Information may be power, but we are in an age where our IT systems grow increasingly sophisticated by the minute, with the ability to record and retrieve large amounts of information. At Hazlewoods, we are starting to see the benefits of doing more with data.
To harness this power, Hazlewoods has welcomed Jules Rodgers as Associate Director. Jules is a self-confessed ‘nerd’, who not only works internally on projects, but with clients to produce transparent management information. Jules uses financial land non-financial data to aid strategic decision-making and, wherever possible, makes use of improvements in IT to automate and simplify data generation. It is like magic!
The buzzwords ‘big data’ spring to mind, but Jules explains how you can really achieve meaningful sustainable insights into your business.
No matter what size
Virtually every business, no matter what size, can benefit from the additional insight good business intelligence provides. In a fast-paced, digital world, businesses need to make decisions quickly in order to adapt to changes in their environment and stay ahead of the competition. To be sustainable, decisions must be based on relevant information gathered from selecting the key performance indicators (KPIs) most appropriate for your business and its objectives.
Put simply, by understanding what is important to your business and turning data into actionable information, you can boost profitability and continually drive true sustainable business growth.
How do you get more?
Effective application of data analytics can be used to accurately forecast future revenue and cost streams for more effective planning. Measures can be taken in a timely fashion to correct any drift, to ensure you reach established goals.
For example, in a company using timesheets, by combining information from payroll records to the time-recording system, you can accurately compare the output and costs of each department and fee earner. You could go even further, by revealing key business strengths, under-utilised support resource, operational bottlenecks, and potential skill gaps.
It is not all about the money
Insight, from a combination of data decisions both financial land non-financial is more informed. The appropriate application of analytics can help a business to gain valuable sales and marketing intelligence and identify consumer-buying trends. The adaptability gained from insight into your products, services, people and environment enables businesses to make the right decisions at the right time and remain constantly agile.
Making sense of it all
In the past, it has been difficult for smaller companies to make sense of data without the specialist tools and capacity available to larger organisations. Now, many major software and cloud platform providers offer inexpensive tools that facilitate the manipulation of data, making it simpler and more accessible to all sizes of company and budget.
However, it is important to remember that people, not technology, make sense of data and give it meaning. True business intelligence is not based on the amount of data you can collect, rather the knowledge and ability of the people you use to select and analyse quality KPIs that are relevant to your business and its future.
Examples
- To accurately forecast future revenue and cost streams for more effective planning. Measures can be taken in a timely fashion to correct any drift to ensure you reach established goals.
- Gain valuable sales and marketing intelligence and identify consumer buying trends.
- Know in detail which products or services are actually generating returns after all the real direct servicing costs have been applied.
- Identifying low-value areas of your operation, skill gaps or bottlenecks and effectively eliminate them or prune loss leading elements entirely.
- To evaluate and monitor return on investment opportunities for better strategic awareness.
- To better identify, understand and mitigate key risk elements to future proof your business and ensure its survival, come what may.
- Provide key information to positively support any succession or company sale plans.