Connecting users with critical information and data at a glance is the purpose of a business dashboard. Tom Peters wrote a book called ‘What gets measured gets done’, and the premise of this book is that when you are in search of excellence the areas that you want to achieve results needs to be measured. This focus will help you achieve results that you are measuring.
Here are the top benefits of dashboard reporting:
1. Save time
By placing all the key information in one place there is a reduced need to create multiple reports. By configuring your reporting to be automated and talk to other software you can get reporting at the tip of your fingers in no time. Integrating cloud software tools like Xero is really helpful.
2. Boost Performance
Linking employee KPI’s to those on the dashboard is a powerful activity. It will ensure that everyone is working from the same platform and all working to achieve the same results. In this way you can expect to see improved results as employees focus on these key areas.
3. Increase profitability
The dashboard should provide you with the tools to help determine what areas in the business need improvement and therefore give you a more laser focus on specific areas. This focus will shape the activities that you do to drive improvement and ultimates increased profitability.
4. Assess performance against plans
The dashboard results can be used to view the results of previous plans. Review the results of those plans, and therefore based on the success of this make new plans and then assess the results with future dashboards.
5. Visibility
Dashboard reporting allows and forces us to see the whole picture. We can often get very caught up in one area that we want to work on or for the particular department that we work it. Dashboard reporting means that you can have a broader view across the whole business and see which areas are performing, which aren’t, and what areas are impacting on others.
6. Improve communications
Dashboards are visually appealing and are fantastic at telling a visual story. These can be used at team meetings or more large scale presentations to show results and performance across departments and teams. This conversation can help other departments understand what you need to achieve and how they can help. This can improve the overall performance as there is buy in from those that can help you, and can improve the relationship through the increased communication.
The same can be said for using dashboard reporting to enhance the relationship with external suppliers and customers. By allowing them to understand the areas that you are focusing on and the part that they play can help them to have a greater level of ownership and ensure that they are delivering what you need for your KPI’s.