We caught up with our developer and had a fun time interviewing about her passion for bot development, the advantages of RPA, ElectroNeek vs Power Automate and all that good stuff! Check our our conversation below:
Meet one of our Developer's, Hannah Sandeen. Yes, we have TWO Hannah's in the company and often times we refer to them as Hannah Squared! 😅
Bruno the Bot: Why are you so passionate about developing RPA bots?
Hannah Sandeen: At heart, I am a problem solver. I find it intellectually satisfying to solve problems and doing so for others is nearly a love language for me. One of the things I have learned over the years is, most people don’t want their big problems solved for them. That’s one of the things we’re here to do as people, solve our big problems. But the same cannot be said for those small, annoying, eyeroll inducing tasks that bog down our day. Getting those tasks, you truly do not want to do off your plate, and knowing it will just get done, is incredibly freeing.
There’s something very special about what happens when you take an annoying, eyerolling task and make it not only disappear, but make it fun. If you’ve ever gained a ton of joy out of planning how you will achieve all those small tasks, you may enjoy RPA. Especially, if you’re like me and give up on your excellently planned system very quickly. All the joys of planning, but a robot follows through for you. This is what I love! I really think bots have the capacity to humanize, equalize, and revolutionize the future of our workforce. And I want to be a part of that. So here I am.
Bruno the Bot: What do you feel are the advantages of RPA?
Hannah Sandeen: I think there are many advantages to RPA. An individual might find a set of bots surrounding communication or time management to be an indispensable resource. A small business can use bots to help them compete in this economy. Nearly anyone can benefit from a few bots in their life. At the end of the day, the most important advantages are that work is more human, more efficient, and more accurate all at once.
Bruno the Bot: Do you prefer ElectroNeek over Power Automate?
Hannah Sandeen: Power Automate was my first foray into automation, so I will certainly always have a place in my heart for it. I feel it has some complexities and limitations to work with compared to ElectroNeek’s non-coder friendly interface. Once, when I was looking at moving one bot to ElectroNeek from Power Automate, I came across a very complex expression in Power Automate. When I rewrote that same expression in ElectroNeek, it was easily half the length of the Power Automate original.
ElectroNeek also has tools available to me that just were not in Power Automate. For example, I can test any part of my bot at any time. When you have a 50+ step flow, re-running the entire thing can take time. It’s so convenient to test 2-3 steps at a time instead.
However, at the end of the day, we get to learn what our client's needs are, and then we find a solution that will match their needs and objectives. We're here as partners with our clients, and that means we explore all options to ensure the best possible solution.
Bruno the Bot: How long does it take to build a bot?
Hannah Sandeen: Bot development time can vary depending on the complexity of the project. However, usually it takes a few short weeks to build a bot.
Bruno the Bot: For anyone worried about implementing RPA for fear of replacing their job, what would you like to share with them?
Hannah Sandeen: That’s a completely valid worry. We hear a lot about robots taking jobs in the media. It’s enough that it could give anyone pause when considering implementing bots. There are a few key things to keep in mind when considering RPA and if you're in IT, we actually address the top 7 IT Concerns about RPA in a previous blog here. The actual purpose of RPA is not to replace human creativity, our higher order thinking, or reasoning. Its purpose is to automate repetitive and small tasks. This is not technology built to act as artificial intelligence. More importantly, our goal at Kick Bot Solutions is to use RPA to make our workplaces more human. To take away those eye rolling tasks that make your work just a little less fulfilling. We’re here to automate a digital assistant (or full workforce) into existence for you, not automate you out of a job.
Bruno the Bot: We can't end an interview without seeing your furry co-workers!
Hannah Sandeen: I can't argue with that! Best seat in the house!
What can we expect next with Hannah Sandeen? An article covering RPA + Neurodivergence and we are excited to share that with you soon!