Leader

smehta8@uk.ey.com +44 7951 9332

K e y c o n t a c t s

1 4 As we say robot, will our children say colleague?

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