How You Can Measure Measure the Success of Any RPA Project?

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The benefits of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are hard to overstate. It can improve data accuracy, speed up core business processes, and cut operational costs dramatically. If you’re wondering how to measure RPA success, the first Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to consider is Return On Investment (ROI).

RPA Success Metrics For ROI Calculation​

Any calculation starts with a list of variables. In this case, those variables include the numbers that measure how much you’re spending on the given process without RPA, followed by how much you’ll spend with RPA. Here are the metrics you need to calculate ROI for RPA implementations:

  • Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Resources– One FTE is equal to the number of hours a single full-time employee works over a given time period. For example, in a standard 40 hour work week, two part-time workers who work 20 hours per week would add up to 1 FTE over a week. For your RPA FTE calculation, though, determine FTE resources—the number of full-time workers (or equivalent groups of part-time workers) assigned to the task you plan to automate. If a team of three full-time accounting clerks handles all your invoicing, for instance, set FTE resources for invoicing at 3.
  • Number Of Tasks Per Day – This one is self-explanatory. If you’re calculating ROI on automated invoicing, set this value at the average number of invoices your company processes every day.
  • Task Duration (In Minutes) – How long does it take to complete one instance of the task you plan to automate? Use minutes as the unit of measurement.
  • Average Fully Loaded FTE Cost (Per Hour) – Employees cost more than their hourly wages. Generally, employment costs are 30% to 40% higher than the employee’s hourly compensation, which accounts for benefits, infrastructure, and all the operational costs associated with a single employee. Add hourly wages to the relevant percentage for your area to determine the Fully Loaded FTE Cost.
  • Initial RPA Implementation Cost – This metric includes licensing and working with an implementation services provider to train and deploy RPA bots for your unique task. It’s the main cost you want to recoup with a quick ROI.
These figures will help you calculate both the as-is process cost for the automation task and the cost of your initial investment in RPA. Of course, these are static figures, and real costs fluctuate over time—especially as your business grows. So, you’ll need to determine a few more figures to calculate a more accurate ROI for RPA implementation:

  • Growth Rate Percentage– To calculate ROI for RPA over longer stretches of time, you need a fair estimate of how much growth you expect. Percentages are the simplest way to measure this factor. If you process 100 invoices per day now and expect to add another 5 invoices per month, your estimated growth rate percentage would be 5%.
  • Monthly Task Cost With RPA – All RPA platforms include monthly costs for upkeep, maintenance, and assistance. Contact your provider to determine these average monthly fees.
With these numbers in hand, you’re ready to start the ROI for RPA calculation.

Read more about how to calculate ROI For any RPA Project in 3 simple steps
 
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