Anatomy of an effective automation team

Building a cohesive automation strategy is no small feat. While automation promises efficiency and agility, achieving these benefits requires more than just implementing tools.

A well-rounded, cross-functional team can drive successful automation initiatives. This team must align with your business goals and be able to integrate processes across departments by focusing on high-value workflows. Structured well, an automation team is the precursor for a well-scaled automation Center of Excellence (CoE) in the future.

This guide explores the essential skills, key roles and collaborative practices necessary to form an effective automation team, whether you’re just beginning your automation journey or aiming for full-scale transformation.

Why should you have a dedicated automation team?

A dedicated automation team can propel your automation progress by focusing on execution, organization-wide alignment, scalability and accountability.

Developing and executing an automation roadmap is only possible if your automation efforts aren’t fragmented. A carefully crafted team works to correct inefficiencies and streamline workflows. They’re the central hub for all things automation, keeping all eyes focused on the same objectives.

As your automation needs grow, having a team in place allows you to scale with confidence and ready your organization to automate more complex workflows. Integrating advanced technology while maintaining accountability and sticking to governance frameworks becomes achievable with a structured group of people with a singular focus.

Essential skills for a strong automation team

The best automation teams must balance technical expertise, soft skills and domain knowledge. Look for the following skills to ensure your team can optimally design, execute and refine automations.

Technical proficiency

Automation tools and platforms often include low-code interfaces, API integration capabilities and orchestration features that reduce the need for extensive coding, but at least some of your team members should be proficient in these technologies. They need a deep understanding of how to design workflows, troubleshoot and implement automation.

Those with technical skills can minimize the team’s reliance on developers, especially in the early stage of planning and execution.

Cross-functional collaboration

Automation often touches multiple departments, from finance to HR to IT operations. Team members must possess the ability to collaborate across these silos and remain empathetic about the challenges and objectives of various business units. Building trust among stakeholders ensures smoother implementation and makes it easier to scale automation efforts to more functions as your organization matures.

Change management expertise

Introducing automation can be disruptive if not handled carefully. Effective team members need to understand how to implement new technologies in a way that minimizes disruption and resistance. This includes driving user adoption through training and communication. Your employees should feel empowered rather than threatened by automation.

Governance and compliance knowledge

Automation initiatives must comply with regulatory standards and internal governance policies. That’s especially true when you handle sensitive data. Team members with expertise in these areas will ensure that security and compliance are prioritized from the start, which can reduce the risk of costly mistakes or violations.

Key roles and stakeholders

A successful automation team is not just about skills — it’s also about having the right people in the right roles. The following are the key roles you’ll need to fill.

The visionary leader

This could be a CoE lead or an Automation Director. Their primary responsibility is to set the strategic direction for company-wide automation. Forward-thinking and influential, they advocate for resources, align with executive leadership and keep the team focused on long-term goals.

The visionary leader is an anchor, connecting the team’s efforts back to the organization’s broader objectives.

Process champions

These are representatives from specific business units, such as IT operations, Finance or Supply Chain. They’re liaisons between their departments and the automation team. With deep knowledge of their workflows and an openness to digital transformation, they identify pain points and propose automation opportunities.

Process champions are crucial for securing buy-in and making sure automations address real-world needs.

Automation architects or solution designers

These team members map out workflows and design automation solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems. With strong technical expertise and an understanding of the company’s tech stack, they translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.

Automation architects and solution designers give your automations room to grow as your needs evolve.

Subject matter experts (SMEs)

With an eye for detail and a knack for problem-solving, SMEs bring an in-depth knowledge of specific processes. That may be HR onboarding, supply chain logistics or key finance processes. Their input will help your team optimize automations for real-world applications. 

SMEs play a critical role in refining and validating workflows and dependencies.

Data analysts

Automation initiatives should be data-driven, and data analysts are essential for this purpose. They define and track KPIs, evaluate the performance of automation efforts and report on ROI. As they tend to be incredibly detail-oriented, these team members look for ways to continuously improve.

Data analysts put your team on the path to measurable automation outcomes.

How to cultivate collaboration

An automation team’s success hinges on how well they work together. There are ways to set your team up for easy collaboration.

1. Host regular meetings and workshops. While these should not interfere with high-priority work, they should be frequent enough to keep automation top of mind. Monthly or quarterly sessions help everyone align on automation project progress, celebrate wins and discuss areas of improvement.
2. Create feedback loops with end-users. Once automations are in place, you need mechanisms for gathering feedback from the people impacted by them every day. This is invaluable for giving your team insights for building future automations.
3. Leverage external expertise. Partnering with third-party consultants or automation specialists can accelerate your efforts with fresh perspectives and industry insights that complement your in-house capabilities.
4. Track and celebrate wins. Highlighting successful automation projects boosts team morale and reinforces the value of their work.

Growing your team’s automation competency

Automation maturity can only increase proportionally to your team’s structure and capabilities.

If you’re just getting started with automation:

Begin with a lean team focused on high-impact, low-complexity automations. Prioritize process champions who understand business workflows and pair them with an IT representative familiar with automation tools. That way, you can build momentum without overextending resources.

If you’ve automated some tasks, processes and exceptions:

Once you have quite a few automations running successfully, it’s time to scale and involve more departments. At this stage, roles like automation architects, automation testing pros and change management experts become increasingly important in designing scalable solutions and ensuring smooth adoption.

If you use a centralized automation platform and are looking to innovate:

When you’ve achieved a centralized approach to automation already, consider adding specialized roles, such as data scientists or security specialists. Diversifying will help you tackle complex automations and explore advanced use cases, such as predictive analytics or machine learning integrations.

Expand your automation potential: Final considerations

As automation becomes more of a priority across your organization, it’s important to invest in being able to execute it well. Encourage an automation-forward culture, supported by continuous learning and innovation, by thinking about all the ways you can mature your automation.

Take our free, five-minute automation assessment to determine your starting point and get specific recommendations for your stage.