Despite the optimism surrounding the global economy, a recession remains a likely possibility. Even if it were not the case, businesses must always be prepared for economic downturns. Cost-cutting is the most widely used strategy to deal with a financial setback. However, too often, the cost-cutting measures compromise output quality.

As a result, businesses lose their market share and competitiveness. A business can cut costs and still add business value using the citizen-led approach to automation. This article discusses which is citizen development in automation and how can it prove beneficial during a recessionary period.

What is Citizen Development in Automation?

A citizen developer is an individual who can design automation without having any prior technical skills or knowledge. For instance, a business graduate designs an automation to automate email responses using ChatGPT. You might be wondering how a non-technical individual can design automation.

Well, the answer is low-code/no-code automation platforms like Microsoft Power Automate. These platforms are quite easy to use and allow any individual regardless of their educational background or professional experience to design automations. With a little training, these individuals can even design complex automation.

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How Citizen Developers Reduce Costs During a Recession?

1. Remove the Need for Hiring Expert Resources

What people fail to realise is that recruitment is a resource-intensive process. It takes up considerable time and financial resources. According to experts, the recruitment cost is about 3 or 4 times the position’s salary. For instance, if the salary is $50,000, the recruitment cost will be anywhere between $150,000 to $200,000.

This includes the hard and soft costs. The soft cost includes the time the recruitment team and other employees invest in the hiring process. During a recession, every penny counts and there is no room for wasting money. Building complex automation or providing comprehensive automation services requires an experienced team.

A citizen approach to development removes the need to hire or even retain high-earning individuals. The same work can be performed by a non-technical individual who will be earning significantly less than the experienced technical resource. We acknowledge that the resource may require training to become an experienced automation professional.

However, even after adding the training cost, the citizen developer will prove cost-effective. Citizen developers also reduce the dependence on IT personnel. In turn, the IT personnel can focus on value-addition tasks like working on complex projects or coming up with new ideas that create value for the business.

2. More Automation for More Cost Savings

Our experience with companies using our automation services tells us that they have a huge backlog of automation requests. Why? Their experienced developers are working on complex projects or client-facing projects, leaving little time for non-critical automation. Hence, the backlog only becomes bigger and bigger.

With a citizen approach to development, an organisation can assign everyday automation tasks to the citizen developers. It ensures there is no backlog, and the organisation can benefit from the automation in every department. We all know how automation helps save valuable resources, which is critical in a recession.

3. Reduces Human Error

Unfortunately, the cost of a human error is quite significant for any business. While they may seem miniscule, human errors cost businesses millions of dollars every year. Automation takes away the human element in the process. Bots perform the same work but without error or break.

Conclusion

Businesses experience upturns and downturns throughout their life. Instead of blindly cutting costs during a recession, they must focus on cutting costs without compromising the business value. A citizen-led approach to development is a great way to build business resilience during a recession.

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