Continuous Improvement Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Managers come and go, but real leaders of innovation are rare and their tenures in any given role may be short, either because they are in high demand or because senior executives don't really understand how to leverage change agents to achieve their business objectives. Robotics Process Automation (RPA) is one of those disruptive technologies that presents leaders with an opportunity to adapt, change and achieve marked results. But how ready are leaders to embrace the transformation that RPA portends. Assessing RPA Readiness Before embarking on the RPA journey, leaders should ask themselves a few core questions relating to their current and desired states of operation, their existing talent pool and other resources, and the senior executive's willingness to truly sponsor the combination of human and virtual labor. Questions might include the following:  How significant are the competitive and operational related threats and opportunities in the eyes of senior management driving the need for RPA?  How would the shift to combining human and virtual labor reshape the core value propositions for accuracy, efficiency, cost reduction, customer service and profitability?  How disruptive will RPA really be and what are the varying perceptions of IT, compliance, risk management, and business unit leaders regarding its implementation?  How should skill requirements and work processes change to fully realize the potential benefits of RPA? The answers to these questions can help business unit and shared-services leaders build the business case for RPA transformation and can inform their sponsors, stakeholders and critics regarding the longer-term strategy, planning, and resource decisions that RPA will require. As great as the opportunities are for RPA, our practical application of the technology in banks, insurance companies, health care and manufacturing suggests that most companies do not do a great job of socializing RPA adequately among constituent stakeholders before launching their RPA initiatives. Companies seeking to make such a transition face constraints relating to process and work flow, talent development, robotics operating models, RPA governance, IT operational alignment and technology requirements. There may be concerns about integrating legacy systems with RPA technologies, the impact of robotics on PII, SOX, SCC, FRB, FSB, OCC, HIPPA, GAP and other compliance and reporting requirements. There is also a shortage of the talent and skills required to undertake RPA transformation programs, as well as conflicting strategic priorities within leadership teams. Furthermore, while the focus of RPA has been on improving process efficiency, accuracy and transaction speed, there exist equally valuable