How Process Automation Prevents Burnout for IT and GIS Professionals

Introduction  

According to research by DataKitchen and data.world, 97% of GIS and IT professionals experience burnout due to the repetitive nature of their job, unclear job expectations, or poor work-life balance. Burnout can often lead to increased turnover rates and even stress-related health problems, so avoiding it is paramount.  

It’s not hard to understand why they feel that way; completing repetitive data entry tasks every single day can be a pretty unexciting workflow. Many GIS and IT employees at utility organizations will be very familiar with these kinds of tasks, and if they’re feeling any amount of burnout at their job, they could benefit greatly from automating some of their day-to-day responsibilities. Let’s explore how integration makes that possible.  

Changing Times 

Processes like data synchronization between systems, error/discrepancy/duplicate/orphan tracking, and other common data entry jobs have typically been the responsibility of GIS and IT professionals or data engineers. Integration can be the answer that eliminates the need for humans to complete manual data entry tasks, or at least makes the job less taxing. Not only do integration solutions eliminate the chance of human error during repetitive data entry, they also greatly speed up the process, giving the rest of the organization faster access to up-to-date data.  

Additionally, they give GIS and IT teams time to work on other projects and thoroughly double check the results of each synchronization run with fresh eyes. All these benefits should contribute to less burnout thanks to more variety in employees’ workdays. 

Automating with Integration 

Process automation through integration might seem far-fetched at first, so here’s a few ways that it can directly help prevent burnout in organizations like yours: 

• Automating tasks like error/discrepancy/duplicate/orphan tracking, data synchronization between systems, and more while removing the chance for human error 
• Speeding up time-consuming processes that used to be done by hand, giving employees time to thoroughly inspect results and/or give others more frequent access to updated data 

• Preventing burnout by giving employees time and space to work on other projects that aren’t strictly data entry-related 
• Allowing utilities to retain employees longer if they aren’t leaving due to burnout, which keeps costs down and eliminates the need to re-train new employees 

Of these benefits, the last one is the most important for most utilities. Experienced employees keep successful utilities running smoothly and it’s been proven time and time again that happier employees are much more productive, so finding ways to retain and keep employees happy should always be a top priority.  

Additionally, the problem of knowledge loss due to retirement or turnover becomes even more prevalent when burnout rates are higher. The utility industry is already facing a rapidly aging workforce and when veteran employees retire, most of their valuable knowledge leaves along with them. To ensure these employees feel fulfilled and engaged by their jobs for as long as possible, utilities should seriously consider integrating their systems and embracing a more automated data management strategy. 

Prioritizing Efficiency with Integrated Data 

Finding the most efficient way to manage enterprise data is important, but taking care of employees is always going to come first. Process automation through an integration solution like the Geonexus Integration Platform benefits utilities and their employees at every level by improving workflows and making sure employees are staying happy and healthy in their roles. 

The Geonexus Integration Platform is easy to learn, highly customizable, and is designed to fit seamlessly into any workflow. It’s capable of process automation, automatic data synchronization, and proactively notifies you anytime an error in your data is detected. Plus, it produces nightly reports that let you monitor your data’s health in an easy-to-read PDF or XML format that replaces the hand-created reports many GIS and IT professionals are used to.  

For more information on what the Geonexus Integration Platform is capable of, check out our recent video covering the platform’s IBM Maximo connector. 

About Geonexus 

At Geonexus our mission is to ensure integrity and reliability of enterprise data to support effective decision making. Our Integration Platform is an enterprise-grade integration solution that is easy to use, reliable, and includes out-of-the-box connectors for Esri® ArcGIS®, IBM® Maximo, SAP®, ABB® Ellipse, Oracle® Utilities, and other leading enterprise systems. Asset-intensive organizations across the globe use the Geonexus Integration Platform in industries including utilities, telecommunications, pipeline, transportation, and government.