Cognizant: Combat disruption and restart your celebrations with smart automation and digital transformation.

After a devastating two years, both passengers and airlines are keen to return to full operations and with most COVID restrictions lifted and a clear demand for travel, 2022 should have been a year to celebrate.

However, problems at airports, ancillary providers, and airlines have put those celebrations on hold as the industry deals with a lack of staff, an inability to manage the level of disruption, frustrated passengers, and an avalanche of negative press. Creating bandwidth within current operations, increasing operational agility, and becoming the employer of choice are three obvious solutions, but how can stretched organizations lift their heads from the current firefighting to focus and implement real improvements? In addition, how can smart automation and digital transformation help right now?

For airlines, this is the time to maximize the use of smart automation and deploy AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics to automate the customer experience and humanize the interaction. Robotic Process Automation ( sticking plasters will deliver efficiencies but with current technology and expertise, it is now possible to deliver deep and lasting change based on a full end-to-end review of processes, using techniques like advanced process mining combined with operational research.  This approach considerably reduces payback periods.

Embedding intuitive operations and automation at the heart of the business will:

• Increase operational agility and build efficient workflows.
• Create bandwidth within existing teams to repurpose and prioritize current skills; and,
• Simplify and enhance ways of working which will positively impact employees and customers alike, including speeding up the delivery of personalized products, services, and experiences.

The current resource constraints are an issue for many industries, but the travel and hospitality sector are suffering intensely. Given the current cost of living crisis and other macro-economic difficulties, this could be a challenge for some time. Airlines, therefore, need to embed new techniques to attract and maintain the optimum workforce.  If well executed, digital transformation and smart automation will achieve impressive results.

Key areas for immediate focus:

• Operations: Network planning to current operations, ensure clear and transparent data with ML/AI capability to assist teams in proactive change management and communication.
• Recruitment and Onboarding: end-to-end visibility, make the onboarding process relevant, simple, and short! Focus on the employee experience as strongly as the customer experience, make yourself the employer of choice; and,
• Customer service: accelerate all self-service channels to release your valuable people to do what they do best, enhancing the customer journey.

Not all airlines will do this  Yet the more successful ones will urgently assess their current operations and identify areas for improvement using smart automation and digital transformation.  There are huge opportunities for companies that get this right. Carriers that cope well with disruption now stand to enjoy higher customer satisfaction, better staff retention, and stronger reputations as the industry gets back on its feet.

And beyond all of this, embedding more intelligent automation into the flying experience will significantly increase passenger confidence during these turbulent times.

Linda Murphy
Head of Travel & Hospitality, Intuitive Operations and Automation