How Automated Business Solutions Can Boost Staff Retention

If your business is like many today, you may be struggling with staffing challenges amid the Great Resignation. Instead of hiring someone new to fill an old role, however, you may want to leverage technology. From process automation to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools, automated business solutions can take on tasks normally done by people—freeing up your available staff for the duties that require a human touch.

You'll be in good company, too. Two-thirds of businesses are piloting automation in at least one business function, according to McKinsey. Necessity has driven invention during the pandemic, and many are benefiting from the rapid development of automation that's followed.

To incorporate more automation in your business operations, consider starting in these four places.

1Employee onboarding

The onboarding process can take a lot of time and resources, but it's critical that businesses get it right. According to Gallup, employees who have a great onboarding experience are 2.6 times as likely to be extremely satisfied with their workplace, which can boost retention.

Instead of using your HR team for paperwork and training, leverage automated services that walk new employees through the process of uploading documents and enrolling them in direct deposit and benefit programs.

Automated onboarding also provides employees with the tools they need to carry out their responsibilities, such as providing access to workflow platforms and other resources. You can also implement digital training solutions that guide new employees through the process of learning new skills, ensuring they have mastered them through testing and assessment.

2Inventory management

Taking stock of inventory can be a cumbersome manual practice prone to human error. Your team can focus on customer service when linked to a point-of-sale terminal, or POS terminal. Not only can inventory software programs keep track of data, but they can also provide low-inventory alerts based on sales and even automatically reorder critical items to ensure healthy inventory levels. Restaurants can also use automated business solutions for inventory management by entering ingredient measurements into the POS.

Businesses that sell online can also leverage automated tools that sync real-time inventory numbers with e-commerce and brick-and-mortar sales to create a better, more accurate shopping experience for customers.

3Customer service

Online chatbots used to feel impersonal, but today's technology has become more robust, answering customer questions in a more friendly, conversational style. An AI-powered tool installed on your website can recognize keywords typed in by the customer and formulate answers based on replies you provide.

Perhaps best of all, this business process automation tool makes customer service available 24/7, leaving customer service agents free to handle more complex situations. It may also boost your bottom line—chatbots are predicted to save businesses $11 billion by 2023, according to Juniper Research.

4Marketing strategy

Generating leads and engaging with potential customers can be a full-time job. Marketing automation tools take over the repetitive tasks, targeting certain types of consumers with automated campaigns via email, social, web and text messages. By leveraging marketing automation tools, employees can focus on more complex processes, such as creating campaign strategies and templates.

Marketing automation also measures the overall return on investment from campaigns, to ensure the efficient use of time and resources and even point the way to improvements in the next campaign.

Although it may seem that automated business solutions are replacing employees, they can actually help them do their jobs more efficiently by removing the repetitive tasks that can lead to burnout. And in today's job market, that's crucial—especially for retention efforts on a tight budget. By providing employees with the tools they need to be more efficient, productive and creative, employers can create an environment that boosts job and customer satisfaction.