How COVID-19 has been the catalyst for robotics and automation

With the world starting to open up and daily life resuming (albeit in a social distancing way), robotics and automation are the invisible layer that is helping to make our country the happiest and smartest in the world post COVID-19.

Take for example, people’s experiences when they interact with a digital product or service; this could be when a passenger uses public transport networks or facilities at an airport. Real-time qualitative behavioural insights combined with real time quantitative data driven insights provide valuable information to help those operating public services to adapt their services based on an individual’s experience. This then provides the opportunity to act on decisions to improve services where needed so that they ultimately meet (and exceed) the expectations of citizens. In a post pandemic world, this is about putting the customer at the very heart of each experience and how we innovate for residents and tourists travelling into our region.

Citizens expect seamless interactions and governments need to deliver this while remaining fully compliant with complex regulations and often within very tight budget parameters. This is something Serco is a market leader in globally, and through our technology enabled solutions, we can quickly and efficiently transform legacy contact centre systems into digitally enabled centres.

One thing we have learned along the way, however, is that when dealing with complex case management and citizens, technology alone is not enough. There will always be the need for human compassion, empathy and flexibility, especially when cases aren’t clear cut and need further investigation. We must not underestimate the value and power of human interaction here.

One industry on the frontline that is clearly benefitting from the power of technology and specifically robotics and automation is the healthcare industry. 

Ultimately, we see that technology is helping us to make better decisions faster, and in a more efficient and effective way. Ultimately, we see that technology is helping us to make better decisions faster, and in a more efficient and effective way. What we are seeing now is an aggressive behavioural change in the adoption of technologies across all nationalities and across all age groups through necessity.

Overnight as the pandemic has spread, robotics and automation has supported us – a great example is the global ability to shift almost immediately from in-office work to working from home.

With the need for cost efficiencies, and optimisations of service, there is a need for clients to look at maximising value from their existing asset lifecycles. What parts can be automated and what parts still need to have human intervention? Far from a case of it being humans versus robots, both need to work in tandem, in a complimentary partnership.

In a post-COVID world, it is clear that we need to leverage technology, and embrace a mind-set where robotics and automation are enablers. This will help us to accelerate towards a future founded on creating world-class experiences for the citizens of the countries in which we live and work.