5 reasons to hire an Automation Engineer | Business Systems

Staying ahead in the era of ChatGPT and other AI tools means you have to think differently to keep your business thriving. An automation engineer can help you enhance efficiency and productivity in your business systems—and stay in the game long-term 😎

Let’s break it down one by one.

What is an Automation Engineer?

A good automation engineer doesn’t just work on pure coding; they also have a look at how your business operates from the ground up, spot vulnerabilities in your processes and suggest areas for improvement.

Based on results and analysis, automation engineers can design custom solutions tailored to your business needs 👌

Whether it’s automating data entry, streamlining inventory management, or optimising customer service operations, they develop solutions that integrate seamlessly with your existing systems.

👉 Related: Are you a slave to your business? | Systems and Processes

Automation Engineer vs. Systems Engineer

So an automation engineer works on your business systems. Then how does the role differ from a systems engineer? 🤔

Automation Engineers specialise in identifying and automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks within your business operations. Their goal is to:

• enhance your process efficiency
• reduce error rates
• and cut down operational costs.

Systems Engineers take a holistic approach, focusing on the entire ecosystem of organisational IT infrastructure and operations. They ensure that all parts of a system work together seamlessly, from software and hardware components to networks and databases 🧑‍💻

A systems engineer integrates various disciplines such as:

• Information Systems (IT)
• software and network engineering
• project management and human factors 👬

Our automation engineer Jon Martiniano works under the guidance of systems engineer and Managing Director Richard Phu (photo taken from our 2023 annual company outing to the Philippines)

So in a nutshell: while automation engineers drive process optimisation and efficiency, systems engineers ensure that the entire system is robust, cohesive, and aligned with business objectives.

By leveraging the expertise of both types of engineers, you can achieve not only streamlined operations for your business but also resilience, scalability, and a competitive edge in the digital age 💪

👉 Related: How to scale your business with the right tools, tech, and virtual support

5 reasons to hire an Automation Engineer

Together with a systems engineer, hiring an automation engineer can help scale your business operations in 5 different ways:

1. Boost Efficiency and Productivity

Automation engineers can help streamline your operations, so tasks that usually take hours can be reduced to minutes—or even seconds 🤯
For example, managing multiple social media accounts for different clients can take a significant amount of time, even for skilled virtual assistants.
But with a free social media tool like NotionNinja, there’s no need for multiple log-ins and other manual tasks 💯

This tool was created by our automation engineers, so you can:

• skip the multiple log-ins on your social media accounts
• schedule social media posts to be auto-published, straight from your Notion platform
• experience unlimited auto-posting based on your content schedule
• and collaborate more with your team 🧑‍💻

You can try NotionNinja for free by clicking the button below!

👉 Related: 12 B2B social media trends for businesses in 2024

Aside from social media, you can also have automated processes for the following business operations:

• data entry
• schedulin
• inventory management
• email sorting
• meeting recaps, and more.

Automation in these areas helps maintain high-quality output across your business. It will also minimise the risk of human error, because operations will performed in a uniform manner.
And if things start to go messy, that’s where your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) come in handy!

2. Cost Savings in the Long Run

You do have to shell out money for your automation engineer’s salary—but with a good candidate on the job, this will translate to cost savings in the long run.

👉 Related: How to upskill and train a kickass remote team

With your automated systems taking over repetitive tasks, you can allocate human resources to more complex, value-adding activities that AI can’t handle (yet). This helps you maximise your existing talent and reduce labour costs 💸
Having an automation engineer around will also help in energy and material savings.

Automated systems often optimise the use of resources, cutting down your excess usage and waste. These systems could also reduce the downtime and errors associated with human-operated procedures ⚙️

3. Enhanced Analytical Insights

Your automation engineers can also implement systems that not only collect but also analyse vast amounts of data, providing valuable insights for your business decision-making.

You can even have predictive maintenance of your operations. Predictive maintenance is a proactive approach that uses data, analytics, and other tech to predict when an equipment or process is likely to fail.

Instead of relying on a fixed schedule or waiting for a breakdown, predictive maintenance can forecast potential issues. This will help you avoid:

• communication gaps or breakdowns
• equipment and software failures
• quality issues
• safety hazards, and more.

👉 Related: Top 5 Business Automation Tools in 2024

With enhanced and automated analytics, your marketing department can also better understand market trends and customer behaviours—which allows you to make strategic decisions instead of just relying on pure gut feeling.

4. Foster Innovation and Stay Competitive

More and more people are using AI, new tools and platforms, and with an automation engineer, you can continually find ways to improve and innovate how you work too.

Instead of working 10 times harder, tweaking how you work helps you respond swiftly to market changes, customer demands, and operational challenges.
This ensures your business remains relevant and thriving, even though new things are happening all the time.

Finding more efficient ways to scale your operations also helps you offer

• better quality
• faster delivery
• and cost-effective solutions

that set you apart from your competitors 👌

👉 Related: Growth vs. Scaling: Which is right for your business?

5. Enhance Customer Satisfaction and Experience (CX)

When your systems run like a well-oiled machine thanks to automation, customers will receive consistent quality and reliable service, fostering trust and loyalty in your brand. You can have quicker turnaround times, with faster processing times and more efficient order handling.

This means your customers get what they want, when they want it 👌

You’ll also have more time and resources to innovate your existing customer experience (CX) or tailor your interactions with customers to boost overall satisfaction.

In our case, we’ve managed to set up The Angel Academy for our Virtual Assistants.

Batch 1 of our Angel Academy exclusive training program for Virtual Assistants (January 2024)

The Angel Academy is our exclusive training program for Virtual Assistants (Angels), which emphasises soft skills development in:

• communication
• problem-solving
• and critical thinking.

Guided by experienced in-house facilitators, trainers, and mentors, we now have a platform to further empower our VA trainees, so they can embody the “Outsourcing Angel way” of surpassing client expectations and earning trust 💯

As of January 2024, the first batch of Angel Academy Trainees have accomplished their module discussions. They’re now honing their skills with practical activities and exercises. This means we can offer you OA-certified VAs real soon!

👉 Related: Our 6-step process to picking Virtual Assistant candidates

Systems engineering is more than just intelligent automation

Bringing an automation engineer into your team isn’t just ticking off a box so you can “modernise” your business. It’s a necessary step if you want to be in business long-term, in this era of AI and other technological advancements.

It’s an investment that may come with upfront costs and challenges, but the long-term benefits it unlocks for your business systems are worth it 💪

But here’s the thing: hiring an automation engineer isn’t enough.

Automation engineers are only one part of your digital ecosystem. A digital ecosystem designed for success is what you’ll need to scale your business long-term and keep your customers happy.

That includes Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), proper tools, trained virtual support, better business systems, and more.