Automation is becoming increasingly common in many different industries. It has been hailed as a major asset to businesses by increasing productivity, efficiency, and accuracy. But automation also brings with it challenges that can be difficult to navigate if you are not prepared. Here we will look at the benefits of automation at work, the potential challenges it presents, and how you can use automation to your advantage as a publisher.
Automation offers so many potential benefits for businesses, it’s no wonder it is becoming an integral part of life at work. Some of the benefits include increased accuracy and reliability, faster processing times, reduced costs due to fewer manual labour hours required, and improved customer service thanks to automated processes like chatbots.
We have all seen how automation can help streamline administrative tasks such as payroll processing and invoicing. For news publishers specifically, automation can help speed up production time while still maintaining quality control standards.
According to the 2021 State of Conversational Marketing report published by Drift Insider, around 82% of those using AI-based solutions say that it positively impacts their sales and marketing efforts. Conversational marketing using artificial intelligence has also gone up significantly during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Benefits of automation in the newsroom
Automation can be particularly helpful in the newsroom. It streamlines processes by eliminating manual tasks that slow down workflows. This speeds up production and delivery times, allowing you to get your stories out faster than ever before. And since it’s all automated, you don’t have to worry about human error or delayed response times, and you can also make sure correct keywords and SEO are selected. Proofreading is a breeze and you can also use automation to quickly organise data from various sources, so you can easily find the information you need. Journalists don’t have to spend time on repetitive tasks and can focus on the more demanding stories.
some of the challenges of automation
Despite its many advantages, automation also presents certain challenges – these include installing the software and training staff members on how to use it effectively. Another is ensuring data security so that confidential information remains secure during the transition period between manual processes and automated ones. These issues should not be taken lightly and can be managed with proper planning and preparation with the right software development company. Here at PCS our solutions are created to improve workflow and get rid of time-consuming tasks leaving every department able to work at its best. We are able to implement technology and workflows quickly and easily and the feedback we have had from our customers on this has been excellent.
solutions for the future
There are lots of things that automation, computers and mobile phones will never be able to do better than humans because they need the soft skills and experience you gain from doing fieldwork and interviewing people. It takes time, effort and skill to become a journalist – and that is something that can’t be replicated by a machine. However, automation helps journalists to focus on more in-depth stories, and this ultimately creates better news. Although technology is advancing at the speed of light, some people still fear modern solutions. Artificial intelligence has been created by humans to help humans – it has so many positives that we should embrace it and move with the times. Content bots and other AI tools have been appearing in editorial offices and are a way to automate the parts of journalism that were dull and time-consuming. What was once an unpleasant and necessary task is now done by machines.
There are certainly some challenges associated with automation at work but these should not dissuade newspaper publishers from taking advantage of its many benefits. Automation offers increased accuracy and efficiency for administrative tasks such as payroll processing or invoicing, faster production times which can help improve customer service, reduced costs due to fewer manual labour hours required, and improved quality control standards for production-related tasks like layout design or proofreading. With proper planning and preparation however, publishers can enjoy all the advantages it has to offer without risk or worry.
At PCS we have a range of software solutions designed to increase workflow and automate those repetitive tasks that take up too much time – and money. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can make each of your departments more streamlined and efficient.
