Sounds like a Hollywood Action-fiction movie! Though the subject is not as thrilling in the IT industry, it is close enough. When I first announced it to my team that we were bringing in Digital cops, it raised many eyebrows. A few months later, the cops were in action diligently performing their daily duties. The same set of people were now appalled as to how the concept worked like a magic wand. Then the Covid-19 era came, the cops were resistant to this virus and even more sought after.
Managing remote workers
The administrative staff in the service providing organizations are constantly burdened with follow-up tasks so that their field service technicians are on track with their jobs. It is a challenge to stay on top of the daily schedules and ensure that they are provided with the support they need to finish the job. And then, some customers are very demanding. The pressure on the administrative staff is enormous. When I walk to the coffee room at work, I hear them say “Wish we could clone ourselves”. I whispered to myself “Why not!?”.
Most of the tasks that lead to burnout are repetitive and monotonous. A lot of time is spent on sending reminders and checking on-field personnel. Whether the field technician informed the customer of the upcoming service schedule, his ETA, and did he even arrive on time? Some of these services included providing internet for new retail stores. A mission-critical task, isn’t it?
Every time one of your engineers goes out on a service call, they are representing your company. And anything that goes wrong — from a late arrival to a higher than expected invoice — can hurt how your company is perceived. So, who has the onus of excellent customer experience? You or your contractor?
A use case for RPA — Digital cops
It took two months to build these bots. A wish comes true!
A programmed set of tasks was performed at set times, leaving a trail of what was done, in the system. They did exactly what the admins did during their daily routine, with more accuracy, and at a greater frequency. The admins could now put away their mundane tasks and focus on jobs that added more value to their role. The digital cops take over!
This is a world where everything is done on the technician’s tablet or mobile — location sharing, posting arrival onsite, start of installation activity, verification of service, and departure complete. The digital cop watches the portal collecting those all-important events and testimonials. The software robot in the guise of a cop checks every step of the field technician to ensure that he is doing what he is supposed to do.
Bots are built using RPA tools. Bots in simple language are entities that mimic human actions and are used to perform simple and repetitive tasks. Bots follow the rules defined by a user to program them and execute the actions required. Popular software in the market today is Automation Anywhere. One may argue that the OSS/BSS records field activity and RPA may not be needed. There are many reasons for using bots, one of the most compelling reason is to instill change in user behavior. In many cases of business transformation, this is to ensure the user is reminded to adopt new tools to better serve the community. The agility that comes with the bots allows easy tweaking of the program to keep up with the changing trends in the field.
