1. Getting Robotic
Process Automation
How robotic automation can
automatically make you more agile,
productive and efficient
Clearerinsights
Lowercosts
Higher satisfaction
Greateraccuracy
Increasedproductivity
Solutionstocomplexproblems
agile
scalable
2. 3
We are a global
enterprise committed
long-term to the UK
ENGIE (formerly GDF SUEZ) is one of
the world’s leading energy and services
companies with long-term UK commitments.
Our UK operation comprises of three divisions:
Energy Infrastructure, Energy Solutions and
Services. Across the public, private and healthcare
sectors, we work as a strategic partner delivering
sustainable solutions to meet our customers’
current and future requirements.
154,950 20,000
th8
70
€69.9
In the UK we generate
revenues of approximately
Making ENGIE
the UK’s
Are employed by
ENGIE Globally
Are employed by
ENGIE in the UK
Largest overseas
owned employer
With worldwide
revenue of
different
countries
Across
bn £2.8
bn
£
UK Clients
14,000 sites, 25 million square metres of managed space
Local Government
North Tyneside Council
North East Lincolnshire Council
Olympic Park
Cheshire West and Chester
Leeds City Council
Central Government
HM Treasury
Department for Work and Pensions
Healthcare
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Pinderfields and Pontefract Hospitals
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
University Hospital North Durham
Royal Salford Hospital
Private Sector
The Shard
Gatwick Airport
BP Sullom Voe
3. 4 5
Business Processes
Facilities Management
Technical Services
Energy Services
Improving the efficiency
of UK businesses, buildings
and infrastructure
ENGIE are leading providers
of integrated services –
specialising in business process
solutions, FM, technical and
energy services for the built
environment. We offer efficient
management of buildings and
installations – whilst achieving
high levels of energy &
environmental efficiency.”
Wilfrid Petrie, Chief Executive
“
Our broad integrated service offering allows us to guarantee
transformational outcomes – from reducing cost & environmental
impact and maximising operational resilience, to improving the
quality & efficiency of business processes.
Services
Business processes
Business process outsourcing expertise which utilises our
innovative solutions to create and drive new opportunities.
Facilities management
Integrated and flexible Facilities Management services delivered
by our multi-skilled employees to ensure optimum efficiency.
Technical services
Complex technical projects, from design and construction,
to operation and maintenance support.
Energy services
Energy, carbon and sustainability strategies, harnessing
low-carbon technologies and energy efficiency.
4. 6 7
It is relatively rapid to
design, develop and deliver
a robotic automation
solution, whatever the legacy
IT infrastructure, systems
and software.
The applications for robotic
automation are wide ranging;
any definable, repeatable,
rules-based process can be
automated.
Because robotic automation
is scalable, it copes effortlessly
with ever-changing peaks and
troughs in workloads that
normally demand constant
shifts in human resources.
Typically, it is being
successfully applied to
carry out routine back office
processes, in functions such as
finance and accounting, human
resources, customer service
and procurement – improving
efficiency, cutting costs, and
raising productivity and quality
in tasks ranging from data
entry, to payroll processing
and online transactions.
Robotic automation can also
add further value by allowing
separate processes to be joined
up to create wider efficiencies
and improvements to services.
For example, if a customer
advises of a change of address
the robotic software updates
the data for one service area
and can then take the normally
siloed data and update all
other IT systems with the
same information, providing a
responsive and accurate service
for customers.
While robotic automation
could be seen as an evolution
of current technology, its
impact could be revolutionary,
enabling organisations to
radically redefine not just
how they work but the work
they do too.
“Robotic automation…
enables organisations to
automate existing user
actions – as if the user
were moving through
and across their current
raft of applications.”
(Forrester, 2014.)
Briefly, robotic software
interacts with the user
interface of existing business
applications (using the same
business and security rules)
to process transactions, input
and manipulate data, and
communicate with other
IT systems.
Relatively new, particularly
in the public sector, it is
rapidly gaining traction.
Organisations implementing
robotic automation have
seen immediate and dramatic
improvements in accuracy,
productivity and speed of
processing; while staff are
freed from mundane, repetitive
tasks to focus on added-value
and customer-oriented roles.
Robotic automation–
evolution or revolution?
“I welcome the
introduction of robotic
processing automation,
which is eliminating the
tedium of data inputting;
allowing our colleagues
more time to engage
with customers on higher
value services and
ensuring we deliver the
right benefit to the right
people at the right time.”
Jane Errington, Operations
Manager (Benefits), ENGIE
A capable and
scalable solution
Unlike other automation technologies, robotic
automation mimics existing rules-based processes.
“The speed which we have
been able to programme, build
and deliver the software for
additional robotic automation
processes is amazing. We
went from developing robotic
automation, to testing and
verifying output, and going
live in less than four weeks.”
Suzanne Sherriff,
Senior Project Manager,
ENGIE programme team
removal of human
data inputting
100%
RPA can be scaled up or down quickly
5. 8 9
An experienced
partner you can trust
ENGIE has first-hand experience of designing and
implementing robotic automation for clients.
“Having been trained
as robotic automation
experts, it’s really
exciting looking for other
areas where we can
develop and implement
the software.”
Rachel Trainor, Business
Analyst, ENGIE
programme team
Solutions to
complex problems
Robotic software is a key
tool to delivering the next
generation of eGovernment.
It’s also the case that when
back office APIs can be very
expensive and hugely impact
business case savings, robotic
software can provide a more
cost effective alternative as
part of a broader process
improvement programme.”
Martin Ruane,
Programme Director, ENGIE
“
As well as offering automation
expertise, our programme
team ensures that the
robotic automation project is
implemented in the smoothest,
most effective way possible
– developing and engaging
people during the seamless
transfer to robotic automation.
We work in collaboration
with client partners to make
sure the right processes are
automated in the right way
and the required benefits
are delivered speedily.
Our automation know-how
also ensures that clients
can avoid the pitfalls and
minimise the risks associated
with the introduction and
implementation of this
advanced new technology.
Over time, our public and
private sector experience
and expertise has taught
us that robotic automation
works best when it is part
of a broader process
improvement programme.
We have an extensive track
record of delivering successful
transformation programmes
across the public, private and
healthcare sectors. Our team
of transformational experts
can deliver wider process
improvement programmes,
in addition to robotic process
automation expertise, making
us uniquely placed to ensure
that our transformation
projects deliver sustainable,
tangible business benefits over
the long-term.
We know from experience
that people are the real
drivers behind a successful
organisation that is able to
continually evolve and improve
and we can implement Lean
Six Sigma training to ensure
that employees at all levels
are engaged, empowered and
motivated to achieve the goals
of the enterprise.
6. 10 11
Quick and simple
to implement...
...and return on
your investment
The future of the back office
is humans working side-by-
side with robots – just as in
manufacturing – achieving lower
costs, increased efficiency and
quality, improved productivity
and more fulfilled employees.
In most cases, it is a team
effort. People work alongside
the ‘robots’ in assisted
automation, intervening
when a human needs to
make a decision, for example
regarding an exception.
Robotic automation replaces
mundane, manual tasks not
people’s jobs. This creates
capacity, which the organisation
can choose to reinvest in
added-value, realise as savings
or a combination of the two;
according to the needs of the
business.
The benefits of robotic
automation can be maximised
by integrating the automation
with other assistive technologies
as part of a wider process
improvement package. For
example, robotic automation
can be used to support channel
shift; combining online forms
with robotic automation helps
reduce routine workload on
organisations and empowers
customers with a self-service
facility that is easily accessible,
high quality and extremely
responsive.
Robotic automation also creates
non-direct opportunities as
part of a wider transformation
programme, which delivers
further service enhancements,
efficiencies and cost savings.
One of the major
advantages of
RPA is that it is
comparatively
simple and
straightforward to
implement as it uses
the existing user
interface and mimics
existing user actions.
It is not built in to
the IT infrastructure
but is positioned
above it.
Organisations are able to
experience the benefits of
robotic automation without
having to transform or even
update their legacy applications
and systems.
What is more, robotic automation
is code-free; no formal software
project is required. It is also
non-invasive, so the security
and integrity of the current
applications is fully maintained.
This enables business users
to drive the design and
development of the automation
project, and to manage and
maintain the automated process
without additional burden placed
on the IT resource.
Robotic automation is a highly
affordable, quick-to-implement
process improvement solution
that provides a rapid return on
investment.
A process can often be automated
within one to two months; while
robotic automation projects
usually achieve total payback
within a few weeks.
The returns are more than just
financial. In-house teams develop
robotic automation expertise
and, as well as managing the
automated process, are able to
seek out further opportunities
for automation – this ensures
staff continue to enhance their
robotics know-how and the
organisation benefits from
continual improvement.
152,000 20,000
th8
70
€74.7
In the UK we
generate revenues
of approximately
Making Engie
the UK’s
re employed by
NGIE Globally
Are employed by
ENGIE in the UK
Largest employer
With worldwide
revenue of
Different
Countries
Across
bn £3.7
bn
£
£
Low implementation costs
Works with
existing IT
Quick to implement
Rapid return on investment
7. 12 13
Clearer insights
Robotic automation continually
monitors every transaction,
providing a complete process
record for advanced analytics.
Interrogating this
mine of data provides
valuable management
insights that can be
used to inform more
effective decision
making and to
streamline business
processes.
Higher satisfaction
Employees
RPA enables the automation
of manual, repetitive tasks
that often do not add real
value to the service offered.
Relieving employees from these
monotonous duties, such as
data inputting, allows people
to be deployed to personally
interactive, problem-solving
tasks, such as customer contact
and query resolution.
Employees are also able to focus
more on strategic thinking, and
improving overall business and
service performance.
A knock-on effect is better job
satisfaction – people performing
more rewarding roles naturally
feel more motivated. This raised
morale helps improve employee
productivity.
Customers
Automation helps make
processes more efficient and
more responsive, and releases
capacity that can be assigned
to added-value and customer-
facing activities, such as
customer query resolution; a
more effective use of human
resources. This contributes to
a joined-up, more responsive
service, with faster outcomes
and improved customer
satisfaction, retention and
acquisition, as well as reducing
complaints.
Greater
accuracy
Robots are better at adhering
to rules than humans; and
robotic automation virtually
eliminates processing errors,
which automatically improves
the quality and consistency of
the outputs.
Removing the human element
and eliminating its mistakes
also helps reduce the additional
workload, costs and customer
complaints.
Furthermore, the consistent
accuracy and constant
monitoring ensure the
organisation remains
compliant, which is crucial,
especially in cases where there
are service level agreements
and/or regulatory controls
that are critical to success.
This reliable, high quality
of service can also evidence
capability and credibility
when conducting new
business development.
Increased
productivity
Of course, robots can work
around the clock without
taking time off and tasks can
be carried out when it is most
efficient and timely to do so.
With greater accuracy and
processing speed, productivity
is improved significantly,
enabling a greater volume of
work to be done in the same
time or the same duties to be
completed in less time.
Productivity
increases for robotic
automation range
from double, up to
ten times that of a
human counterpart.
Lower costs
Robotic automation acts as a
virtual workforce and can be
scaled up or down according
to changes in workload.
This operational flexibility
manages the peaks and
troughs in demand, in real
time, without having to rapidly
and constantly recruit or train
additional staff.
The saving in staffing is
enhanced by operational
savings.
It is estimated that robotic
automation can complete
routine tasks at up to two-
thirds the cost of a human
operative.
Improve not just
how you work...
...but the
work you do
8. 14 15
The new online benefits
claim form was launched to
supplement the existing paper
form. Within three months
87% of new claims were
submitted online.
ENGIE also implemented
Coactiva risk-based verification
software to enable real-time
assessment and notification of
the evidence required for each
new claim – allowing prompt
processing and swift payment
of low-risk claims – over half of
benefit new claims could now
be assessed within 24 hours of
submission.
Revenues service
The revenues service
concentrated on using robotic
automation to process online
Council Tax Direct Debit
applications. This project was
the first to be engineered
by the ENGIE in-house team,
which applied its newly-
acquired robotic automation
skills to produce a successful
solution to a complex process.
This core team was specifically
trained to develop and
build all current and future
robotic automation activities
– harnessing their business
expertise, while enhancing their
robotic automation know-how.
Automated telephony is
being implemented to enable
customers to make Direct Debit
applications over the phone,
extending accessibility for
customers and reducing loss of
revenue for the council. Once in
place, robotics will be used to
process the updates daily.
In 2014, ENGIE and the
authority embarked on a
groundbreaking robotic process
automation project to improve
service quality and consistency,
while achieving greater
efficiencies and cost reductions.
Initially, robotic automation
was delivered within the
revenues and benefits services;
the technology is now being
rolled out across other areas
of the authority, such as
recruitment.
Implementation
The partnership teamed with
Blue Prism (robotic automation
software specialists) and
IEG4 (digital channel experts)
to design and deliver the
robotic automation project.
ENGIE created a process
flow chart – a schematic of
each action required for the
claim application, including
all decision-making logic.
Automation followed the flow
chart logic. Where there was
an element of uncertainty, this
was engineered as an exception
and flagged for human
intervention.
To develop robotic process
automation, partnership
teams took part in workshops
to identify non-value added
activities. This also provided
the starting point to engage
staff and encourage their
support for change.
Solutions
Benefits service
Within the benefits service,
robotic automation focused
on processing data from online
benefit new claim forms – a
first for a local authority;
partnering with IEG4 to
integrate the online forms
with the robotic systems.
To ensure the IEG4 team had
a full appreciation of the
benefits process, the ENGIE
team delivered multiple
training webinars, which
produced the business and
technical specifications for the
robotic automation project.
Robotics automation was
integrated with the online form.
When a claim was submitted
online, robotics entered the data
into Northgate benefit system
without any human inputting.
We have a proven
track record in
robotic automation
Background:
In 2012, ENGIE signed
a 15-year partnership
agreement with North
Tyneside Council to
deliver a number of
key public services,
including revenues
and benefits, customer
services, ICT, finance
plus payroll, HR and
employee services,
and procurement.
9. 16 17
Institute of Customer Service
UK Customer Satisfaction
Awards 2016
Winners:
Best use of Technology
Institute of Revenues,
Ratings & Valuations (IRRV)
– 2015 Performance Awards
Finalists:
Excellence in Innovation
(Joint Organisation)
2015 UK IT Industry Awards
Finalists:
Workplace Transformation
Finalists:
IT Project Team of the Year
Local Government Chronicle
2016 LGC Awards
Finalists:
1. Driving Efficiency
through Technology
2. Efficiency
2016 MJ Awards
Finalists:
Workforce Transformation
Debt recovery automation
Robotics was incorporated within the enforcement
team, which is responsible for late payments, mainly
of Council Tax. Previously recovery reached a
particular stage and subsequently became a manual
process to allocate fees or transition cases to the
enforcement stages. The change programme team
implemented the additional robotic automation,
so cases are driven to a task manager, where the
robotics works through the task list to process the
compliance fees and issue notices, and then update
the enforcement status. As a result, RPA has cut the
processing time for enforcement cases by 85%.
Improvements
• Quicker claims processing and faster customer
response times within the revenues and benefits
services are proving sustainable.
• Robotics has assured quality and accuracy, leading
to 100% removal of human inputting errors.
• Employee skills, capability and confidence in
robotic automation continues to grow, resulting
in further time and cost savings.
• Automation continues to be rolled out to other
areas, such as recruitment, using in-house expertise.
• Assessors can concentrate on assessing claims
accuracy, rather than performing routine tasks,
leading to reductions in fraud, and speedier
claims resolution.
• “In the benefit area, complaints rose to 55 in
2014-15. Analysis showed that 30 of these
complaints were due to a delay in new benefit
applications being processed.” (Complaints Service
Report April 2013 – March 2015). Customer
complaints have almost been eliminated as
new claims are dealt with promptly.
Key outcomes for
RPA integrated
online forms were to:
• Deliver an improved and faster
service to claimants
• Enhance the customer experience
• Drive down processing days
• Improve service efficiency
• Reduce costs without negatively
affecting service quality
National awards and recognition
for the North Tyneside RPA Project
Robotics is processing
benefit applications more
quickly for the residents
of North Tyneside, while
delivering efficiencies to
the Council and ENGIE.”
Andy Scott,
Senior Client Manager,
North Tyneside Council
“
10. 18 19
RPA benefits and outcomes –
North Tyneside Partnership
removal of human data
inputting and 100% removal
of inputting errors.
reduction in time taken to
deal with debt recovery
cases (10 minutes June 2014,
to 90 seconds June 2015).
increase in processing of
Council Tax Direct Debits
(55,361 June 2014, to
59,941 June 2015).
“Easy to complete
and understand –
all the information
and evidence required
was summarised.”
85%
100%
£
NEW
CLAIMS
of new benefits claims are now made
online and 91.4% of customers reported
no difficulty using the online form.
of new benefit
claims are now
commenced
within 24 hours
of submission.
reduction in days to
process new benefit
claims (36.97 days
September 2014,
to 18.20 days w.c.
25th January 2016).
PROCESS
87%
55% 50%
8%
100%
of customers had
no difficulty using
the online form.
removal of the daily
manual production
of direct debit
confirmations by staff.
complaints in 2014/15 were
due to delays in processing
benefits new claims – all
such claims are now dealt
with promptly, eliminating
these complaints.
91%
15
12trained as transformation
and robotics experts.
Year Partnership
with North Tyneside
Council and ENGIE.
local authority
to introduced RPA
to online benefits
new claims.
1st
staff
PROCESS
“It was quick and simple
to send off the form from
home after work. I didn’t
need to worry about
handing the form in or
remembering to post it.”
“It was
clear and
easy to
use, fast
and safe.”
30/55
11. Email all
registered users
with job details
Advertise
post
Validate salary
Grade match
On oracle
Switch on
talent pool
Add
safeguarding
statements
YES
NO
NO
Approved?
Request change
on Oracle Self
Services
Reject
System
Notification
Notification
received in
Oracle work list
YES
Validate data
Employee on
protected pay
NO
Process manually
YES
Change of Job TItle –
applied to post (change
automatically pulls
through to assignment)
Change Line
Manager –
applied to post
Change of Hours/
Temp to Perm/
Re-grade/Location
– applied to post
Post vacant? Close System
notification
NO
Close System
notification
Manager data
input error
Relevant change
applied to
assignment
Reject
System
Notification
YES
Robot
Human
Operator
Head
of
Service
Processing changes to employment New starters
ROBOT
Authority to
Recruit efom
Existing
Post
Create new
post on Oracle
system
Notify
finance
via email
Authorise
Input data
into Oracle
for payroll
Register bank
details online
NE Jobs Robot
North
Tyneside
Council
Website
KEY: Automated Activity | Candidate | Manager
Manager
Example RPA process flows
Complete
application
online
Attend
interview
Online
shortlist
Identify
successfull
candidate
Automated
interview
correspondence
Automated
outcome
letters
AUTHORISE
NO
YES
12. 22 23
Customers
• Quick turnaround for services
and prompt payment of benefits
• Easy online form filling – more
accessible service
• Better face-to-face access to
customer advisers
Managers
• Ease of implementation
• Quick returns
• Ensures compliance
• Improves productivity/accuracy/quality/
consistency
• Helps move to self-service
• Smooths out peaks and troughs in workloads
• Provides business insights
IT Team
• No huge extra burden/workload
• Code-free
• Retains existing/legacy IT infrastructure/
systems/software
• Ease of implementation
Staff
• Upskilled to work alongside (hand-in-hand
with) robotic automation
• Removal of mundane data inputting, instead
able to assess robotic automation reports
• More fulfilling work
• More time for added value work and query
resolution, and speeding up processing times
• More focus on customer satisfaction
• Enables team to look for further areas to
implement robotic automation
• Able to develop and write robotic automation
programmes themselves
• Work alongside specific service areas to
implement new robotics automation
“RPA provides benefits to our staff, our clients and the communities we
serve, through better and more efficient use of resources. The RPA virtual
workforce has enabled the real workforce to transition from routine
processing duties to added-value and customer-facing activities, such as
customer query resolution; a more efficient and effective use of human
resources, vital for a budget-tightened public sector.
The pay-off for our staff is that increased expertise and up-skilling has
created opportunities for them to transition to more fulfilling job roles,
which has enhanced staff satisfaction, motivation and morale.”
Mike Hedges, Partnership Director
RPA benefits
staff and customers
13. 25
‘My view’
of Robotic
Process
Automation
“Our Partners ENGIE design, create and test RPA, and have developed the
automation knowledge and business expertise to improve processing through
a virtual workforce. Previously, additional human resources and training would
have been required; with RPA, this is no longer always the case.
Outwardly residents see a seamless service; there is no awareness that the
processing is no longer carried out by a human. What is apparent are consistent
decision making, efficient service delivery and resources applied to deal promptly
with more complex cases where human intervention is required.
The Council see great opportunities to revolutionise traditional back office
processing, using a virtual workforce to perform the bulk of the processing;
leaving the human workforce to concentrate on customers. RPA is a major
tool in creating modern, efficient public services.”
Andy Scott, Senior Client Manager, Revenues, Benefits and Customer Services,
North Tyneside Council
“As Programme Director, I initiated the use of robotic process automation following on from a
strategic piece of work I’d undertaken.
With RPA, I’ve been able to deliver true transformation that is rapid and low cost, resulting in more
efficient processes, shorter response times for customers and improved services, like the new
benefit claim form. By reducing low-value, time-consuming processing work, we’ve also been able
to elevate workers to focus on more in-depth contacts with customers, such as for benefit claims.
Our customers’ expectations are changing and people require services on demand at their
convenience. Innovative use of new technology is helping us achieve this for residents.”
Martin Ruane, Programme Director
24
14. 26 27
“I was a subject matter expert on Accounts
Payable RPA, working with the business
analysts to build and test the process.
Payments RPA automated monitoring
requests, saving reports and outputs,
and sending requests to other
departments. Human intervention has
been retained and integrated at several
stages to verify and authorise payments.
After being involved in an RPA build and
seeing it in action, I can see its potential.
If the correct processes are identified, and
the requirements are outlined correctly
with the subject matter experts, it can be
a very useful tool in helping to reduce
processing time.”
Richard Chaplow, Financial Services
Support Team Leader
“The RPA technology is a revolutionary and powerful
tool in which to deliver transactional services to
improve the customer experience and create greater
organisational efficiencies. As early adopters my team
have provided the business expertise and knowledge
to develop the use of RPA within the Revenues
Benefits Services.
Initially developing automation for new benefit
claims, the technology has rapidly been extended
into other areas of the service. We are creating a
virtual workforce which carries out the data input
to supplement the existing workforce; which then
enables our valuable human resources to be
targeted more effectively.
This is a great opportunity to modernise public
services and exploit the benefits that this cutting
edge technology can bring to services for the
advantage of both customers and the organisation.”
Jackie Mulvey, Revenue Benefit Service
Development Support Manager
“I worked closely with Employee Services to
build and implement the timesheet RPA process.
I learned a lot about creating an RPA process,
as well as communicating effectively, gathering
information and creating relationships. I am now
more capable of identifying other areas with the
potential to generate efficiencies. Once rolled
out, I see huge efficiencies in the timesheet
process, given the number of our employees.
Having built a process myself, I believe there
is room to bring RPA processes into all service
areas. As long as the processes and requirements
are correctly scoped out, I cannot see how RPA
could be viewed as anything other than an
extremely useful tool.”
Leanne Murray, Business Analyst
