CandleFocus Glossary Editor.png)
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a form of business process automation technology that utilizes software robots, or computer programs, to complete repetitive, time-intensive tasks normally completed by humans. In the modern business landscape, organizations are looking to automate more of their processes to free up valuable time and resources that would otherwise be invested in manual labor. This is where RPA can help.
RPA robots can be programmed to carry out a variety of tasks across multiple software applications, including automated data entry, claims processing, account reconciliations, report generation, and more. Furthermore, businesses can balance the deployment of software robots more flexibly than with a traditional workforce, as RPA software is able to work 24/7 and perform tedious, mundane tasks quickly and accurately.
Although RPA technology offers significant cost savings by eliminating or reducing the number of manual labor hours required for certain processes, it is important that organizations consider the risk of errors. Robotic process automation is, after all, an automated process, which can mean that it may miss certain exceptions, particularly if the software’s process requirements are not well-defined. This is why it is important to have some level of human oversight when using RPA, such as by using corrective measures to identify an error and have someone else address it quickly.
One example of a situation where RPA without human oversight failed was the recent case of “robo-signers” in the mortgage industry. Here, software robots perform the mortgage process without considering exceptions which caused mortgage documents to be fraudulently signed. This has resulted in thousands of erroneous mortgages being issued.
In summary, RPA is a viable alternative to manually completing processes, however, it is important that organizations consider the risk of errors, and therefore oversight and corrective measures should be in place to ensure the process runs smoothly and that exceptions are taken into account and addressed.
RPA robots can be programmed to carry out a variety of tasks across multiple software applications, including automated data entry, claims processing, account reconciliations, report generation, and more. Furthermore, businesses can balance the deployment of software robots more flexibly than with a traditional workforce, as RPA software is able to work 24/7 and perform tedious, mundane tasks quickly and accurately.
Although RPA technology offers significant cost savings by eliminating or reducing the number of manual labor hours required for certain processes, it is important that organizations consider the risk of errors. Robotic process automation is, after all, an automated process, which can mean that it may miss certain exceptions, particularly if the software’s process requirements are not well-defined. This is why it is important to have some level of human oversight when using RPA, such as by using corrective measures to identify an error and have someone else address it quickly.
One example of a situation where RPA without human oversight failed was the recent case of “robo-signers” in the mortgage industry. Here, software robots perform the mortgage process without considering exceptions which caused mortgage documents to be fraudulently signed. This has resulted in thousands of erroneous mortgages being issued.
In summary, RPA is a viable alternative to manually completing processes, however, it is important that organizations consider the risk of errors, and therefore oversight and corrective measures should be in place to ensure the process runs smoothly and that exceptions are taken into account and addressed.