Data is the new oil. Businesses that are able to use that data to optimize processes, gain more leads and increase their bottom line are the ones that will evolve and prosper. Think about this stat: 70% of the world’s data is user generated. That’s a massive amount of data coming from individuals. How much data is coming from the daily actions of your business and how can you make the best use of this data? It is far more than you expect. This white paper will look at the value of bringing together your current data and existing but siloed dashboards together to better optimize your company workflow which in turn helps you better serve your customers, employees, and your bottom line. 

What is a dashboard?

A dashboard is an interface that often provides at-a-glance views of key performance indicators that are relevant to a certain business process or objective. Key performance indicators include new inbound leads, upsell, sales target %, gross margin, employee satisfaction rating, customer complaints, return on investment, conversion rates, total revenue, cash flow and positive customer reviews. It can show relevant information like sales for the day, inventory, and employees online. 

It’s one thing to measure something but quite another to measure what matters. This is where the ability to gather relevant and real-time information comes in. Not being able to decipher the best performance indicators to monitor could result in loss, confusion, and misdirection in terms of meeting targets. This brings us onto the disadvantages of having multiple, disconnected dashboards.

Disadvantages of having multiple dashboards

Most companies have several different types of software from finance to CRM, to operations, to HR and everything in between. It can be a hassle having to use so many different types of software to run a business. Think multiple logins, authorizations, and time delays. It can be a timewaster and lots of important information could get buried in the flood of information these reporting systems show. Having multiple dashboards makes it increasingly difficult to manage and analyze information as it hampers efficiency and decision-making.

Having several disconnected dashboards can also lead to data redundancy, confusion, and inefficient data management. This will affect the company’s bottom line and staff because it is a fragmented approach with few benefits. Another disadvantage of multiple dashboards is that data silos impede collaboration and prevent a comprehensive view of the business. When teams work in isolation it works against instead of for the company’s goals. It also consumes valuable time and resources that could be better used to meet the needs of the company’s customers. These disadvantages highlight how crucial it is to unify dashboards. Now, let’s look at the advantages or value of having integrated dashboards across all a business’ departments.

What is the value of having integrated dashboards across all departments of a business?

A business is only as efficient as its systems and processes. It can take a lot of time to run reports and communicate important data that business owners and managers need to run an efficient business. Hence, having integrated dashboards across all a business’ departments makes it easier for all relevant parties to have the information they need within seconds without having to worry about bureaucracy. This leads to efficiency, less time wasted communicating between departments and simpler workflows.

Let’s make this practical. Say we have Mary from the design department and Tim from the operations department. Mary notices that Tim keeps ordering 500 pens a month but due to lack of communication, feels it’s a waste as she doesn’t understand why there’s such a huge demand for an ordinary piece of stationery. With a unified dashboard, however, she notices that pens are being ordered for client meetings and staff members but there is no inventory of how many are actually being used. With this knowledge (Now that she is better informed?), she can meet with Tim and suggest that they create a system to track how many actual pens are being given to clients and staff. In that way, each pen that leaves the stationery office is accounted for. Doing this reveals that they don’t actually need so many pens as many pens have been lost or counted as taken when they were in fact not taken. The pen order goes down from 500 to 350. The dashboard integration has saved the business money, peace of mind and pens.

Of course, this is a trivial example, but the benefits are far-reaching. This can be applied to stock, petty cash, stationery, bottles of water, you name it. Having important information readily available from each department helps decision-makers make informed decisions. The more one department knows about the other, the better they can communicate and resolve issues, sharing insights and suggestions that may have been overlooked. Who doesn’t want a cohesive working environment?

Here are some other benefits of having integrated dashboards:

Easily accessible to everyone on the team:

Having easy access to the necessary data helps team members better understand how their fellow workers carry out tasks, so they don’t, for instance, keep bugging them for a report not knowing that it needs to be approved by two other people before it reaches them. It helps make processes tighter and more fluid as everything becomes connected and is no longer disjointed and isolated. CommonThread, a business software tool from IdeaWeavers, integrates with common platforms like Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Microsoft Outlook, and PayPal, making it easier for you to retrieve the relevant information to be able to make meaningful insights that positively impact your business.

Real-time insights on relevant metrics:

A lot of enterprise systems show either too much data or the reports are too complex. Much time is wasted trying to decipher what the information means when it should be simplifying the massive amounts of data retrieved. CommonThread is remarkable in this aspect in that it cleans up the data and helps you see the most important elements in real-time. This is a huge advantage because users can access up-to-date data insights through an intuitive dashboard that empowers them to respond swiftly to changing situations. No more being left behind because of information that’s an hour behind. Time is money and the sooner companies can respond to issues, the better.

Helps identify flaws in operations and communication within the business:

Another key value of integrated dashboards is how it draws attention to flaws within the operations and communication within a business. This seemingly negative point is positive. How so? Well, when you are trying to fix something, you encounter challenges you wouldn’t have otherwise. In this way, you may find a better, easier way to fix the issue you intended to fix. In the same way, being aware of bottlenecks and issues in your company’s workflows and processes helps you to find ways, in fact better ways to fix them, with a focus on optimization. CommonThread is a powerful piece of software because it not only personalizes your workflow in bringing everything together, but it also helps exposes the flaws or holes in how your company manages its affairs. This guidance is indispensable in helping you and your team further optimize and manage how company processes, so that everything runs smoothly and meaningfully.  

But isn’t integrating dashboards a costly affair?

The good news is no, it doesn’t have to be. The whole point of integrating dashboards is so that you have everything you need without paying more. You cut costs because we all know how expensive enterprise-level systems can get and who doesn’t want to save costs in the recession we’re currently in? It may surprise you to know that many companies believe that they need to replace their enterprise-level systems to modernize or improve their efficiency. On the contrary, using software like CommonThread allows these very same companies to keep their expensive systems, reduce capital investments, and improve reporting, communications, and efficiency.  It’s a win-win on all fronts.

What does an integrated dashboard mean for you and your company?

There are many benefits as discussed above to having an integrated dashboard. These include:

• Less bureaucracy
• More efficient and simpler workflows
• Better decisions made because of clean data and important insights highlighted on the dashboard
• Better collaboration between different departments
• Less wasted time and resources due to everyone having access to the relevant information as needed
• Happier staff members

CommonThread works with multiple enterprise-level systems for businesses in almost every category. Managing a real estate agency focused on client profiles and scheduling? We’ve got it. Looking to create a referral system for your business? We can do it. The beauty of this software is how it brings all of the data and information together in one place. The information displayed on your dashboard caters to your specific needs, is intuitive and easy to understand.

Our software is customizable to your needs and made to work for you. It evolves with you and helps you work your systems more efficiently. Reports come in a variety of flavors, be it graphs, pie charts, bar graphs and more. Everything is done seamlessly to make it as simple and easy as possible for you to have the information you need in real-time with the click of a button.

With four unique channels of integration, from standard file imports to advanced Interfaces, CommonThread improves and adapts to your existing systems and already-existing workflows (with substantial user accessibility upgrades), rather than needing to sign up for several different communication solutions. By leveraging a more efficient workflow tool such as CommonThread, you can significantly improve team communication and collaboration while also increasing efficiency.

Next Steps? Take a look at how CommonThread can help your business better optimize its processes and workflows

Book your call with our team today to find out how we can make CommonThread work for you and enhance your productivity and workflows.