Automation with Job Redesign

1 min read

It seems like businesses today just can’t find enough workers.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, America had 1.6 million accountants and auditors in 2023, down from almost 2 million in 2019. Separately, data from PERSOLKELLY showed that the number of accountancy degree students at universities in Singapore has declined 10% over the past 5 years, notwithstanding demand for accounting jobs expected to hit 7,000 by 2025.

And the strains are starting to show. For example, more companies are citing the lack of accounting personnel as a reason for potential errors in financial reporting.

To survive and hopefully thrive in this environment of rising inflation (including manpower costs), dearth of available human talent, phenomena like The Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting, companies can and need to do more.

Here are 2 tips:

Automation & AI — Given the emergence of technologies like RPA and ChatGPT, it is not only possible to automate a significant percentage of existing workplace tasks, but the time, efforts and costs required of such automations may also be lower than you think.
Job Redesign — In conjunction with automation, by rearranging tasks and responsibilities, it is possible to further optimize manpower, work processes and resource allocation. In turn, this will enable businesses to do more with the same or less resources.