3 Ways Automation Empowers People

Boostr’s Senior Director of Data Solutions explains how technology can boost job satisfaction

When business gurus discuss the future of work, they often talk about “automation” without mentioning the potential for “augmentation”—how technology can augment and improve work for human beings. 

With automation, there’s potential for people to do more of what they love—and less of what they don’t—while creating pathways for innovation. That empowering aspect of technology is crucial but often overlooked, according to Marta Tartar, Boostr’s Senior Director of Data Solutions. “Automation is all about allowing teams and individuals to have ownership of the process without monitoring it constantly,” she says. “We will always need human intellect, but we want to shift that intellect into something more productive.” 

Strong, working brains want to do meaningful, cerebral work, Tartar is quick to point out. Automation is about reclaiming the process with less busy work so that brain trust can get to the more exciting stuff. “Once you identify monotony, automation helps you figure out how to get rid of it,” she says.

There are many downstream benefits of automation. From reduced burnout and churn to more reliable data and eliminated bottlenecks, automation can unleash business-wide economic opportunity. Human empathy, common sense, and experience are priceless. Through technology, businesses can improve competitiveness while enabling people to engage in more fulfilling work that leverages those strengths. When we spend one-third of our lives on the clock, why not fill those hours with learning, improving, and dreaming up the next big thing? 

“You have a lot of worth as a human being in the organization—and it is important to be reminded of that,” Tartar says. 

Here are Marta’s thoughts on where automation can most effectively empower workers. 

1. Centralizing data

Today’s media businesses are complex. Ad servers, OMS, CRM, campaign management, and task management systems exist. That’s a lot to process, track, and integrate into operations for the average employee. “With our automation efforts, we try to bring everything into one place. That keeps people focused and able to do their best work,” Tartar explains. 

With automation in place to ingest data from disparate sources and pull it into a central platform, data can be standardized and visualized without moving between platforms or manually aggregating it. Data becomes highly reusable and easily shared across teams, and individuals can complete tasks without disruption. 

“Teams can spend way less time cleaning up and preparing data and more time focused on what matters,” Tartar says. “Shift that burden somewhere else.” 

The end goal is a one-stop shop for the team’s data needs with all the sources built-in. Hence, data is not just accessible but also traceable, enhancing both usability and reliability. 

2. Identifying opportunities for improvement

“I think of automation versus legacy processes as the difference between using Super Glue and Elmer’s—one falls apart more easily,” Tartar says. “With automation, things tighten up. The result is saving time and reducing errors while continually surfacing things that aren’t caught easily when done manually—or surfacing things that shouldn’t be done manually at all!”

Through automating the most basic, repetitive tasks, leadership, and teams become familiar with the process and the possibilities. This fosters trust while highlighting other issues that could be improved with similar technology. 

“When it comes to bulk data entry and flat file processes,” Tartar says, “the least amount of interaction required to merge things is better, so you don’t introduce a new set of potential errors. Teams start to identify where the opportunities lie. Finding the gaps can be even easier when a platform offers good customer service to speed up the process.” 

3. Providing higher-quality data

“When data is tightly packed and organized, and new data sets are easily integrated and reported on, the quality increases. High-quality data optimizes everything that follows, including the decisions people make and even what they deliver to their clients. Many people benefit from improved data,” Tartar says. 

Technology can more quickly and easily monitor integrations, debug code, and integrate new data sets than humans, with zero headaches. Tartar points to programmatic data sets as a prime example of how automation improves decision-making and empowers teams. “By integrating new data subsets like this into what’s already there, you open up new possibilities. You can get a more holistic view of what’s going on and how to maximize revenue,” she says.

“And at the end of the day, sure, maybe you could have an intern click through all of this and add it, but in the process, they’re not learning anything, teams are losing valuable time, and risks add up,” Tartar adds. 

Getting to the next level 

“You can get a lot done for a long time in spreadsheets,” Tartar observes. “I think of automation as graduation. It’s about moving to the next level, taking what you’ve learned, and moving on.”  

The sentiment is relevant for businesses as a whole and employees. Automation is about making work easier and more meaningful. By automating time-consuming, busy work, teams shift to strategy and decision-making, boosting their productivity, job satisfaction, and skills. 

Automation isn’t about eliminating jobs; it’s about eliminating tedium. This way, it can supercharge workflows while democratizing data and workplace opportunities. This attitude toward automation is essential for leaders and teams alike to fully imagine the possibilities for themselves, their organizations, and the media at large. 

“You don’t have to relinquish the process—but to grow, you have to reclaim the process,” Tartar says. Automation is increasingly helping people do exactly that. 

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Find out how Boostr’s automation can empower your teams, improve data, and unlock new opportunities for the entire team to grow. Let’s talk. 

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