RPA developer: Responsibilities, skills, and reasons to hire

Utilizing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline routine and standardized tasks can provide businesses with a significant productivity boost while requiring minimal investment. These automated processes can encompass transaction execution, data manipulation, engaging with advanced digital systems, and initiating responses. In a previous article, we explored the substantial benefits and critical use cases of RPA. Today, however, our spotlight is on the RPA specialist, aiming to highlight their essential skills, responsibilities, and importance in a business context.

What are the main responsibilities of an RPA developer? 

It's not uncommon for RPA developers to also be citizen developers, a term defined by Gartner as employees who devise application functionalities for their own use or others. A citizen developer is not so much a role or title but more a persona that operates outside of the traditional IT department. Here's a rundown of the top five skills every RPA developer should command:

• Strategic planning. This is crucial in RPA engineering. Setting clear design objectives for your project and plotting out workflows is fundamental to achieving a successful project outcome.
• Familiarity with enterprise systems. An RPA software developer should be well-versed in the intricacies of enterprise systems. Prior experience with platforms like SAP or OpenText is a considerable advantage.
• Understanding of programming languages. While RPA is technology-agnostic, it's beneficial for your developers to have a background in programming languages such as Python, C/C++, Ruby, and Java.
• Strong analytical skills. RPA developers must be able to analyze a process and suggest improvements, underscoring the importance of robust analytical abilities.
• Problem-solving capabilities. Automation rarely executes flawlessly on the first attempt. Errors occur, and bugs emerge, making debugging a robot a valuable skill that can save significant time and reduce stress as the team addresses any problems.
• Knowledge or certification from an RPA platform. The following image provides a few examples of the industry's top-rated, most well-established platforms.

Bearing these skills in mind when recruiting or training an RPA developer can significantly enhance the success of your automation projects and the overall efficiency of your business operations.

Why hire an RPA developer? 

1. Cost-effectiveness

Robotics can help reduce operational costs by an estimated 25 to 50 percent. Unlike human labor, robots can work 24/7 without taking breaks or vacations. By implementing robotic solutions to take some of the labor-intensive tasks off your hands, you will see tangible gains for your business. Automating can help you recover these costs sooner. As a result, your business can realize significant gains.

However, automation through robotic solutions will inevitably result in the loss of some jobs. Here are some solutions:

• Recruiting personnel for other core functions of the company
• Upskilling the staff instead of losing them.

When your organization has relevant positions that match employees' skills, it is the easiest solution. Alternatively, you can consider allowing personnel to upskill themselves while taking up new organizational positions. Allowing automation events and maintaining your current headcount will allow employees to take advantage of automated opportunities while keeping departments lean.

2. Resource optimization

With RPA solutions, human error risk in routine, repetitive tasks is significantly reduced, leading to greater operational efficiency. By automating these tasks, you free your workforce to handle more complex duties, leading to optimal utilization of resources and accelerated task completion.

3. Process adaptability & flexibility

RPA solutions enhance business operation flexibility. They are designed to adapt to changing circumstances and accept changes effortlessly. Therefore, hiring an RPA developer not only automates processes but also paves the way for future innovations and adjustments.

4. Reducing operational errors

RPA helps eliminate expensive mistakes that can lead to poor decision-making and inaccurate analytics. Using RPA improves accuracy in operations while ensuring error-free routine processes.

5. Discovery of automated triggers & responses

Advanced scheduling capabilities come as a standard with RPA systems, enabling managers to automate certain scheduler processes, leading to partial or even total automation. Triggers aren't limited to human action; they can range from documents to emails, allowing for partial or complete automation of business processes.

6. Analytics and insights for advanced decision-making

Robots handling data and analytics significantly reduce the risk of outdated, corrupted information, data leaks, or flawed analytics. RPA's ability to gather valuable data from hard-to-reach areas enhances the scope of data collection and detailed analysis, providing comprehensive insights and improving decision-making.

7. Improved communication and cooperation

When multiple teams work with the same documents, a single source of truth is essential. Typically, someone from each team must manually manage documentation or process changes. RPA can automate such processes, leading to improved communication and collaboration.

Hiring an RPA developer helps transform your operations by making them more efficient, reliable, and adaptable while also providing insights to drive more effective decision-making.

Boosting operation efficiency with RPA: A featured success story

You may be contemplating the impact a single RPA developer can have on your organization. Let's bring this into focus with an example from our project portfolio.

Our client, a large tech company with offices in several countries, has contacted us to help them streamline the tracking of applicants and jobs. The company has over 60 people in the recruitment department and needed to optimize their work while reducing the number of manual tasks. When the company contacted N-iX, the recruitment team took care of 400 active jobs. The client was facing the following challenges:

1. Operational overhead. Due to the lack of integration between various systems and a large team, the company had to spend a lot of resources on manual tasks performed every day by every team member. Additionally, there was tons of communication involved.

2. Lack of integration between different systems. The client also had little to no integration between their website, several pieces of software, and job posting platforms, which caused many errors and required them to fix and double-check everything. 

We dove into a comprehensive analysis of use cases and consulted with stakeholders to fully understand the issues and develop the optimal solution. This crucial step ensures our proposed solution is aligned with the client's needs and business objectives. Given the client's specific requirements, we chose UI Path, renowned for its flexibility and extensive features.

When we started working with the client, they managed over 400 active job postings and approximately a hundred slots on an external job posting site. The team had to prioritize jobs daily, identify closed positions to be replaced, and more, consuming considerable time and leading to errors. Moreover, the external job posting site lacked an API, which required us to create an RPA robot to handle the complex logic of the website and provide efficient automation. The result was an automated solution enabling the team to set priorities and trigger changes throughout the process.

Another level of automation allows each team member to have an effective integration between applicant tracking software and Google services. Now, the RPA bot can create all the necessary artifacts and significantly reduce the time each specialist spends on manual work. 

Read more: RPA tools comparison: Pega vs UiPath vs Automation Anywhere

Value delivered by N-iX

• By introducing this automation, the client was able to improve both posting and updates of active jobs. As a result, they were able to utilize the full potential of their subscription plan on the platform. The results were so successful that the client decided to upgrade to 150 job slots on their dominant platform, as it took little to no time to keep them up and running. 
• We were able to significantly reduce the number of man-hours spent on manual processes and related errors by creating an automation solution for a job posting website that does not have an API. 
• We improved the communication between different departments within the company and reduced the need for overhead communication. 

Why choose N-iX to hire RPA developers?

Searching for a skilled remote RPA developer? Here's why choosing N-iX as your strategic partner might be your best decision:

• We are constantly growing our tech partnerships portfolio and adding new platforms and solutions. As of now, N-iX RPA developers have experience with Automation Anywhere, UIPath, Pega, and Kofax. We have over 20 experts working with different platforms and in various business verticals;
• N-iX helps businesses reduce operational expenses, improve routine processes and achieve better results with the help of RPA developers at a fraction of the cost (compared to traditional software development);
• Our portfolio boasts extensive experience with enterprise solutions and systems like OpenText, SAP, ECM, etc. We understand the intricacies of these systems and how to leverage them for optimal outcomes;
• Our experience extends beyond RPA into Cloud technology, data management, advanced analytics, and automation. This broad capability allows us to provide holistic solutions to your needs;
• We have a significant footprint in the US market, with successful partnerships with various US industry leaders such as Siemens, Questrade, Zim, Gogo, Fluke Corporation, Office Depot, Saks Fifth Avenue, Seeking Alpha, TuneIn, and more;
• Our team comprises over 2,200 professionals, backed by a robust recruitment team of 60+ individuals. We're equipped to identify and onboard the right expertise for your needs swiftly.

Choosing N-iX means partnering with a leader in RPA development, a partner committed to understanding your needs and delivering tailored, effective solutions.