Boosting performance in today’s economy

By Corda

While many of us are getting used to this less-than-ideal economy, we are still looking toward the day when the economy will bounce back and we won't have to scramble to stay afloat. During the recession, business owners around the world have implemented different strategies-some well thought out and tested and others hit and miss for a quick fix. But as more business owners become optimistic about the economy's future, it is more important than ever for companies to base their strategies on data analytics. While gathering and tracking all your critical data may seem daunting in a time where finances are still very tight, with the right solution, companies can stay up-to-date on their rapidly changing data analytics, make educated decisions, be better prepared, and be more flexible for whatever the next months and years hold. We believe the right solution is a robust performance dashboard such as Corda's CenterView.

Knowing Your Strategy

When the recession started, some business owners' gut reactions were to do nothing, survive off profits from past years, and hope that when they surfaced again, the economy would be better than ever. Unfortunately, many of these owners are still trying to stretch those past years' profits and the economy is far from back to normal.

The good news is that CFOs are increasingly more optimistic about the economy. Duke University and CFO Magazine conduct a Global Business Outlook Survey every quarter where they ask CFOs from a broad range of global companies about their expectations for the economy. The report from the first quarter of 2010 shows that CFOs are more optimistic about the economy now than last year during recession lows, but their optimism is still below long-run averages. They expect growth in business spending and earnings, but they don't predict a boost in employment.

"Looking further ahead, it will be two to three years, maybe longer, before employment returns to pre-recession levels at most firms," said John Graham, director of the survey. "CFOs say they are keeping workforces low due to weak consumer demand . . ."

People who are currently unemployed are probably not ecstatic about this news, however, it shows us that most businesses have a plan for moving forward:  When consumer demand increases, we'll hire more employees. For this strategy to work, businesses need a way to measure consumer demand to know when they want to make that next step.

Whether this is your strategy or not, you need to know the critical milestones for your own company and when to act on them. Developing and following a careful plan and paying attention to the economy is essential. You must use your business-critical information to help guide you through the next year.

Storing Critical Information in Data Sources

Any good business has a place where they store critical information: a database, an off-the-shelf business intelligence (BI) program, or a complex spreadsheet containing statistics, graphs, maps, and numbers that enable business owners to track and measure processes across the organization. And, as corporations seek new ways to engage their customers, deliver information to their employees, and create revenue, metrics become vital to measuring progress.

However, having the data does nothing if you can't access it when you need it and view it in a way that makes sense to you. Employees and key decision makers spend an enormous amount of time searching for and extrapolating the data they need from multiple applications and spend even more time analyzing that data to determine what the numbers mean in terms of their company strategies. After all this, the decision they make may already be too late-the numbers may have already changed or a competitor may have beat them to the punch.

Using Visual Data for Better Decision Making

In his book, Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business, Wayne Eckerson says ". . . what organizations really need is a performance dashboard that translates the organization's strategy into objectives, metrics, initiatives, and tasks customized to each group and individual in the organization."

While Eckerson wasn't talking specifically about organizations in this economic situation, what he says is especially important for organizations today. With the dynamic nature of the current business climate, organizations need a way to quickly locate the data they need, analyze it to get the information they want, and make a smart decision before their competition does. A performance dashboard can help you do this.

Some companies think of performance dashboards as "nice to have" but not necessary; however, performance dashboards are an important part of building or keeping confidence in your company and aligning employees, partners, and customers. When increased consumer demand is your top concern, dashboards are invaluable.

For example, Eckerson tells the story of his young son who discovers that directing sunlight through a magnifying glass focuses the sun's energy so intensely that he can burn items around the yard. Eckerson relates this to a performance dashboard that acts as an "organizational magnifying glass" that helps intensely focus the users of your dashboard in one direction. No matter how tight your team is or how encouraging and motivational your leaders are, they will lose sight of their goals if they don't have an easy way to measure, monitor, and manage their progress toward achieving the strategic objectives you've established.

With the free flow of information on a performance dashboard, every person on every level of the organization can view accurate information and use it to support your business strategy. All decisions based on this information will align and move your organization in the direction you want it to go. Team members of every level and every location will be privy to key metrics, analytics, and customer data and can cooperate on critical issues. The dashboard can alert your team to problems, trends, and opportunities in real time, enabling them to immediately collaborate and make decisions.

So, what exactly does a performance dashboard do? It enables data visualization by combining reporting and analysis capabilities with visual representation. This combination ensures that you have the right data in the right format for the right people to optimize decisions and accelerate results. A performance dashboard makes it easy to communicate key strategies and goals to each employee every day to keep motivation and confidence high.

Resourcing Time and People Wisely

The very best performance dashboard solutions make your data accessible anytime and anywhere with an Internet connection. The key members of your team can make decisions from their laptop, home desktop, or even from their mobile phone. Your team members can focus the time they save from manually searching and analyzing information on more mission-critical tasks-giving your company an edge on the competition.

Because your employees' time is so important, you want to make sure the dashboard you pick is easy to use and that it gives your team members every piece of information they need. Remember, metrics only provide value if the resulting information is available, usable, and reliable to those who can act on it. A good performance dashboard allows users to drill down on charts, graphs, and maps to quickly discover the root cause of a problem and fix it from the source. Users can get to the information they need in a flash without navigating to another data source. Once again, that is time they can dedicate to other mission-critical tasks.

A drill-down feature also allows users to view relevant and timely information from multiple perspectives and at various levels of detail. This gives your team the opportunity to investigate other areas of your business that may never have been uncovered before. Looking at different views of the dashboard sparks interest and encourages employees to think creatively and possibly increase interest and revenue in your company.

Acting on Up-to-Date Information

Another feature to look for in a performance dashboard is the ability to map data from virtually any source and display that data in one place. Currently, many companies have data stored in multiple places and have to visit three or four different databases before they can gather all the information they need. With a solution like CenterView, you can view information from Excel spreadsheets, Business Objects, Salesforce, SAP BW, html tables, and anywhere else you have data stored on one dashboard. Even better, every time you drill down, the information displayed is the most up-to-date information from your data source-keeping all your team members aware of the most recent information.

Having information in real time from multiple sources allows you to address problems and pursue opportunities as soon as they become apparent. To always know the ins and outs of your business, you need to access information as quickly as possible, and that information needs to be the most up-to-date information you have for it to be useful.

Establishing Your Stable and Scalable Business

The best performance dashboards also provide flexibility. Of course, flexibility is always a nice feature in software, but in the case of a performance dashboard, the flexibility of the dashboard directly affects the flexibility of your company.

For example, you might be able to find an inexpensive dashboard solution that fits your needs right now, but the possibility of it being scalable enough to meet the changes in your company is slim. As the economy improves and consumer demand returns, you'll need a solution that is flexible enough to grow as your company and workforce grows. And as you grow, you may decide to choose a new operating system or merge with a company that uses a different data source. If you choose a flexible solution, you won't need to worry about changing and growing. You might be using only one source to store your data now, but if your company chooses to incorporate a new BI solution, you'll need a dashboard to support it.

Data views also must be flexible. Viewing data visually is the main benefit of a performance dashboard. You know best how you want to view certain information-as a chart, a map, or a line, pie, or bar graph-and you should be able to render information in the format that is most useful to you. With the right performance dashboard solution, you'll be able to customize your visualizations and update them as your needs and preferences change.

Picking the Right Dashboard

Perhaps you can see the importance of a performance dashboard, but keep in mind that all dashboards are not the same. By picking the right performance dashboard, you will have even more capabilities and flexibility. Options like Corda's CenterView answer the need we addressed at the beginning of this article:  It is a cost-effective way to stay up-to-date with data analytics, make informed decisions, and create flexibility in your strategy.

Making Informed Decisions

Accessing your data in a visual and intuitive format is more important now than ever before. Every business needs a solution that will unify employees and give key decision makers the tools to make informed choices.

Don't duck and cover during this economic recession-take matters into your own hands. Give your team a powerful data analytics tool, and start making informed decisions today.