What is a CAO and are they needed?

Automation is crucial for organizations striving to stay competitive, so to help navigate the digital era, more companies are realizing the importance of senior executive oversight and sponsorship of automation initiatives.

The recent suggested need for a Chief Automation Officer (CAO) position stems from the rapid widespread recognition of the pivotal role that automation plays in reshaping business operations and enhancing efficiency. But while process automation is recognized as a central element in the digital transformation strategies of 70% of organizations, according to the Wall Street Journal, we’ve been here before.

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When it comes to tech, one minute you’re the doyen of the CRM or P2P worlds, and the next we’ve moved to blockchain and augmented reality. Instead of pouring new resources and energy into new roles that are created off the back of hype, what’s needed is executive sponsorship and leadership of advanced automation programs at the highest and most influential levels, underpinned by the appropriate business knowledge and network to be able to drive real change.

If you’re serious about automation, it needs to be embedded into a primary C-suite role that’s not transitional, and a person able to tie-in, and federate tasks or projects across the organization.

Our automation champion needs to be a senior leader tasked with driving digital transformation, by optimizing resources and able to keep pace with evolving customer demands, and fluid market and technology dynamics. They’re also the pathway to efficiency and agility, streamlining workflows, enabling the organization to allocate resources to focus on higher-value activities, while maintaining compliance according to internal and external policies.

To succeed and unleash the full potential of intelligent automation (IA), organizations need to foster collaborations with their sales, finance, compliance, legal and other functions, as they deploy automation to boost productivity and revenue opportunities across the enterprise. It demands strategic vision, cross-functional collaboration, and a deep understanding of the enterprise’s digital infrastructure.

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This is where your product and IT support teams become indispensable as – with a top-down mandate from your CIO / CTO and CEO – everyone is laser-focused on faster tangible outcomes and can capitalize on synergies as internal communication channels are more open and have less barriers to overcome. And if you’re working in a constantly changing fast-moving market, as you automate, you’re more flexible and better able to control and direct customer conversations based on outcomes when scaling digital workers.

The Importance of Prioritizing Automation at C-level

The success stories of companies that have embraced automation underscore the transformative potential of strategic automation initiatives. Take, for example, Zurich UK, which identified intelligent automation as a solution to enhance efficiency and bridge process gaps. By prioritizing automation at the executive level and investing in teams, the company streamlined operations, allowing frontline staff to prioritize exceptional customer service.

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This is all great, but the journey to automation excellence requires more than just deploying digital workers or implementing robotic process automation (RPA) tools. Zurich is a great way of showing how you take a non-traditional IT approach embracing business and operations, and in the process build a multifaceted team with a unique blend of skills, including a deep understanding of technology, business acumen, and change management expertise.

Able to align automation initiatives with business objectives and drive organizational change, they can constantly identify areas ripe for automation, prioritizing initiatives based on their potential impact and securing executive buy-in for automation investments. Moreover, they play a pivotal role in fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, where automation is embraced as a strategic enabler of business growth.

Build Your ‘E-Suite’ with An Eye on the Future

Placing automation directly in the boardroom signals a paradigm shift in managerial leadership, but it also raises questions about the requisite skills and qualifications.

While a CAO sounds great in principle, you need a diverse skill set encompassing technology, business strategy, and change management gained from a process management and IT systems background and a diverse network and knowledge of the business and IT environment.

In most cases, your CIO and / or CTO is the orchestrator of automation initiatives, driving alignment between technology investments and business objectives, understanding of both the technical aspects of automation and the strategic imperatives driving business transformation. They may choose to identify a dedicated role within their leadership team, but will have the overall mandate, breadth of influence and knowledge to drive true transformational and cross departmental change.

Looking ahead, automation is poised to become an increasingly critical part of your organization as it continues to evolve. With the proliferation of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), RPA, and process orchestration, the scope of automation initiatives will only expand. As such, organizations that invest in building automation capabilities and placing automation leadership within the primary C-suite will be best positioned to thrive in the digital age.

The need for top-down thinking and sponsorship underscores the strategic importance of automation in driving digital transformation and business success. By doing so, organizations can accelerate innovation, optimize operations, and gain a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced business environment.

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