Automation Is Not About Reducing People

Does Automation Mean We Need Fewer People?

"Could we automate this?"

When building systems, we encounter this question all the time.

Entering data.

Checking the same information repeatedly.

Sending notifications at scheduled times.

Creating the same report every day.

Finding data that matches certain conditions.

When we let systems handle these tasks, the amount of manual work decreases.

But does that mean automation is about reducing the number of people?

I don't think that's quite the point.

There Is Work That People Do Best

There are things machines are good at.

Repeating the same process accurately, over and over.

Processing large amounts of data.

Checking predefined conditions.

Running processes at scheduled times.

But there are also things people are good at.

Noticing, "Something seems to be troubling this person."

Looking at an unusual situation and making a judgment.

Listening to someone.

Understanding their circumstances.

Thinking about how things could be improved.

And sometimes deciding,

"Today, perhaps we should handle this person a little differently."

Not everything needs to be handed over to a machine.

Automation Gives Time Back to People

Imagine that a customer sends an inquiry.

Assigning a ticket number.

Notifying the person responsible.

Recording the inquiry.

Sending a confirmation message.

These are predictable processes, and systems are good at handling them.

If we automate those tasks, people can instead spend their time thinking:

"What is this person really having trouble with?"

"What are they actually trying to ask?"

"How can I explain this in a way that reassures them?"

What we want automation to reduce is:

not people, but the work people don't need to do themselves.

And the time created by automation can be given back to:

the work that people do best.

That, I think, is one of the most important roles of automation.

We Don't Have to Automate Everything

Once we start thinking about automation, it can be tempting to keep going.

"We could automate that, too."

"And we could automate this."

But something being technically possible to automate does not necessarily mean it should be automated.

For example,

An SMS appointment reminder can be sent automatically.

An order confirmation can be automated.

A system failure can automatically trigger a notification to the person responsible.

But listening to a customer who is having trouble.

Making a judgment in an exceptional situation.

Changing how we respond based on someone's circumstances.

These are places where having a person involved can still make a real difference.

So when designing a system, we should ask not only:

"How much can we automate?"

but also:

"Where should people become involved?"

Deciding where that boundary lies is also part of good system design.

So People Can Do Human Work

Good automation doesn't make human work disappear.

It changes what that work looks like.

Less time entering data.

Less time checking information.

Less time writing the same email again and again.

And more time to:

Think.

Make decisions.

Find better ways to do things.

Listen.

Help someone.

Automation can give people more time for this kind of work.

And this isn't only about creating a better experience for customers.

It can also create a better experience for the people who work with the system.

Customers aren't the only users on the other side of automation.

The people working with the system are users, too.

Warm Automation Keeps People Where People Matter

Previously on this blog, we explored the idea of Warm Automation.

Automation doesn't have to remove thoughtfulness and consideration from the customer experience.

This time, I would like to add another idea:

Warm automation keeps people where people matter.

Let machines handle what machines do well.

Let people handle what benefits from human thought and judgment.

By carefully designing the boundary between the two, a system doesn't have to take work away from people.

It can help people do better work.

Engineering Time

Processing speed isn't the only thing engineers can create through automation.

They can also create time for the people who work with the system.

Time to think more.

Time to improve things.

Time to talk with people.

Time to do more meaningful work.

Automation is not about reducing people.

It's about giving people more time to do human work.

That, too, is value that engineers can create through system design.