Over-automation
How much automation is too much? You’d expect us to say that there’s no limit - it’ll help us get more sales, right? However, I believe that it’s possible to over-automate a business to the point that it’s hog-tied by software.
Hear me out; good automation absolutely helps a business scale, and scale dramatically. Automating mundane and repetitive tasks and workflows is going to free up your staff to focus on more business growth-adjacent activities. It means that you can make more money without having to recruit and employ. Good automation and software allows a business to rocket forward without distraction. Though, there are still some tasks and workflows that a human should be doing.
Customer service is the obvious big one. If my [looks around room for inspiration] suitcase shat the bed, and I called the suitcase company, and an AI agent answers the phone, I would honestly just give up and buy a new suitcase from another suitcase shop. People hate talking to AI agents, especially over the phone. AI just isn’t intuitive enough yet to outperform a human in customer service. Sure, replacing your reception and customer service with AI is going to save your business a huge expense. But it’ll cost your business exponentially more in client dissatisfaction, mistrust and eventually, lost sales.
(I know suitcases are a terrible example. Good thing it doesn’t matter.)
Another example is industry- or company-specific software, the stuff that electronics, machines and robots use. Take a laser cutter machine; its manufacturer will have programmed it to do X when you hit the X button. It likely comes with software that’s installed on a PC to adjust shapes and specs, run reporting, and keep it up to date with industry standards. It’s important to have somebody that knows as much as possible about this software, to maximise the machine’s output and champion any issues with it. The automating of industry or company-specific software removes the need for this expertise, so the laser cutter machine is going to be pretty stuffed if something goes wrong.
Automation is great, but it’s going to deskill your staff as they forget the workflow over time. However, if it’s a mundane and repetitive workflow, that doesn’t matter. If it’s a customer-facing workflow or includes skills that are indispensable to a role, you’re best to think twice.
-Fred