As a manager or leader it’s very likely that you will need to ask others for information, especially in regard to status updates on work. Often these updates are required on an ad-hoc basis and can be time sensitive - placing stress on both the manager, by feeling ill-equipped, and the team member, by feeling micromanaged.
But what if there was another way? What if the information you needed was clearly available to you whenever you needed it? This is the concept of ‘Information on demand, not by demand’.
Traditionally staff file reports into a series of documents, spreadsheets or presentations which are then shared with managers by email or filed in a shared folder. If the manager wants to see one report then they can do so ‘on demand’. However, if more aggregated data is required, that gives a clearer picture of the operation, then that information will need to be requested ‘by demand’. This presents a number of inefficiencies:
1. The manager cannot get the information in real-time
2. Staff need to drop other work to fulfil a request for information
3. Reports need to be aggregated and analysed manually
4. By the time the manager receives a report, the situation will likely have evolved.
Rather than emailing or sharing individual files and folders, information should be reported into a database that collects, collates and analyses the provided data to give a clearer and more visual understanding of your situation – instantly available and updated in real time. Giving managers and business leaders on demand access to all of the information available, presented clearly to them. And giving team members a more structured and efficient way to share their updates and status reports.
See how ExInsight’s powerful platform could help you harness the power of your data at www.exinsight.com or book a demonstration with one of our team.