Q&A
We'll answer all your questions here. If we missed one, you can go to GPT Chat to ask our Kaudal GPT Q&A .
What is Kaudal?
Kaudal is the platform that companies use to democratize automation with control. At Kaudal, people from different areas learn to automate tasks with secure tools from Microsoft or Google, under the governance of the IT department. Founded by Herman Marín, Ana María Martínez, and Claudia Alfaro, it is an evolution of our first startup, Laboratoria. With Kaudal, our mission is to transform traditional collaborators into irreplaceable automators. 💪🦾
What problem does Kaudal address and how do we generate value?
People waste more than 50% of their time performing automatable tasks at work that IT doesn't have the capacity to handle. That's why it's essential that employees take ownership of automating their inefficient tasks, without IT losing control. This is possible with Kaudal. On our platform, employees easily identify their manual tasks (e.g., "copying and pasting data from one Excel spreadsheet to another," "extracting information from PDFs," or "sending notifications") and learn how to automate them with step-by-step guides for secure, underutilized tools in the company (e.g., Microsoft's Power Platform). Additionally, IT has full visibility and control over staff automation projects, which are centralized in Kaudal, along with the resulting efficiencies in time and money for the business. Thus, with Kaudal, the company has more talent capable of automation and a more efficient operation, with IT focused on automating cross-functional business processes, while employees are responsible for automating their individual processes.
Who is Kaudal for?
Kaudal is for large companies looking to increase their operational efficiency with technology, and for employees who want to eliminate manual tasks by taking ownership of their automation. Our clients include insurance companies, banks, clinics, cement companies, universities, retailers, and more. People who come to Kaudal to learn how to automate their manual tasks generally don't have a technological background and come from areas such as Operations, Finance, HR, and Sales.
How does Kaudal work?: Platform modules
Our platform has three modules, each with a specific purpose for decentralizing automation: 1. The Calculator: This is a free tool that allows individuals and companies to calculate how much time and money they could save by automating tasks that IT cannot handle. The Calculator is a survey where users report the amount of time they spend on manual tasks. Kaudal then applies an average automation level and presents the results in an aggregated assessment. 2. Automation Projects: These are projects with step-by-step guides that Kaudal employees complete to automate their inefficient tasks. In each project, they learn to use at least one no-code or generative AI tool within the company's secure suite (e.g., Power BI, Power Automate, and Power Apps from Microsoft, or their Google equivalents). 3. The Control Tower: These are dashboards on the Kaudal platform where IT and managers oversee automation projects from start to finish. Here you can view the inefficiencies mapped by collaborators, the projects where they are automating those inefficiencies, the time and money savings generated, and the progress made by Automators and departments.
¿Cómo funciona Kaudal?: Etapas del servicio
Our service consists of three stages in which we support companies through the platform and the support of Kaudal experts: 1. Diagnostic (1 month, free). In this stage, the company's Kaudal manager has access to the Calculator configuration module and can view the Automation Opportunities Diagnostic. Additionally, any number of collaborators can complete the Calculator to receive their personal diagnosis. This stage begins when the Kaudal manager easily configures a personalized link (URL) that they then share with collaborators so they can complete the Calculator. The collected information is grouped into a general diagnostic on our platform, segmented by company areas and roles, where the additional capacity that could be released by decentralizing automation and other indicators can be seen. This stage concludes with a meeting where Herman Marín, CEO of Kaudal, presents the diagnostic results to the company's decision-makers. 2. Activation (first 3 months of an annual contract). This stage includes training for the Kaudal management team and a pioneering group of 20 Automators, providing access to the platform and coaches. First, the management team (manager, sponsor, and internal communications leader) receives a comprehensive induction on the platform and recommendations for motivating the organization. Subsequently, the Kaudal manager invites the pioneering group of 20 Automators, who have an initial video call with our coaches to select their first automation project. They then progress independently through the platform and, in additional sessions, receive advice on the tool they use and support to complete their project. This stage concludes with a meeting with the management team where we review the results of the pioneering group and plan the expansion of Kaudal's use to other areas and collaborators. We also recommend that the manager hold an internal event within the company to recognize the pioneering Automators, and we provide guidelines and materials for this event. 3. Subscription continuation (following 9 months of the first year, then renewable year after year). During this stage, the company has access to the platform for the entire year for the management team and a yet-to-be-defined number of Automators (minimum 50). Automators can join groups that carry out automation projects in Kaudal each month with the support of the platform and our coaches. Since each Automator typically has several tasks to automate within one or more processes, we encourage them to return to Kaudal regularly to continue advancing their projects and progress through the Automator levels. We also encourage the management team to organize internal initiatives that recognize Automators who advance in level, thus encouraging continued participation.
What automations does the Calculator measure and what do people at Kaudal do?
With our Calculator, we measure tasks that people often perform manually in their daily routines. These are tasks specific to their role, which the IT department lacks the capacity to handle, and which people don't yet know how to automate. These are the same tasks they later learn to automate at Kaudal by developing automation projects tailored to their specific needs and using underutilized tools. Here are some common examples from our users: 1. Tasks related to data reports, such as "copying and pasting data between spreadsheets," which 82% of the more than 2,500 people surveyed with the Calculator do, wasting an average of 13 hours/month. You learn to automate tasks at Kaudal with tools like Power BI or Looker, when the desired end product is a dashboard that combines different data sources. 2. Tasks related to repetitive workflows, such as sending frequent notifications or reminders to others, which 68% of people do, costing them 8 hours/month. At Kaudal, they learn to automate this with tools like Power Automate or AppSheet. 3. Tasks related to gathering information, such as "handling requests from multiple people through different channels," which 50% of people do, losing 10 hours/month. In these cases, the solution is usually to create a single interface for gathering information, and people learn to create it in Kaudal with tools like Power Apps or AppSheet. 4. Tasks related to distributing information, such as "frequently sharing certain information that only you manage and others can't easily find," which 71% of people do, losing 7 hours/month. In these cases, it's often necessary to create a single interface to share this information in a more user-friendly way, which people at Kaudal learn to do with tools like Power Apps, SharePoint, or AppSheet.
Who are Automators and how do they level up?
We call Automators the collaborators who learn to automate their manual tasks by completing projects in Kaudal. On average, each Automator spends 6 hours per project and frees up 144 hours per year, equivalent to 76% of the time previously spent manually. 😱. An Automator typically identifies around 5 tasks to automate, distributed across one or more processes in their role. That's why it's key for collaborators to participate repeatedly in Kaudal, completing several projects to automate each of their tasks, always with the support of the platform and the guidance of our expert coaches. As Automators complete their projects and generate impact, they level up and receive recognition on the platform. These levels and distinctions are also available as badges within the communication kit, and it's recommended that managers hold internal events to award them: Automator Ready: Awarded to people who map an inefficient process in their work and are therefore ready to start their first automation project. Automator 1: Awarded for completing your first automation project in Kaudal. Automator 2: Awarded for automating an entire process, including multiple automated tasks. Automator 3: Awarded for automating two or more processes with multiple tasks within them. The Hand: This special distinction is given to those who help other contributors on the Kaudal forum, promoting collaboration. Time Machine: Awarded to those who save more than 200 hours per year with their automation projects.
What to expect from Kaudal?
Vamos a trabajar juntos para que su operación sea más automatizada y eficiente y su talento más digital y motivado. Lo haremos con nuestra plataforma y el apoyo cercano de nuestro personal para el equipo gestor y para los Automators. En términos más tangibles, nuestro principal indicador es el ahorro de tiempo en la organización, que aumentará a medida que más personas completen proyectos de automatización en Kaudal. Estas horas, que representan un costo, es un recurso que puede reinvertirse en tareas más estratégicas. Además, sabemos que el uso de Kaudal mejora la motivación del personal al apropiarse de la automatización y ordena la relación entre las áreas del negocio y TI, con más autonomía en el negocio y menos requerimientos hacia el área TI. Estos resultados pueden ayudarte a avanzar tangiblemente en estrategias de eficiencia, digitalización y desarrollo de personal.
What not to expect from Kaudal?
Kaudal is not a software factory. We don't create the automations your company needs; rather, we empower your employees to do so autonomously, focusing on the most common cases they can solve with the available tools. Kaudal is not an automation tool per se, but rather a platform that encourages and organizes the use of the automation tools the company already has, such as Microsoft's Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate, or Google's Looker and AppSheet. These tools are often underutilized in the company, and with Kaudal, IT can deploy their use without losing control and centrally measuring the efficiencies generated by increased use of these tools. Finally, Kaudal is not an exhaustive course on each tool, as we don't want to waste people's time learning features they won't use. Our approach is practical and targeted: each project a Kaudal employee chooses to undertake matches an automation need they have in their work, and within the project, they learn only the features they need to complete their automation, supported by online content, a forum with questions and answers about the tools, and hours of consultation with expert coaches.
What does the company need to do to make Kaudal work?
For Kaudal to work in the organization, the company must focus on three fundamental factors: 1. Prioritization. It is crucial that the decentralization of automation—that is, getting more people outside of IT to automate—be a priority for the company. Ideally, this initiative should be promoted by the CEO as a key strategy for the business and the organization. 2. Management team. The company should assign a person responsible for managing Kaudal internally. This person typically spends about four hours a week coordinating with the departments so that their staff uses Kaudal to carry out automation projects. Ideally, this manager should belong to the IT department or the central area responsible for managing automation tools. Additionally, it is important that the manager has the support of a high-level sponsor, who gets involved when necessary and keeps the CEO informed. 3. Internal communication: For the initiative to succeed, it is essential to motivate employees to become the best Automators, and for their managers to incentivize them. This effort can be led by the Kaudal manager or someone from HR. Kaudal supports this task with a Communications Kit on our platform and a Physical Kit (if requested by the company) with materials such as stickers to motivate staff and pins to recognize Automators who level up.