In my experience, most organizations have a lot more data than they realize. Sure, core customer and employee databases we think about, but really any platform that your organization uses contains some level of data in it. If you’re a school, this could be your standardized testing platform or e-mailing platform all the way down to free learning platforms that individual teachers are signing up for and students are using. For non-profits or small businesses, it could be platforms where customers donate or spend funds, register for events, or claim discounts. These platforms are only a piece of the puzzle…what about Excel or Word files, or even physical security systems such as video camera footage or swipe entry logs?
As an organizational leader, data is a key piece of the equation when making decisions. The better the quality of data and the more effectively it’s used, the better product you can provide for your mission or customers! You likely have a lot more information already available to you than you realize, but harnessing that data can be confusing or difficult. This is often due to disconnected systems that host your information.
As an example, let’s consider a student named “Johnny” at your local school. Johnny has a record within the school’s student information system (SIS) that keeps track of his grades, attendance and other demographic and family information. That’s great! This is the basic information any school might need. But this isn’t all of Johnny’s information. His five teachers use thirteen different platforms between them for assessment, content, and communication, the majority of which don’t share his information with the SIS, so little more than grades themselves can be tracked. Johnny also plays basketball in the winter, has an Individual Learning Profile, drives a 2011 Honda Accord, and has four library books checked out.
In this example, if all of this data is not in one system, it can take a lot of time to collect it and analyze it to get a true picture of Johnny as a person and a student so you can best support him and his learning goals. If you then multiply that by the hundreds or thousands of students in most schools, this can take a lot of time and manpower to get a picture of every student. Wouldn’t the resources spent on gathering the data into a usable format be better spent on actually using it to improve Johnny and the other students’ outcomes?
For those that are not schools, the same can be applied to customers or constituents. If your donor or customer demographics are in one place, donation or purchase history in another place, and marketing research data in a third place, are you really getting a full picture of your donors or customers? If you are it’s likely taking a lot of time to compile and analyze it, but if you can improve this process, you can reallocate those resources to increasing donations or finding more customers.
LeadershipOne Technologies can work with you to help sort through your data and where it’s stored, evaluate bottlenecks and gaps in your information process, and make recommendations for improvements that will let allow you to make better decisions faster. We can even manage the transition project for you if you don’t have the internal resources to handle it.
Contact us today and let’s talk about making better use of your data!
