Operations · Briefing

Ten processes worth automating first

If you are going to hand something to software, hand it the work that is repetitive, rule based and low risk. These ten come up again and again in owner operated businesses. You will not need all of them. Pick the one that annoys you most.

How to choose

A process is a good candidate when four things are true: it repeats at least weekly, it follows rules you could write down, the inputs are reasonably stable, and a mistake is small and easy to catch. It is a poor candidate when it depends on a relationship, a feeling or a one off.

The ten

1. Sorting and routing enquiries. New messages arrive by email, form and phone notes. Software reads them, tags them and passes each to the right person. A person still answers.

2. First drafts of replies. Many replies are variations on answers you have already given. A draft in your voice, built from your past replies, saves the blank page. You edit and send.

3. First pass of a quote. For standard work, the price follows from a few inputs. Software assembles the quote from your price list and flags anything unusual for you.

4. Chasing late invoices. The reminder is the same each time and nobody enjoys sending it. Software drafts and schedules reminders, and stops when payment arrives.

5. Appointment reminders and rescheduling. Fewer missed appointments and fewer back and forth messages. A person handles the exceptions.

6. Moving data between systems. Re typing an order from one system into another is slow and error prone. A connection between the two removes the retyping and the mistakes.

7. Weekly reporting. Pulling numbers from three places into one summary is a Sunday night job for many owners. Software can assemble it and leave the thinking to you.

8. Onboarding paperwork. New client or staff forms, document requests and follow ups. Software tracks what is missing and asks for it.

9. Requests for reviews and feedback. After a job is done, a short, well timed message goes out. Replies come back to a person.

10. Meeting and call follow ups. Notes, actions and who owes what, written up from a call and sent for you to confirm.

Pick the job you dread on Sunday night. It is usually the right one.

What these have in common

Each has a clear trigger, a clear finish and a person who can see the result. In each, the software prepares and a human decides or confirms. That is what makes them safe to start with.

What to leave alone for now

• Pricing decisions on unusual jobs.
• Anything involving a complaint or a sensitive conversation.
• Hiring and firing decisions.
• Anything where a wrong answer reaches a customer with no one checking.

Doing the first one well

1. Write the steps as they happen today, including the awkward cases.
2. Decide what "done well" means and who checks it.
3. Run the new way beside the old way for two weeks.
4. Keep a short list of what it got wrong and fix those first.
5. Only then move on to the next process.

The short version

Start with one repeated, rule based job where mistakes are small. Let software prepare and let a person decide. Do one well before you do ten.