How to get started with automation

There's a fair amount of legwork that needs to happen to get firms to the point where automation is possible.

Head to any industry conference, and there’s one piece of advice you hear consistently: Automate whatever you can.

While it’s true that automating parts of your business can make it easier to scale your firm (and spend more time on the things you enjoy), there’s a big difference between wanting to automate and knowing how to go about it.

In reality, there’s a fair amount of legwork that needs to happen to get firms to the point where automation is possible. By digging into the how of automation, you can make it easier to figure out what parts of your business make the most sense to automate.

WRITE DOWN YOUR PROCESS

Whether it’s client onboarding or quarterly performance reports, you can’t automate a process unless you have a repeatable one in place. The first step is to write down and then organize your process — this is often referred to as a workflow.

Break down the process into tasks, and consider what order things must be done in. Do some tasks have a contingency, meaning you can’t do them until something else is done first? Make a note of who is doing each task, as well: Is this something anyone can do? Or does one person need to it?

Even if a task can be done by anyone, assigning it to one person can help ensure it gets done in a timely matter, since no one will assume it’s being handled by someone else.

SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS

It’s possible to automate complex workflows, but generally speaking, the simpler, the better. This is especially true if you’re new to automation. Try eliminating any optional tasks at first; you can always add these back in later.

You may also be able to create templates for different tasks. For instance, if you’re automating your quarterly performance reports, you might create a template for client emails so you don’t have to rewrite the basics each time. Even if you end up customizing certain elements, having a jumping-off point — versus creating things from scratch — can help you save time and make it easier to automate the process.

Finally, consider tracking your time for a few weeks, then note how much time you spend on various tasks. This can help you pinpoint where you’re being inefficient. If you’re spending a significant number of hours on work you don’t enjoy, automation can help. Knowing the amount of time you’re spending on things now can also help you assess whether any new technology is truly helping you save time.

RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY

There’s a wide range of technology available to help advisors automate every facet of their practice. The prep work you’ve done in steps one and two can help you choose technology that works the way you do, rather than trying to adjust the way you work to suit new technology.

It’s also a good idea to choose technology that allows you to add users and build more complex automations down the line. While you may not need these features now, you want the automations to evolve with you and your firm. Otherwise, you may need to recreate the steps in this article whenever you switch providers.

Some technology providers will help you set up workflows and automations as part of the client onboarding process.

REPEATABLE PROCESSES

As you get more comfortable with automation, you may start to boil down more of your firm’s tasks into a repeatable process, or workflow. You may also begin to add in more of the optional or complex tasks to ensure your workflows grow along with you.

At Advyzon, the most popular automations tend to focus on client onboarding or client reviews. If you haven’t created any workflows yet, these processes may be a good place to start.

Workflows and other automated processes can increase efficiencies and save advisors time, allowing you to focus on serving clients better and scale your business.

Dirk Pearson is chief product officer at Advyzon, a comprehensive technology platform for advisors.