The Role Of Automation During A Recession

The COVID19 pandemic caught almost all business leaders by surprise. Out of nowhere, they were suddenly faced with a question no one likes to hear: will we make it?

After the pandemic though, they were presented with a new normal – one where how we work, shop, travel, exercise, socialise, learn and even think about life changed. The game went from one of survival to one of repositioning businesses according to a new, less clear set of opportunities and risks. Some of the objectives on their agenda: digitising to capture the more digital customer and employee, experimenting with new and innovative value adds previously thought unfeasible, becoming more disaster ready and keeping up with years of pent up demand despite global supply chain disruptions.

Crucially underpinning all these objectives and efforts to reposition the business was the ability to grow headcount quickly and effectively. Many of the same organisations that took measures to reduce headcount during the pandemic declared hiring frenzies. Unfortunately though, this frenzied demand was met more with echoing crickets than quality candidates. Owing to a lack of immigration of talent into Australia coupled with a sudden spike in talent leaving Australia after borders reopened, the supply of quality candidates required to fill vacant positions just wasn’t there.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, from May 2020 to May 2022, the number of unmet job vacancies in Australia almost quadrupled!

Today, perhaps to keep things interesting, the Universe is throwing yet another curveball – a looming global recession. From reducing headcount during the pandemic through going on a hiring frenzy right after – now business leaders are having to put in place hiring freezes, amongst other measures taken in preparation for the recession like price hikes and even downsizing. Without the proper human resources though, the many businesses that desperately needed to reinvent and reposition themselves for growth in the new normal might fail and, as a result, not make it. 

This is where cloud-based automation technology comes in. During the same pandemic where most businesses were struggling, cloud technology providers were encumbered with demand. They were tasked with enabling other businesses to go digital, cope with the pandemic, work-from-home and do more despite constricted resources and uncertain times. These businesses experienced abnormal growth during this period – and they themselves delivered on this by executing what they preached, aptly using technology. Today, for business leaders that are feeling the impacts of the looming recession, automation technology holds the key. 

Take for example expense manager, the cloud based business spend management platform that helps maximise the value of every dollar spent, increases proactive control over spend, connects stakeholders via a smartly crafted, unified platform, eliminates manual processes, delivers on strategic hyperautomation objectives and makes businesses more compliant. Using expense manager, businesses find that the end-user is facilitated with a more automated and easier process that helps them focus on delivering their objectives while management benefits greatly from greater visibility, dependability and freed up resources that can be reallocated to higher value tasks. Despite the hiring freeze, existing resources can be given back their time – and that too at a fraction of the cost of having to hire a new resource.

In short, businesses looking to ensure survivability, and even growth, in the face of the upcoming recession, right after making it through an unprecedented catastrophic event like the pandemic we’ve recently endured, must make better use of automation technology. Not only is it the best way to counter resource restrictions, it is the way of the future. The way the world is heading, most customers and employees (and business owners themselves) are bound to get increasingly dependent on technology, across both their work and personal lives.

Sooner rather than later, the effective use of cloud based automation will complete its transition from being just a competitive advantage to becoming a basic necessity of doing business (like email, internet and even mobile phones). 

Expense Manager is Australia’s leading Spend Management Platform that offers Smart Automation for finance teams. Through one cloud-based platform, you can easily manage expenses, supplier invoices, purchase orders and travel spend. All with budget visibility. Expense Manager is 100% Australian owned & developed and is used every day by leading brands, including KFC, WWF, Best & Less, Guide Dogs, Peoplebank and many more. For those looking to better understand the benefits of automation, book your FREE savings consultation.