The devastating impact of COVID-19 on business is well-documented. Many small businesses struggle to survive intermittent lockdowns, while a number of large businesses have taken a hit to their bottom line too, especially those that rely on in-person sales and brick-and-mortar stores.
For the enterprise, now is the time to make the switch to digital systems, to stay on pace with the way the market is moving. From data storage and protection to project management and internal communication, there’s a software tool for just about every company workflow and process these days.
In this guide, we’re going to focus on how software tools can raise productivity levels in your enterprise, so you can reach the light at the end of the tunnel. As with any crisis, there’s opportunity for growth in spite of the pandemic. The goal should be to come out of the other end of the pandemic in a better position than you were in when it started.
How to Use Data
Data-driven decision-making is a cornerstone of many successful businesses in this modern age. If you ignore what the data tells you, or don’t have access to it in the first place, then you’re missing out on an excellent opportunity for rapid results.
You should rely on data for every important process in your enterprise, from identifying suitable successors for senior roles, to coming up with the perfect marketing strategy for your intended audience.
Data can inform your KPIs (key performance indicators), which will let you know whether or not you are on track to hit your business goals. It can also give you valuable insights into employee productivity and provide you with concrete information for your performance appraisals.
Before you can use data in your enterprise, though, you need to establish a data collection process or refine your existing one for optimal results.
The Benefits of a Data-Driven Approach
If you’re on the fence about the utility of using a data-driven approach, let us go over some of the primary benefits. When you use data to inform your biggest business decisions, here’s how you can benefit:
Predict Market Trends
When you use data in your enterprise, you elevate yourself to a better vantage point to assess the current state of the market.
Access to data allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of emerging market trends, which can of course greatly influence how you market your product, decide on a pricing model, and determine the best go-to-market strategy.
Measure Project and Employee Performance
Data is essential for establishing KPIs which you can use to monitor both project and employee performance.
If you want to know how successful a team was in carrying out a project to completion, then you need to know information such as how much time they spent on it, what the budget and timeline was, and what the client feedback was.
Software tools like Workpuls can provide you with all of that information, so you can overhaul your processes if necessary or address individual employee performance.
Offer Personalized Training
Without data, your training initiatives can fall flat and fail to provide employees with the tools they need to succeed.
With data, your training initiatives can be based on stacks of relevant data, and tailored to individual employees. When you use employer monitoring software, you can accurately pin down an individual’s greatest strengths and weaknesses, so you can plan out their training accordingly.
This kind of personalized training is far more likely to yield results, as it’s based on a specific individual’s needs rather than a general idea of the average employee.
Collecting Data
To collect data, you must first outline what you need it for and who will use it.
Then you can go about selecting the right data collection method for the purpose. There are many ways to gather data, ranging from the humble survey to sophisticated online analytics.
These days, most of the most important data collection methods are those which track the online activities of your customer. These include the following:
- Social media monitoring
- Website analytics
- Traffic data
These data collection methods can inform your marketing and sales strategies, and clue you in as to who your customers are, which will help you build an accurate and reliable ideal buyer persona. When you have an ideal buyer persona, you can cater all of your messaging to your customers with great success.
There is another useful method for collecting useful data insights, though: time-tracking software.
Use Time Tracking Data to Boost Productivity
While the jury may be out on the best methods for boosting workplace productivity, time tracking software is an excellent place to start.
Why?
Because this type of software gives you access to one of the only metrics that counts for individual employee performance: time.
Imagine that you had the data in front of you for how much time each employee spent working during work hours. Not only that, but you also have a breakdown of vacation days, sick days, and non-billable hours or idle time.
With all that information, you can create a profile for each employee, based on when they are at their most productive, when they tend to experience a productivity slump. This is invaluable for tackling productivity issues within your enterprise.
When you flag up issues using the time data you gather, you can summon the employee in question for a meeting. In the meeting, you can discuss their performance using the time data to support your claims.
In the meeting, there are many potential outcomes that can help you help the employee. For example, if you bring up their lack of productivity in the late afternoon, you might find out that their kids come from home at 4pm which is an inevitable distraction. With this insight, you can arrange a solution, such as a slightly flexible work schedule which allows the employee to work around this highly-distractible hour.
Final Thoughts
Data is important for driving success, as it can let you know what you’re doing well and where you’re falling short.
Use employee monitoring software to raise accountability for your employees, increase team synergy and check in on individual performance so that you can address and resolve productivity issues.
