How to calculate the true ROI of an RPA project beyond just hours saved?

All answers to this question.

To show the true value, you must look at "Error Reduction" and "Compliance." Bots don't make typos, which saves money on rework and potential regulatory fines. Also, measure "Cycle Time Improvement"—how much faster a customer is served. Another key metric is "Employee Satisfaction"; when staff are freed from boring tasks, retention usually improves. Finally, consider "Scalability Cost"—a bot can handle a 200% spike in volume without you needing to hire and train temporary staff. Put a dollar value on these factors to give your CFO a complete picture.

   Answered 2024-11-17 by Dorothy King

Those are excellent metrics, but how do you plan to account for the ongoing maintenance and licensing costs in your ROI formula? Are you using a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model that includes the price of the developers and the infrastructure needed to keep the bots running?

   Answered 2024-11-19 by Richard Scott

• Richard, we definitely include TCO. We subtract the annual licensing, hosting, and developer salaries from the total savings. Even with those costs, our "Accuracy Improvement" alone saved us over fifty thousand dollars last year by eliminating billing errors that were previously common.

     Commented 2024-11-21 by Charles Moore

Don't forget to highlight "Business Continuity." Bots can work during holidays or system outages where humans can't, ensuring your critical processes never stop.

   Answered 2024-11-23 by Nancy Green

• Great point, Nancy. During our last system upgrade, the bots worked through the weekend to catch up on the backlog, which would have taken our human team two weeks to finish.

     Commented 2024-11-25 by Dorothy King