We talk to a lot of business leaders who are intrigued by automation. They’ve heard about RPA, AI, machine learning, or intelligent document processing — and they’re interested in the possibilities. But almost always, the first question they ask is the right one:
“How do I know if my process is ready to automate?”
That’s not just a good question — it’s the essential one. Because the truth is, not every process is a good candidate for automation right out of the gate. And that’s okay. At Intellevate, we’ve learned that a successful automation journey starts well before the first line of code is written. It starts with a smart, honest assessment of readiness. Let’s talk about what that looks like.
Is the Process Stable Enough to Automate?
Before you think about automating a process, it’s worth asking whether the process is mature and stable. That doesn’t mean it has to be perfect — but it does need to be clearly understood and reasonably consistent.
Here’s what that looks like: there’s a defined starting point, a predictable flow of activities, and a fairly standard outcome. If different team members are doing the task in different ways, or if no one’s really sure what the “official” process is, then it might be too early to automate. In cases like that, we often recommend a little business process improvement work first — tightening things up, documenting the flow, standardizing variations, and identifying any dependencies.
Documentation plays a huge role here. If you can walk us through a process with a clear set of steps, inputs, outputs, business rules, and exception handling, you’re in good shape. If that documentation doesn’t exist yet, we can help create it — but it’s critical to understand the process clearly before we build software to run it.
Are Your People Ready for Change?
Technology isn’t the only thing that needs to be ready — your people matter just as much. One of the most common reasons automation struggles isn’t technical at all. It’s cultural. If your team isn’t ready to embrace a new way of working, even the best automation tools won’t deliver their full value.
So how do you know if employees are ready? Start by listening. Talk to them. Ask questions. Get a sense of how comfortable they are with digital tools in general. Look at how they’ve handled change in the past — were they curious? Frustrated? Proactive? Defensive?The answers to those questions will tell you a lot about what kind of change management strategy you’ll need.
And when people do resist, it’s often not because they dislike automation — it’s because they don’t yet understand how it helps them. That’s where leadership comes in.
Is Your IT Environment Automation-Friendly?
A successful automation initiative depends on more than just process readiness — it needs the right technical foundation. While RPA and other automation tools are designed to work with legacy systems, it helps if your IT environment is stable, supported, and well-documented.
At a minimum, you’ll want systems that can be accessed reliably, ideally with service accounts or APIs available. Secure, consistent access is a must. And automation works best when you have clean environments — test, QA, and production — with some change management discipline in place.
Just as important as the tools is the IT team itself. Does your IT department support innovation? Will they work with your automation partner to help ensure secure credentials, safe deployment practices, and ongoing monitoring? If so, you’re in a good position.
Do You Have Management Buy-In?
Here’s the thing: no automation project is ever “just technical.” It takes support from leadership to succeed.
If you’re not sure whether you have that support, try this: bring your leadership team into the conversation early. Explain not just what automation can do, but why it matters to the business. Will it reduce operational costs? Improve accuracy? Free up people for higher-value work? Support compliance? Deliver better customer outcomes?
When leadership understands the “why,” they’re far more likely to help with the “how.” And once you have that backing, it’s time to presell automation to the rest of the organization.
Socializing the Idea of Automation Across the Organization
Introducing automation into a business isn’t just a technical initiative — it’s a cultural one. For automation to succeed, people need to understand not just what’s changing, but why it matters and how it benefits them. That’s why we encourage leaders to champion automation early, framing it as an opportunity rather than a disruption.
Start by communicating the vision clearly. Share the problems automation is intended to solve, the efficiencies it will create, and most importantly, how it will help your team do their jobs better. Focus on how automation can relieve pressure, reduce repetitive tasks, and open up time for more meaningful work.
Create opportunities for open dialogue. Encourage questions, listen to concerns, and be honest about what will change and what won’t. People are much more likely to embrace change when they feel heard and involved in the process.
It also helps to identify internal advocates — team members who are open to new ideas and respected by their peers. These champions can help reinforce the message, provide feedback from the front lines, and offer reassurance during rollout.
Ultimately, socializing automation across the organization is about building trust, reducing fear, and laying the foundation for long-term success. When people feel supported and informed, change becomes something to engage with — not resist.
Can You Rely on Your Inputs?
Here’s a detail that often gets overlooked: is the process you want to automate reliant on inputs from other systems or partners? If so, how reliable are those inputs?
Automation thrives on predictability. If you’re pulling data from a partner and the format keeps changing, or if incoming documents are inconsistent or handwritten, it can wreak havoc on your automation workflow.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t automate — but it does mean we may need to put guardrails in place. Sometimes, that’s a preprocessing step. Other times, it’s a manual checkpoint for edge cases. We might also recommend working with the third party to standardize their output, or using intelligent document processing (IDP) tools that can handle a wider range of inputs with AI.
What’s the Goal?
Finally, every automation initiative needs a clear purpose. What are you trying to achieve?
Maybe it’s cost savings. Maybe it’s faster delivery. Maybe you’re trying to reduce errors or improve compliance reporting. Maybe you just want to make life better for your team. All of those are valid goals — but you’ll want to pick one or two to focus on, especially early on. That focus helps you measure impact and build a strong case for further investment.
Ready to Start Your Automation Journey?
If you’ve read this far, you’re already doing the most important thing: thinking it through. At Intellevate, we’ve helped organizations of all sizes get started with automation the right way — thoughtfully, strategically, and sustainably.
We’ll help you evaluate your processes, understand your readiness, and identify the areas where automation can deliver real, lasting value.
Have questions? Let’s talk. We’d love to hear where you are — and where you’d like to go.
Leave a Reply