GovLoop Report Details Benefits of Intelligent Automation in a Hybrid Federal Workforce
GovLoop examined in a recent report the challenges agencies face in implementing IA, the steps they can take to overcome them, and the benefits IA can provide. The report found that traditional and digital workers composing a hybrid workforce, or intelligent automation (IA), can contribute to a productive work environment and serve as an accelerator for digital transformation.
Traditionally, federal agencies have use robotic process automation (RPA) to automate routine processes, like onboarding new employees, via robotic desktop automation (RDA). Unlike RDA, which can be installed on a single machine to generate reports or process spreadsheets, intelligent automation is RPA enhanced with technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
The report states that a hybrid workforce offers better security, greater capability, greater control, and greater transparency. During a time when dwindling funding challenge federal agencies to do more with less, they must employ a burgeoning digital workforce. Hybrid workforces that work across multiple environments can enable agencies to handle complex, enterprise-wide challenges while increasing organizational efficiency. The initiative can also address the aging workforces of agencies and the loss of intellectual capital to the private sector.
The concept of getting stuff done (GSD) continues to emerge as an essential principle as society moves towards the conditions that will shape the future of work. The overriding consideration with GSD is choosing the appropriate combination of the available resources (both human and digital). In addition, IA enables managers to distribute work more efficiently - letting computers handle routine tasks and letting people focus on more mission-critical activities.
While automating processes does not fully alleviate employees' workloads, intelligent automation enables agencies to develop fully fledged digital workforces to supplement their human workforces. The result is lighter workloads and higher job satisfaction throughout the agency when this occurs.
Additionally, hybrid workforces can integrate a comprehensive approach to address complex, enterprise-wide challenges and streamline operations. Using them, agencies' leadership teams are better able to align work with appropriate internal resources, including a stable of multitasking, intelligent digital workers that make humans more efficient and effective. It is the agency's responsibility to recruit and retain the workforce.
By 2026, GovLoop projects a $20.73 billion market for IA, corresponding to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent.
