PIPELINEGuide
Introducing process automation to your team without resistance
The technical part of process automation is rarely the problem. What actually causes implementations to fail lies with the people who are supposed to work with it — and that can be addressed beforehand.
Resistance to process automation is almost never directed at technology, but at feared extra work or the worry of being replaced. Whoever does the affected workflow daily should be asked before implementation, not informed afterward — and nothing should be introduced that requires additional data entry.
01 — Team
How to get the team on board
- Involve early, don't just inform early. Whoever handles the process daily knows where the exceptions are. This information only exists beforehand, not after go-live.
- Take resistance seriously. It's almost never directed at technology, but at extra work or the fear of being replaced. Both need to be addressed openly.
- Don't introduce anything that creates extra work. Systems that require additional data entry will be circumvented — and rightly so.
- Designate one person as the first point of contact. Not as ownership, but so questions don't fall through the cracks.
- Make success visible. If after four weeks no one knows whether it delivered results, what sticks is the memory of the disruption, not the benefit.
02 — Participation
What we need from you
- A contact person who can make decisions — not just forward them.
- Access to the affected systems, in time and not on launch day.
- Real examples from daily business — the messier, the more useful for testing.
- Two to four hours for coordination, distributed over the project duration.
- An answer to the question of what success means. Without it, nothing can be assessed afterward.
03 — Measurement
How you measure success
- Define the one number beforehand. Without a baseline value, nothing can be proven afterward. Two weeks of tracking is enough for a reliable reference point.
- Processing time per case. The most direct metric: How long does the affected process take today, how long afterward.
- Percentage of cases that complete without intervention. This ratio typically rises significantly in the first weeks when refinements are made — it's the best early indicator.
- External response time. How quickly does someone who inquires receive an initial binding answer.
- What you should not measure: Team satisfaction in the first two weeks. Every transition feels worse initially than it actually is.
04 — Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do we know what's worth automating?
Rule of thumb: A process is worth it if it occurs at least weekly, has clear rules and is manual work today. In the current-state analysis, we calculate every candidate — frequency times duration times cost — and you decide based on numbers.
What happens to the people who used to do this?
In practice, a position rarely disappears — the part of the work that nobody liked disappears. The time goes into things there was never time for before.
How quickly does it pay off?
For the processes we typically start with, payback is between four and ten months. We calculate that before the quote, not after.
Are there subsidies for this?
For digitalization projects in Austria, there are several funding programs, such as KMU.DIGITAL or the aws digitalization funding (kmudigital.at, aws.at). Whether and to what extent this currently fits your situation, we check together — important: The application must be approved before the contract is awarded. Plan lead time for this.
What if our processes change?
Then the workflows are adjusted. We build them so that the variable parts — text blocks, recipients, thresholds — are in a table that you maintain yourself, without needing us.
Do we have to buy new software for this?
Usually not. Most of it runs on the systems you already have, plus an automation layer. We only suggest new software if there's a real gap.
Do we lose control over our processes?
On the contrary: An automated process is fully documented and logged for the first time. You see every run. Before, only the person who always did it knew.
05 — Next
Related pages
- Process automation — Overview
- Process automation — ongoing operation
- Process automation — process
- Process automation — provider comparison
- Process automation — requirements
- Process automation — Checklist
- Process automation — Duration
- Process Automation — Common Mistakes
- AI automation
- CRM integration
- Automate Quote Creation
- All guides
Process automation by region
Next step
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