How charities can decide whether a process needs AI, better software or simply removing.

Whether you're new to using AI or you've been using it for a while, there are a number of principles you can adopt so that you don't end up wasting time, and instead create efficiencies by eliminating repetitive work where possible.

Of course, with any new technology, there's no silver bullet. There's nothing that's going to automate your job, and I think we should be grateful for that. After all, it's the human creativity, tenacity, and soul that sets us apart from machines. We are not machines, and we will not be replaced.

That being said, as a small business or charity, there are huge opportunities to leverage your own knowledge and data, as well as insights from suppliers and customers, to optimise and improve your products, services and processes so that your people can prioritise the highest-value work.

I must credit Caleb Adamu for his contribution to this blog, particularly the following principles:

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The 5-Step Design Algorithm (Borrowed from Elon)

1. “Make requirements less dumb”: Question every single requirement, especially those that come from someone "smart". Trace every requirement back to a specific person rather than a vague department.

2. “Delete any part or process”: "The best part is no part, and the best process is no process". If you are not adding things back roughly 10% of the time, you are not deleting enough parts.

3. “Simplify and optimise”: Only refine and optimise the components that you have determined are absolutely necessary. Never polish or over-engineer something that should not exist in the first place.

4. “Accelerate cycle time”: Speed up your development and production cycles, but only after diligently completing steps 1 through 3.

5. “Automate (Last)”: Only bring in robotics, AI, or bespoke software for repeatable tasks after you have simplified the design.

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When not to use AI

Do not use AI when there isn't even a system or process in place, when the process should be deleted, when the problem has not been understood, or when the task is not repeatable. Do not use AI simply because you have been told to start using it or risk being left behind.

So what does that mean for a small business or charity that has been told to start using AI or risk being left behind?

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Start with the people who do the work

In practical terms, that means having the courage and humility to go to your staff, volunteers, customers and suppliers and ask for help. This should focus on understanding their pain points, challenges, wants and needs.

Sounds simple, right?

Not always. Firstly, if you are a hierarchical organisation, they may see you, the owner or manager, as part of the problem. They may have voiced their pain points, challenges, wants and needs before, but you didn’t have the bandwidth, budget, authority or know-how to implement change. As such, if this part of the process isn't handled with grace, joy and dignity, you may end up with a false sense that everything is fine.

You may need a third party, such as an outside person or organisation, to come in and look at all the different levels of the organisation. This will ensure that all the different stakeholders, including you, are part of the process. That way, your people feel they can be open, and trust can be built through anonymised feedback.

To undertake this process internally, you can use an online feedback form alongside workshops, which should include refreshments and a proper moderator.

Some questions to ask your staff and volunteers:

- What areas of your day-to-day work are repetitive, boring or a waste of time, and which would you rather eliminate?

- What are the current challenges or stresses?

- What would add real value to your day-to-day?

- Is there a dream outcome of adopting a new technology that would be transformational for your day-to-day?

Don’t be rigid with these questions and you will find the nuggets of gold. Listen. If done well, your team will feel heard, and they will become co-designers and contributors to the innovation. They help define the requirements. This requires humility and understanding, with an authentic desire to improve your team's working environment. They will love you for it!

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Delete before you automate

However, if you are successful in this endeavour, you will most likely find that there are certain aspects of their day-to-day job that they really don't like. You may be surprised to learn that it often involves repetitive tasks that could become redundant. With the right tools and authority, you can identify and expose parts of the process that can be deleted. Your people know far better than any outside consultancy where there are inefficiencies, weak spots and dead time. Ultimately, if you have a team with great values who deliver a fantastic product or service, they will naturally want to focus on the meaningful work, which is almost always the part that cannot be replaced with technology.

Ultimately, if you don't do that, you risk bringing in new technology that is not designed around the problem. It doesn't allow you to make the requirements less dumb or delete unnecessary parts of the process, and you will end up with technology that no one has bought into and which gets left on the shelf in the cloud. A waste of time and money.

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What might this look like in care and support?

In a care or support organisation, it could be re-entering the same information across different systems, manually rebuilding rotas, repeatedly chasing staff availability, duplicating notes or having managers attend meetings purely to capture actions. Before buying a new system or adding AI, ask whether the task can be removed, whether the process can be simplified, or whether a simple existing tool already solves it.

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Simplify, test and accelerate

When it comes to accelerating cycle time, this ultimately means getting the new technology, such as a software product at minimum viable product (MVP) stage, into the hands of the people who are going to use it, probably when it still feels uncomfortable to do so. The good thing is that, if you involve them early on, the product should be designed for them. They will be excited to see the progress you have made and more forgiving if there are some initial issues. This is the most cost-effective and quickest way to ensure that you leverage new technologies.

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Automate last

Lastly, automate: how can we use AI or a similar tool to ensure that part of the process becomes redundant?

One example that affects us all is note-taking in meetings. There are many tools, such as Google Meet’s note-taking function, that summarise notes and produce a transcript. As such, you don’t need to have a dedicated note-taker. Instead, they can be part of the discussion or, if they are not otherwise needed, not be in the meeting. This can be automated and a process removed or refined. Often, there are quick wins that don’t require expensive change.

Remember, even if it's an individual use case, always start with those five principles. We’ve all fallen foul of overengineering when there wasn't even a system or process in the first place, trying to create something that wasn't needed. The result is a lot of wasted time and poor-quality work, which is not helpful.

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Not sure what your process needs?

Bring us one frustrating, repetitive or inefficient process. In a short process review, we’ll work through the five principles with you and help determine whether you should remove it, simplify it, improve it without AI, automate part of it, or explore whether Elate or another tool is suitable.

If you would like support or simply want to have a chat, even if our scheduling and planning product is not right for you, don’t be a stranger. Feel free to get in touch.