“Automation Will Fix Our Processes” – Why You Need to Fix the Process First

Automation. The magical word that promises to free us from repetitive tasks, save hours of time, and deliver your organisation from the clutches of inefficiency. Just plug in a shiny new app, flick a few switches, and voilà – chaos becomes order.

Except… it doesn't. Not if your underlying processes are a mess to begin with.

Let’s break down the common myth that automation fixes processes, and explore why you need to sort your workflows out first – before letting the bots loose.

The Myth: “We’ll Just Automate It”

You’ve probably heard (or said) something like this:

“Our process for organising events is all over the place. We just need to automate it.”

Or:

“We keep missing reporting deadlines – let’s get a system that does it automatically.”

The idea is appealing: automation as a silver bullet. But in reality, automating a broken process doesn’t fix it – it just allows you to do the wrong thing faster and more often.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Automation is only as good as the process it’s built on. If you’ve got:

• Multiple ways of entering the same data.
• Approval steps that rely on someone’s memory.
• Bottlenecks disguised as “checks and balances”.
• Excel sheets of doom lurking in the background.

Then automating those steps won’t solve the problem. It’ll just make the spaghetti go faster.

Take reporting as an example. If your team is unclear on when to report, what to include, or which data points apply, then automating that process will just create incorrect reports – but faster!

The Fix: Clean Before You Code

Before you even think about automation, take time to map the process as it should be. Ask:

• Who does what, and when?
• What decisions are made along the way?
• Where does information come from and go to?
• What causes delays or confusion?

It doesn’t need to be a six-month strategic review. A whiteboard, a few post-it notes, and some candid conversations can go a long way. Once you've got a cleaned-up, agreed-upon workflow, then it's time to look at automation tools that can support and scale that process.

Automation is Amplification

Think of automation as a megaphone. It amplifies what’s already happening in your organisation – good or bad.

If you’ve got a solid workflow, automation helps your team run like a well-oiled machine. But if your process is a bit… Frankenstein, then automation will just make the monster move faster.

Final Thoughts

Automation isn’t magic. It’s just a tool. And like any tool, it works best when the foundation is solid. So before you go chasing new tech, do a bit of spring cleaning. Your future automated self will thank you.

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