Information dashboards

The days of departmental reports as
thick as novels and endless scrolling
through electronic documents are over for businesses that adopt an information
dashboard. How effective is a paper report,
really? By the time managers compile and
distribute information, it is outdated. And
while electronic reports save trees, they are
tiring to navigate. The solution is a reporting
tool that compiles key performance indicators on a daily basis.

“The next generation of reporting is summarized, concise and customized for each
user,” says Sassan S. Hejazi, Director of Technology Solutions at Kreischer Miller.

In many ways, an information dashboard is
like the dashboard in your car. It displays key
information and allows the user — whether
CEO, manager or employee — to gauge his
or her performance. “That information is presented in real time,” he says.

Information dashboards can monitor sales,
production, accounting — any business functions that managers want to track.

Smart Business discusses with Hejazi how
these systems work, why they benefit businesses and how to get started.

How does an information dashboard work for
businesses?

It is always a struggle for managers and
executives to translate how day-to-day activities contribute to the business’s overall
vision and strategy. A dashboard allows
employees and managers to gauge their daily
performance. It also enables managers and
C-level executives to evaluate this data in
terms of what the company must accomplish
to achieve its goals. The hallmark of an information dashboard is its ability to siphon
information from other software programs
— pulling sales data, production information,
accounting details, etc. — to produce a convenient report that appears like a ‘dashboard’
on the computer. Information can be compiled into various types of graphs; the dashboard is customized for each person. For
example, a financial administrator’s dashboard will reveal key information about
receivables or payroll. A CEO’s dashboard filters all information from managers’ dashboards into a report so he or she can take the
pulse of the entire business at any time.

What type of business will benefit from an
information dashboard?

It is imperative for every organization to
manage its business performance to achieve
goals and objectives. This is true for nonprofit and for-profit businesses of any size, in any
industry. If you do not know where you stand
today, how will you make changes in the
business to improve and grow? Any business
that has various departments or divisions by
scale and size will also benefit from information dashboard capabilities. Top managers
and executives can use this software tool as
a way to regularly check performance so
they can lead their departments. For example, in a manufacturing company, managers
can use information dashboards to stay on
top of orders, track the productivity and yield
per employee or department, and report on
accounts receivables, cash flow, etc., and see
a daily summary of all activities.

How does a business get started?

Buying the software is the easy part. You’ll
choose a program that fits best with your
technology platform. Your IT manager or a
consultant who understands information dashboard systems can guide you toward the
right software. But the program will be useless if you do not do some preliminary soul
searching to evaluate your business’s goals
and key performance indicators. What do
you want to measure? Where does that data
reside in your existing system? Are you
already tracking this data, or will you need to
devise a system for collecting that information? What does each manager need to know
about his or her department’s performance
on a daily basis? Once the information dashboard produces daily reports, how will managers act on that data? Will they design performance-based incentives for employees?
How will this data reporting be used to propel the business toward its overall goals? All
of this planning precedes software installation. It goes back to the old rule about input
and output.

How can an information dashboard affect the
culture of a company?

Daily reporting makes everyone in an
organization aware of his or her performance
and how his or her contribution directly
relates to the company’s success. Managers
can see how their departments measure up
against the goals set for them. Everyone
knows where he or she stands on key performance indicators. This can help unify
employees’ efforts toward achieving established goals. The daily report is a progress
checkpoint — and employees can determine
how they can work smart to stay on target.
With performance information constantly
available, there are no surprises. If used correctly, information dashboards can be a basis
for incentives. Most companies have annual
reviews for employees, but the information
managers share during these meetings is usually after the fact. It’s too late for employees
to change or improve. With real-time data,
managers can continually review performance and keep employees informed.

Considering the significant investments
businesses make in technology and data systems, an information dashboard is one way
to harness this investment and use that data
to improve everyone’s performance.

SASSAN S. HEJAZI is Director of Technology Solutions at Kreischer Miller in Horsham, Pa. Reach him at [email protected] or (215)
441-4600.