There might not be a single change you could make to your association that would transform it more than increasing business process automation.
Consider these statistics:
- According to a Forbes article about how much time workers spend on handling data, an IDC study shows that data workers waste 30 percent of their time, on average, because they can’t find, protect, or prepare data, plus another 20 percent of their time duplicating work.
- Another Forbes article about the savings that can come from automation cites the WorkMarket’s 2020 In(Sight) Report, which shows that 53 percent of employees say they can save up to two work hours per day through automation, and 78 percent of business leaders believe that automation could free up to three work hours per day.
With numbers like these, just imagine how much time automation could free up for your association staff. Automation reduces the burden of manual tasks – saving staff time and effort that can be directed toward higher value work.
Here are a few examples of the types of processes your association could be automating:
Email communications
Create a welcome campaign that’s automatically triggered when a new member joins. The campaign can familiarize the new member with your organization and encourage the new member to take advantage of benefits offered by your association.
Membership renewals
Community Brands research found that 13 percent of lapsed members simply forgot to renew. A powerful way to address this issue is to offer an option to automatically renew membership, with the membership fee charged to the member’s credit card.
Member guidance
Much like the familiar Amazon-like shopping experience, you can recommend new product purchases based on past behaviors and “what other members like you purchased”. This has the added benefit of increasing your non-dues revenues.
Member service
Using chatbots, automate aspects of member service, such as assisting with common questions, to provide immediate response 24/7 and free up staff time. With chatbots intercepting and answering more straightforward questions, the more complex inquiries can be passed to a live agent, who can take time to assist the member and ensure an exceptional experience.
Tax processing
Tax processing might not seem exciting when it comes to providing a great member experience. But automating it allows you to reduce manual burden, take human error out of the equation, and save association staff time and effort that can be directed elsewhere toward serving members.
Getting started with process automation for your association
Here are three key considerations to help you increase process automation at your organization:
Process analysis
It’s hard to know exactly how much efficiency could be gained through process automation without first understanding the extent of your association’s business processes. Conduct a business process assessment to identify opportunities for automation.
Automation strategy
After completing the assessment, develop a strategy for automating specific processes to help create a great member journey and reduce repetitive processes.
Consistency
Remember that process automation ensures things are done consistently without the need for staff to remember or intervene. Once a process is in place to take certain actions, unless something changes, there’s no need to revise it.
Take the next step
With the right technology, your organization can increase process automation and become more efficient. Nimble AMS allows your staff to save valuable time by automating complex business processes. Without code, your staff can set up automated processes in a few simple steps.
