We all have to operate our businesses in a fashion that is responsible, ambitious, and strategic. A big piece of doing that includes being presented with reliable business intelligence dashboards and reports that outline specific key performance indicators (KPIs) that help you keep your finger on the pulse of your business.
There’s all kinds of tools that do that and there’s likely people in your organization that can do that manually. This can become a “scope creep” issue rather quickly. You ask for a report and a person will then provide you with just that. The next thing you know you have that same instruction being passed to department heads throughout the organization asking for similar reports on all sorts of metrics. And the data is great the information they provide is a really phenomenal and extremely helpful for making qualified decisions about the business. The sneaky part is the amount of time it takes to maintain those reports and keep them up to date. And I know this is the case because I lived it. At the time, I didn’t know why but I remember thinking, “huh. This seems… less than ideal.”
I watched the slicing and dicing of data in an effort uncover what’s really going on. Long story, short, it didn’t work — BUT once the opportunity to automate these processes presented itself, now, that’s when we really realized how much time and effort was really going into maintaining reports. Again, the folks maintaining the reports did a great job. The real issue was the amount of time it robbed them of where they could’ve been using their other strengths in providing value-add activity to the business and their fellow team members. So what does one do if you’re trapped in this situation? How do you automate this process?
TL;DR Copilot Summary
This page highlights the importance of automating reporting processes to save time, improve efficiency, and enhance decision-making for businesses. It emphasizes assessing current reports for value, exploring automation technologies, and implementing tools like Microsoft 365 (Excel, SharePoint, Power BI, Power Automate) and Dynamics 365 Sales. By doing so, businesses can ensure accurate, real-time data, focus on strategic tasks, and uncover valuable insights, driving growth and transparency.
Step 1: Assess Your Current Reporting
First, take stock of all the reports you currently use. Reporting can easily fall into scope creep. Lay out all the reports and determine their importance. Just because you can measure something doesn’t mean you should. This is the time to sift through everything and decide what’s truly valuable.
Step 2: Explore Available Technologies
Next, figure out what technologies you have at your disposal. Determine if the necessary reports can be automated. If your team isn’t equipped to analyze this, consider seeking external partners. An outside perspective can illuminate things you might have missed and help you think differently, benefiting both parties.
Step 3: Automate Your Reports
Finally, get those reports automated. This ensures you have critical information available at any time, with data that’s always accurate because there’s no human intervention. This frees up your team to focus on what they do best, rather than being bogged down with paperwork and spreadsheets.
Microsoft 365 offers amazing tools for building these reporting systems. Excel, SharePoint, Power BI, and Power Automate are all fantastic tools that simplify your life. Dynamics 365 Sales can help you dive even deeper into your data and trends.
Even with an incredible leadership team, relying solely on gut feelings isn’t scalable. My experience showed that building tools to objectively and automatically compile data revealed the true story behind important KPIs and trends. This transparency helps address recurring issues and concerns. I want the same for you—full transparency to better manage your team and business.
Visuals are also powerful. A clear line chart can quickly show trends, saving you from sifting through potentially inaccurate spreadsheets. When I discuss reporting and manual effort with other business leaders, I often see recognition and frustration. It’s a good problem to have because it means your business is growing, and old, time-consuming methods no longer make sense. It’s the cost of growth and improvement.
With the right data points and automated reporting, there’s no limit to your potential. It’s win-win!