Automation wave drives customer-centricity, staff satisfaction

Abu Dhabi Municipality is leveraging RPA to improve efficiency and boost productivity.

The Middle East is undergoing a major transformation across many of its corporate and urban life functions. At the heart of this transformation is technology ranging from tried-and-tested software to next-gen AI-driven tools. With several facets of daily life becoming digitised, it's natural that robotic process automation (RPA) would enter the picture at some stage. RPA is designed to automate repetitive processes performed by humans, and it has the ability to free up human workers so that they can carry out more complex or creative tasks.

Industries across the world are reaping the benefits of RPA, and it is no longer a pilot technology that is 'good to have'. In fact, it has become a 'must have' technology, and the Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM) is reaching new frontiers by implementing Automation Anywhere's Intelligent Automation platform to help its customers as well as employees. By introducing RPA in front-end and back-end operations, ADM is making routine tasks quicker and more efficient for its clients while giving employees the opportunity to boost their skills.

The RPA implementation initiative at ADM kickstarted Phase 1 in 2019 to cover three key enterprise processes of the government entity - financial bank reconciliation, integration of land management systems and internal HR operations. All these processes are now leveraging RPA to improve efficiency, augment the workforce's potential and boost employee productivity. Indeed, cultural acceptance is half the battle won, and ADM's successful RPA implementation has shown that the Middle East region is prepared to integrate digital technologies into their business operations.

Automation is key

At ADM, one of the key operations being automated is the funneling of land management requests from the existing Smart Hub portal and proprietary eLMS land system. This has made transactions such as mortgage services, buying and selling of units and industrial registration quicker and simpler. With daily cumulative reports exchanging hands on an automated basis, real estate units in the municipality region are being viewed with a newfound layer of transparency. The increased governance and accuracy helped save more than 250 man-hours a month, thus, boosting customer satisfaction. It significantly helps ADM achieve its vision of customer centricity.   

ADM's twin-pronged approach to RPA - improve employee productivity and enhance client's satisfaction. For instance, sick leave approvals have been highly time-consuming affairs in the past. But with RPA, they can now be filed and approved quickly and remotely. This saves considerable time and effort for employees. Additionally, financial statements can now be reconciled through a seamless five-in-one process. This saves tremendous time and effort of financial staff in the settlement of accounts. From a customer's point of view, the automated land management system has made it simpler to access the company's Smart Hub portal and register real estate contracts - an improvement that continues to enhance ADM's customer centricity and satisfaction.

Employee satisfaction levels are driving wholesome acceptance at ADM, and the 800+ man hours saved by automating the aforementioned three key services are simply the tip of the iceberg. If all goes well, as many as 1,500 man-hours per month can be automated, thus freeing up employees to focus on more critical tasks.  

Leading the way forward

The vision for ADM is to make automation a fundamental asset for its 2,800 employees spread across 60 departments and save countless man-hours and improve efficiency. Phase 2 and subsequent iterations of the automation led policy are in the works, and the company's goal is to automate as much as 40 percent of its processes. Automation is viewed as a never-ending project at ADM, and the cultural change this project is driving is clear. While current RPA applications are process-driven, other aspects such as human resources, expense management, learning and development (L&D) administration, finance and more, are expected to come under the watchful eye of RPA sooner, rather than later.

Abu Dhabi City Municipality is one of the early adopters of RPA and automation in the region. With other government entities keenly watching the implementation of its automation led efforts, the results of its projects are of critical importance. So far, the results have exceeded expectations, and the hope is that the upward curve continues. As more complex processes begin to be automated, ADM can further save several man-hours and boost efficiency, all while showcasing the Middle-East's propensity and preparedness for adopting automation. Automation Anywhere is proud to be a part of this journey, and it is purely web-based cloud-native platform is designed to help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation and create an empowered digital workforce.  

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Ahmad Abdoulsamad Alhamadi is the Chief Information Officer at ADM.

Ziyad Ahmed Saleh is the Project Management Specialist, IT Department at ADM.

• Business and Technology Review