How to Convince Your Boss to Go With Cobots

How do you convince management that collaborative robots are the way to go? Here's the definitive guide to getting robots off the ground.

If you have been reading this blog for a while — or even if you're completely new to it — you probably know that collaborative robots can be a great boost to a manufacturing business. Whether you are in the food industry, consumer goods, aerospace or any other industry, cobots have been shown to increase productivity and improve the flexibility of your manufacturing line.

You know that cobots are a good idea… but what about your boss?

What if management is less enthusiastic about automation?

How should you approach them with the idea to be sure they'll go for it?

You need a bullet-proof proposal.

Why Technology Proposals Fail

It's likely that collaborative robots can benefit your company. However, it's possible that your boss, or their bosses, have not considered robots before. It's up to you to explain the benefits in a way that makes sense to them. To do this, you have to present them with a proposal — either formally or informally — where you explain how robots could work in the business.

Technology proposals often fail because they are not presented in the right way for the person listening. You might have a great idea, but your proposal won't succeed if you present it to management by highlighting benefits that are important to you personally. You need to consider what benefits are most important to your boss.

Every person is different. You can find out what is important to your boss is by using the right "fact-finding" strategy. Check out our new eBook which includes five strategies for working out your boss's main goal for the business.

Here are four reasons that a proposal might fail, and how to overcome them:

• It's too technical — The technical details are important to you. Are they most important to your boss? Management might be more concerned about things like short term growth, cutting costs or long term planning. The eBook shows how to work out what is most important to your boss.
• It doesn't sell the right benefits — Imagine that the biggest benefit of a robot, from your perspective, is that it will allow you to work on more interesting tasks. Is this important to your boss? Probably not. But, what benefits will be important to them? The eBook explains how to pick the best benefits to include in your proposal.

• It looks risky — Your boss may be worried that a robot will cost more time and money than it brings back to the business. Of course, this won't be the case. However, you have to convince them within your proposal that the decision is risk-free. The eBook gives six ways you can derisk the decision.
• It's not written or presented well — If your proposal is unclear or includes unnecessary information, it is more likely to fail. The eBook gives examples of emails and spoken pitches which show the best practises for constructing a successful proposal.

Internal technology proposals can be a hard sell, especially if your company is experiencing problems and trying to cut costs. But, collaborative robots often help to solve a business's problems. If you pitch your idea in the right way, your boss is much more likely to go for it.

How to Make Sure Your Idea Happens

The moment you propose cobots to your boss is a key step in the path to bringing robots to your company. In order to get that moment right, you have to do a bit of preparation.

Our new eBook guides you through the process of creating a bullet-proof proposal for collaborative robots. Based on established business techniques, it guides you through the whole process from the from the moment you first think "Collaborative robots could solve a problem in my company!" right up to the moment you pitch the idea to your boss and beyond.

The eBook is short and action-orientated. It has practical worksheets supported by short and sweet informational sections, including:

• How to determine what stage your idea is at currently.
• How to find out how receptive your management is to the idea of robots.
• Five strategies to find your boss's main goal.
• How to use their main goal to "translate" the benefits of cobots into reasons that will convince them.
• Seven steps to build your proposal.
• Six ways to derisk the decision for your boss.
• Tips on how to pitch your boss most effectively.
• Examples of emails and "elevator pitches" to help you word your proposal.

For such a short eBook, there's a lot of information in there!

Where to Get a Copy of the eBook

You can grab a copy of the new eBook by clicking here.

Good luck! We hope your boss agrees to go with collaborative robots!