Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Enhanced Customer Experience

In my last blog I talked about how, Robotic Process Automation leads to changing job roles and it’s effect on employees and employers. I take the opportunity to highlight the great multiplier effect a successful effect RPA implementation has on customer experience.

A customer journey can be simple set of tasks or a complex journey. It could involve looking up information, filling information, time taken for processing forms or those long holds on telephone. Whatever be the forms of these journeys, we had some such poor experiences. This is where a successfully implemented RPA and related investments can enhance customer experience and eliminate customer pain points.

How RPA transforms Customer Experience?

As an example let us consider the customer journey for Loan or mortgage origination and processing. Traditionally it will require the customer to fill up many forms and information and submit required sets of documents. These would then be sent for processing. Someone would re-enter the details (with possible errors), then back-office managers will do checks (credit scores, property details, etc) and sent for approvals. Some of these work may be outsourced to 3^rd parties (lack of proper controls / audits). The overall process itself takes a few weeks for the customer to get a feedback on status of his loan approval.

If an RPA is successfully implemented, the BOT can take over the complete process – from uploading the scanned documents, verified e-signatures, verification and checks and scores for automatic approval or rejection recommendations with complete audit trail. The turn-around time has seen to be reduced to a few days days (conditional approvals to as less as 1 hour) and customers can track their application stages and status online. This not only creates a beneficial customer experience, but allows the Mortgage provider to invest these savings in front line / customer facing resources – which along with RPA will drive up revenue as well as customer experience. 

Metrics and continuous improvement

Organizations can set-up metrics to measure customer experience (number of complaints, changes, rework, etc) and work on a continuous improvement plan for customer experience journey. The comparison could be made between pre and post-RPA implementation metrics. It will clearly bear out the investment in RPA and the subsequent investments in direct customer touch-points had improved the overall experience.

RPA is not an end in itself to improvements in customer experience. A continuous improvement plan will need improvements and maintenance of BOTS. Automated systems will encounter “exceptions” (due to change in processes or new data sets being introduced) and organizations would need to maintain the BOTS as well as carry out Quality control.