Establishing a Centre of Excellence for Automation
Establishing a Centre of Excellence for Automation: A Guide to Doing it Right
Automation is no longer a trend; it’s a necessity. Whether you’re running a tech startup or a large corporation, automation helps streamline processes, boost productivity, and reduce human error. But doing automation right takes more than just deploying a few bots or scripts. That’s where a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for automation comes into play.
A CoE for automation ensures that your company doesn’t just dabble in automation but maximises its potential across the board. It’s like building a gym for your automation muscle: you need the right equipment, routines, and people to make it work efficiently and sustainably.
In this post, we’ll dive into what it takes to establish a Centre of Excellence for automation, why it matters, and the steps to get started.
What is a Centre of Excellence for Automation?
A Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a centralised hub of knowledge, best practices, tools, and frameworks that organisations use to drive consistent and efficient implementation of specific initiatives. In this case, automation.
The automation CoE is responsible for:
- Developing best practices: Setting the standard on how automation should be implemented and maintained across the organisation.
- Providing governance: Ensuring that automation efforts align with company objectives and don’t create unintended consequences.
- Training and support: Upskilling employees to use automation tools and developing internal expertise.
- Driving innovation: Encouraging continuous improvements and adoption of the latest automation technologies.
- Measuring and optimising: Tracking performance metrics to ensure automation delivers tangible results.
Think of a CoE as a combination of strategy, governance, and technical expertise rolled into one.
Why Do You Need a CoE for Automation?
1. Consistency Across the Organisation
When multiple teams start deploying their own automation solutions, you can quickly end up with a disjointed mess. Some tools may not integrate well, processes could overlap, and security standards might be inconsistent. A CoE ensures that automation efforts are aligned across departments and adhere to a unified strategy.
2. Scalability
Starting small is fine, but as your organisation scales, you need to ensure that automation grows with it. A CoE helps create a scalable framework so you can automate everything from small repetitive tasks to large-scale processes.
3. Governance and Compliance
Automation often involves accessing sensitive data and integrating with critical business systems. A CoE ensures that automation complies with internal and external governance standards, safeguarding both security and compliance.
4. Faster Implementation
By centralising expertise, tools, and best practices, a CoE reduces the time spent “reinventing the wheel” for every new automation project. Teams can pull from a ready-made playbook and implement automation more quickly and efficiently.
5. Cost Efficiency
Automation, when done right, saves time and money. But if you end up with poorly implemented systems or overlapping technologies, costs can spiral out of control. A CoE provides oversight, ensuring that automation investments deliver on their promise of cost savings.
Key Elements of a Successful Automation CoE
1. Executive Sponsorship
For a CoE to be effective, it needs backing from the top brass. Executive sponsorship ensures that the CoE has the resources, authority, and visibility it needs to succeed. It also helps drive a culture of automation across the organisation, which is crucial for widespread adoption.
2. Skilled Team
At the core of any CoE is a skilled, cross-functional team. You’ll need:
- Automation experts: People who understand the tools, technology, and best practices.
- Business analysts: Individuals who can map out processes and identify automation opportunities.
- IT and security professionals: To ensure that automation integrates well with existing systems and adheres to security policies.
- Change managers: To manage the human side of automation, ensuring smooth transitions and user buy-in.
3. Clear Objectives and KPIs
Your CoE should have clear, measurable objectives. Are you looking to reduce processing times, cut costs, improve accuracy, or all of the above? Set key performance indicators (KPIs) for each automation initiative and track them religiously.
Some typical KPIs include:
- Time savings: How much time is saved by automating a process?
- Cost reductions: What’s the reduction in operational costs after automation?
- Error reduction: Are automated processes more accurate than their manual counterparts?
- Employee satisfaction: Are employees happier with less manual grunt work?
4. Standardisation
Establishing best practices, guidelines, and templates is key to preventing chaos. Ensure that every team follows a standardised approach to automation to avoid duplication of effort and conflicting solutions. This can include everything from documentation templates to a preferred list of automation tools.
5. Training and Upskilling
Automation is most effective when the entire organisation is on board. Your CoE should have a strong focus on training and upskilling employees across different departments, enabling them to identify opportunities for automation and even create their own solutions using low-code or no-code tools.
6. Technology Stack
Choosing the right tools is critical for any automation CoE. You’ll need to pick automation platforms that are scalable, secure, and adaptable to your specific needs. Whether it’s Robotic Process Automation (RPA), workflow automation, or machine learning-powered solutions, make sure you have a flexible stack that can evolve as the business grows.
Steps to Establish Your Automation CoE
Ready to get started? Here’s a step-by-step approach:
1. Identify Stakeholders and Secure Buy-In
Get the key decision-makers on board first. Explain the benefits of a CoE and how it will improve efficiency, reduce costs, and drive innovation. Make sure you have executive sponsorship from a senior leader who can provide the necessary resources and authority.
2. Define the CoE’s Scope
Automation can span everything from simple task automation to full-scale process re-engineering. Define the scope of your CoE early on. Will it focus on specific areas like customer service, IT operations, or back-office functions? Or will it be enterprise-wide?
3. Assemble Your Team
Build a cross-functional team with representatives from IT, business operations, security, and change management. Make sure you have the right blend of technical expertise and business know-how.
4. Develop a Roadmap
What are your immediate priorities? Is there low-hanging fruit you can automate quickly to show quick wins? Create a roadmap that outlines short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals for your automation initiatives.
5. Choose Your Technology
Research and select automation tools that fit your needs. Whether you go for an RPA solution, an integrated platform like UiPath or Microsoft Power Automate, or even build custom automation scripts, make sure it’s flexible and scalable.
6. Standardise and Document Best Practices
Before you start automating, document everything. Create standard operating procedures, templates, and governance frameworks that each automation project must follow. This will ensure consistency and make it easier to scale.
7. Measure Success
Once the CoE is up and running, track performance metrics and report back to key stakeholders. Use these metrics to tweak processes and improve efficiency further. Remember, automation is a continuous journey, not a one-time project.
Final Thoughts
A Centre of Excellence for automation can be a game changer for any organisation looking to boost efficiency and reduce costs. By centralising expertise, ensuring consistency, and driving a culture of continuous improvement, a CoE will help you unlock the full potential of automation.
Whether you’re automating a few repetitive tasks or overhauling entire business processes, having a CoE in place ensures you’re doing it right from the start.
If you’re not thinking about automation now, you’re probably already behind. But with a solid CoE, you can catch up—and then some.
What are your thoughts on setting up a CoE for automation? Drop a comment or share your experiences. Let’s keep the conversation going!