RPA’s ability to enhance innovation, improve productivity and above all, help companies deliver a better overall experience makes it one of the most valuable tools of modern business. Therefore, developing an ROI roadmap is critical to understanding and validating its implementation and consequent support. Quantifying the expected and actual returns of an investment in RPA can help companies make better decisions, optimize their solutions, and learn from any pitfalls. However, it is necessary for companies to understand what data to collect, which benchmarks are valuable, and how to best make use of the information they gather.

This article aims to explore the methods by which ROI can be calculated as a result of RPA deployment.

1. Evaluate both qualitative and quantitative benefits:

In order to measure ROI efficiently and accurately, it is important to be clear about your expectations about the benefits that your RPA implementation will bring. Qualitative benefits, such as data, process quality, and employee job satisfaction, are more difficult to measure than quantitative benefits. However, they are equally important, should be paid close attention to. By taking the expected benefits into account, you will be able to come up with a comprehensive ROI estimation, which then allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your RPA deployment accurately.

2. Estimate process velocity

You can estimate process speed by comparing the time it takes to run a cycle before and after the use of RPA. As robots require no brakes, it is expected that process velocity should increase with RPA deployment. With the deployment of software robots, the processes should be between 20% and 110% faster. Keep in mind that fluctuating parameters, such as the monthly volume of transactions, should also be considered when calculating.

3. Appraise output quality

To measure output quality, you need to compare results between process accuracy performed by human employees and robots. The higher the difference, the better. As robots are not prone to errors like humans are, you can expect a positive difference. This means that RPA can provide you with process accuracy that humans cannot deliver.

4. Determine Compliance Improvement

Robotic process automation is extremely useful and reliable when it comes to managing compliance paperwork. By using RPA to assist with the process, you can rest assured that regulations and compliance criteria are met. Moreover, software robots can generate basic regulatory reports as well.

5. Measure Productivity Level

Increased productivity can be reflected in faster and more accurate outputs. Since software robots reduce manual work, it can also increase human employees’ productivity level in general. This improvement in productivity is due to the better outcomes obtained via RPA deployment.

Summary

The ability that RPA possesses to deliver real value in a variety of ways to companies spanning practically any size and in any industry. Without a thorough understanding of an expected ROI, companies will be unable to make effective decisions about the technology and justify investments in automation to business stakeholders. In order to effectively implement RPA, the initiative team should make ROI a major focus during planning, implementation, and governance.