Robotic Process Automation, or RPA, is a technology used to automate repetitive business processes, using computer programs - or "robots" simulating human work. RPA is used in business to perform tasks previously entrusted to specific employees.
With Robotic Process Automation, an organization can develop and execute a wide range of business processes swiftly and efficiently while doing so at reduced costs. With such potential a workforce may fear becoming obsolete.
Are there concerns to be had? Should an executive worry that RPA poses a danger to traditional work and job stability? Does RPA negate the need for real human beings in the company? Or does it impact their work negatively?
A complete replacement of human employees by robots and automation software is not a possibility. In fact, RPA is much more likely to create jobs, support skill development, and result in leadership opportunities. RPA will, of course, change the nature of our work, but the change is a positive one for any type of job, in any industry. Instead of regarding RPA as a force that eliminates jobs, it should be viewed as an influencing force on responsibilities and positions.
RPA will influence jobs in many ways, but it cannot fully replace a well-trained, engaged human workforce. Even the most creative projections of the nature of automation in the future do not predict a full replacement of humans. The most generous of these predictions do not surpass a 50% automation of all human processes. Furthermore, none of the projections predict an entire removal of a human job.
An organization will be able to automate processes with greater efficiency for a couple of decades, but at no point will these automation bots become people’s rivals on the job market. RPA processes are rule-based and designed to tackle repetitive tasks, such as reading, writing, copying, and pasting data, or order processing. With all the added benefits of automation, most jobs will still need a human touch. Humans possess a lot of traits that are still impossible to imitate with AI. Humans are problem solvers, creative beings, and skilled social communicators. Our most important skills are still irreplaceable.
RPA will always require active human support to be successfully implemented. Only humans can determine the processes that need to be automated, and only humans can monitor bots' performance. RPA technology, while sophisticated, is not able to operate without human intervention, nor is it able to reproduce the high-level thinking that humans are capable of. Once we learn about the real nature of RPA, automation anxiety should naturally pass.