6 Tips for Creating Business Reports

Good management requires accurate and current information that can serve as a basis for efficient decision-making. In busy day-to-day business it is not advisable to waste time analyzing data in isolation. A report is the consolidation of information that passes the message directly on matters important to the company. In today’s article, we’ve provided 6 tips for creating business reports!

Be objective

The information in the report should be objective. The language used should be simple and easy to understand by all those to whom the report is intended. If your report is too long, it is advisable to create an index that will allow the reader to easily find the information you need.

Make notes every day

Creating a report with quality requires in-depth knowledge of the subject matter. Therefore, it is advisable to always walk with a notebook so that you do not miss any details discussed at the meetings regarding the project dealt with in the report.

Make a general analysis of the topic covered

The best way to start the report is to do a general analysis of the subject that will be addressed. In this part, you should include analysis of the project in no great detail, giving a glimpse of what will be dealt with later. In this way, the reader can quickly decide if that report is going to be important for the pursuit of their work.

Use visual information

It is much easier to understand the information if it is accompanied by graphs and figures that allow you to better understand what you want to talk about. Text that presents statistics, for example, can become annoying, so it is essential to create graphs that allow for faster reading and understanding.

Use up-to-date information

Reports that have information a few days late will trigger reactive rather than proactive action, which can be a fatal mistake in today’s business world. It is fundamental that companies adopt business monitoring solutions such as Multipeers, which allow us to analyze at each moment what is actually happening in the business. The information used should be as current as possible, since only then will you be able to make decisions beneficial to the future of the business.

Use a system that integrates information

Real-time business monitoring software, such as Multipeers, interacts directly with all your data sources such as databases, web services, MDX, Microsoft Excel, RSS feeds, multimedia content, and -mail, applications, among others. You can even build your own connectors using the provided API so that no information from your organization is lost. So, in a single dashboard you will find complete and up-to-date information on everything that goes on in the company!

The complete guide about KPI’s

Having defined KPIs is essential to the good performance of a company. KPIs are the key performance indicators that tell us what state the business is in and how far (or near) we are from meeting the stated goals. Based on the indicators and the company’s performance, managers can make more informed and informed decisions. BAM tools such as Multipeers allow you to track KPIs continuously and in real time. Analyzing performance on a constant basis ensures that more attention is paid to meeting the objectives, effectively increasing the degree of achievement. Continuous performance monitoring plays a key role in planning and monitoring as it provides information on processes developed by the organization. The effectiveness of any control strategy depends to a large extent on the correct suitability of developed performance metrics and KPIs. In this article, we’ll talk about everything you need to know about KPIs!

How to define KPIs?

Be specific

The more specific a goal is, the easier it is to find actions to achieve them in a short amount of time. Business goals should be simple, so it is much easier to manage them. An example of this goal is “updating the website quarterly”, which is easy to understand which means updating the website in January, April, July and October. A business goal that says “increase the number of proposals sent” is very vague and gives us no clue as to what we should do to reach it. Thus, it is preferable to use a goal that says “get 3 new customers per month”. It is a much simpler goal and it tells us the time interval. Business goals should be simple, so that the entire team is able to understand them. If you get too complicated, you risk not being able to extract any useful information from your analysis. And if the employees do not understand the indicator can be unmotivated, which harms the whole performance of the company.

Be realistic and objective

We all want to be the greatest entrepreneurs in the world, but there are obstacles that go with that and we have to have that awareness. When you set business goals too high, the risk of falling is much greater. And as the goals are harder to reach, you will be frustrated to realize that you cannot achieve them. You must set realistic goals that are appropriate to the reality of your business. If you do not have a great investment capacity at the moment, you will not be able to define as a business goal to increase the team by 10 employees. Business goals must be established according to the reality of the company at the moment, since only then will it be able to achieve them.

Set rigid deadlines

When there is no deadline for accomplishing a particular task or goal, it is more likely that it will drag on in time and eventually be forgotten. It is essential that you set a deadline to achieve a particular business goal, because only then will you be able to define a timeline and assign necessary actions over time. The stated deadline should be like the business objective: specific and realistic. It should not set too short or too long a deadline, as both cases may cause demotivation on the part of those responsible for achieving the objective.

Do a regular review of business goals

Business goals should be reviewed regularly and should be adapted as the changes are verified in the company. Long-term business goals should be monitored so that you can verify that all the actions required to comply are being carried out. Business goals are not static and it is not mandatory that they remain unchanged. Whenever necessary, you should change and update them, and in more extreme cases, you can even eliminate them if you find that they no longer fit the way the company works. A goal that yesterday was quite important, today may have lost some of its importance. Companies are living and dynamic organisms and as such changes must be monitored in all areas of the company. Evaluate at least every three months whether the indicators that have “assets” are the most appropriate given the period the company is going through. However, care must be taken not to make the mistake of changing or eliminating business goals just because it is difficult to achieve them.

What can KPIs do for a company?

Clear knowledge about business strategy

It is essential that each employee of the company or organization knows their KPIs and that they are updated with some frequency. “If we don’t know where we are going, any way is good”: the same goes for companies. If we are not aware of the results we should achieve with our work, we can do anything, and this may not be in line with the organization’s overall objectives. Defining the indicators of each employee and connecting to the monitoring system is essential for obtaining a global and integrated view of the state of the company and the performance of each one. It is also important to mention that each employee should have access only to the indicators that are important for the continuation of their work, so as to have a more focused and organized day-to-day.

Allow to evaluate the company quantitatively

KPIs allow measurable results to be achieved. And this is very important in a company, because the numbers do not lie! It is not enough to have a subjective knowledge about the results of the company. It is necessary to know objectively the true values ​​of the organization. Through the analysis of KPIs it is possible to redefine strategies and change what is not giving positive results. It is essential that KPIs are evaluated on a frequent basis, since only in this way can they have a significant impact on the life of the company.

Increase the performance of the sales department

When well defined and implemented, KPIs help drive sales. When there are defined goals and rewards associated with their implementation, the tendency is for employees to work even harder to achieve the stated goals. This creates healthy competition between the different vendors and in the end the company comes out to win with the increase in sales!

Make decision making more efficient

KPIs provide a lot of information about the company and in that way make decision making more efficient and easier. Managers often complain about the lack of information about the company in order to be able to decide consciously and these performance indicators gain a prominent role in making decisions about the future of the company. Managers can only make assertive and sound decisions if they have a full understanding of business reality. And nothing better than KPI’s to provide all that knowledge.

Improve achievement of objectives

Analyzing the performance of a company on a constant basis ensures that more attention is paid to meeting the objectives. An efficient process must be planned and controlled. Continuous performance monitoring plays a key role in planning and subsequent control because it provides information on processes developed by the organization. The effectiveness of any control strategy depends to a large extent on the correct suitability of developed performance metrics and KPIs.

How to make the right decisions in my company?

The life of a company manager is full of challenges, contingencies and responsibilities. Errors are not well accepted and each one of them has important consequences for the operation of the business. The success of the company depends on the numerous decisions that must be taken daily. Making assertive strategic decisions today has become a major differentiator and increases competitiveness and chances of success. It is no longer acceptable to rely solely on the “feeling” of the manager. But faced with so many difficulties, how to make the right decisions for the company? It certainly is with a lot of planning and with the use of tools that provide reliable information for the business. That way you minimize the chances of making mistakes. Accurate and up-to-date data are needed to make clear analyzes of the sociopolitical scenario, growth rates, competition, and many other items that have major impacts on the decision.

Identify the problem

One of the biggest mistakes of managers who make wrong decisions is the lack of knowledge and investigation of the situation altogether. Without this care, the decision taken may not be the most appropriate, leading to even more problems or new errors. It is important to devote a little time and effort to understand the starting point of the problem and to seek alternatives that can solve it. Often the question presented is only the consequence that another situation which, if not resolved, will continue to generate losses.

Have good performance indicators

The indicators show what is working or not at the company. It is imperative that you be able to rely on the figures presented and that they be updated. It is also important to choose those that are important to your business, as there are many indicators, but not all will demonstrate data relevant to your business. To make this information effective, you must rely on the technology and use data capture software to ensure the agility and accuracy of the information. They have business intelligence capabilities to “pan” the information relevant to your business and present it in a user-friendly manner, making it easier to interpret.

Use a business management system

With more of this technology help you simplify the registration and data organization process. The online ERP system gathers all the information recorded and allows the manager to generate personalized reports, in real time, as well as projections such as cash flow. With these data the analysis of possible scenarios becomes much easier and this helps in making decisions. Having accurate data without the risk of human failure allows a clear view of what your business needs. For example, by having stock control software you gain time in managing your inventory and accuracy of information.

Create efficient planning

For more complex, and especially long-term, decisions, you need to carefully plan each step to be taken considering all the pros and cons of each situation. A very efficient technique is the 5W2H tool, an acronym of 7 questions, in English, that serve as a basis for developing good strategic planning.

  • What (what will be done?)
  • Why (why will it be done?)
  • Where (where will it be done?)
  • When?
  • Who (who will be made?)
  • How (how will it be done?)
  • How much will it cost?

Count on your work team

For some decisions, especially those involving work processes and creativity, it is very important to involve your team of employees. Hold a brainstorming meeting, and ask your employees to think outside the box, finding creative and workable solutions to the problems encountered.

Follow the processes

Once you have made the decision to be made, and have defined the actions that need to be done, you must continue to follow the processes to make sure that everything is going as it should be. To this end, reliable performance indicators continue to be of great importance in ensuring that analyzes are faithful to events. If it is necessary to appoint another person to be responsible for the conduct of what has been planned, make sure that it is reliable, and still be aware of what is happening. Remember that you are responsible for making decisions and will be charged, sooner or later, for them. With these tips you will certainly be able to make important decisions for your company more quickly and objectively, and you will be assured that the choice will be the best for your business.

Guestpost by GestãoClick

5 Infallible Tips to Optimize Your Business Processes

Organizations face the challenge of producing more and spending less every day. It is not always easy to optimize the processes of a company, since these are outdated quickly, due to the great dynamics of the market, increasingly accelerated. The technologies are obsolete every day, which requires constant monitoring of the processes, in order to keep them in tune with the market. In today’s article, we leave you 5 infallible tips to optimize your company’s processes.

In-depth analysis of all processes

For a company’s processes to be improved, it needs to be analyzed in depth. Only after knowing the current state of the processes will you be able to realize which areas are doing well and which ones are in need of improvement. Even if there is documentation about the processes, you need to investigate whether people are meeting all the standards. The internal diagnosis is a very important stage for the optimization of the processes and this step should never be underestimated.

Presentation and implementation of improvement proposals

After the internal diagnosis was completed, it was time to present improvement proposals. Here it is critical to make workflows more agile, to eliminate barriers that hamper the smooth execution of tasks, to improve internal communication and to optimize tasks so that processes focus more on business objectives. At this stage, all employees should be involved, and one should not fall into the error of just engaging leaders.

Adopt the right tools

Not all technologies are for all companies, so it is fundamental to evaluate the state of the business and the characteristics of the company, in order to choose the most appropriate tools for its operation. Companies must adopt dynamic and customized technological tools to their reality, so they can streamline communication between departments, facilitate company management, reduce rework and reduce human failures.

Business monitoring

Analyzing the business in real time is the trend of the future and more and more companies choose to use business monitoring tools like Multipeers. Using this tool, it is possible to know what is happening in the company at all times. It also allows the definition of business alerts so that the user is alerted whenever something goes astray.

Keep the workspace neat and tidy

Being surrounded by confusion will influence the way you view work and the way you work. Keep your desk clean and the drawers tidy and you’ll realize that you can manage your time and functions better and increase your productivity.

IT management: 4 essential indicators in your company

Having defined KPIs is essential to the good performance of a company. KPIs are key performance indicators that tell us what state the business is in and how far (or near) we are from meeting the stated goals. Based on the indicators and the company’s performance, managers can make more informed decisions. The IT area is one of the most important in any business, as it supports all the activity of the company. In today’s article, we cover 4 essential IT metrics in your business!

Performance of applications

This is one of the most important IT metrics, and for this purpose it is necessary to use constant monitoring tools that evaluate the performance of the applications in the end user’s perspective. Companies increasingly rely on the management of their IT assets to specialised companies that guarantee security, high performance and permanent availability.

Average offline time

This KPI is used to analyse the average time an IT device or infrastructure was not available. It is a metric known as MDT (mean down time). This metric tells us all the time that the service was not available, either because of minor problems, malfunctions, among others. This value is obtained by adding the time the system was not available dividing by the number of occurrences in that period.

Average service time

Another very important metric is the average time that professionals take to respond to requests placed in the service desk. The faster the service and the resolution of the situation, the better the IT performance.

Uptime Index

This is one of the most important IT metrics. It tells us how long IT applications have been available to users, so the longer it is, the better the IT structure performs. It is essential that the company’s technological infrastructures are always available so that productivity rates remain constant.

 

BAM tools such as Multipeers allow you to track KPIs continuously and in real time. Analysing performance consistently ensures that more attention is paid to meeting the objectives, effectively increasing the degree of achievement of the objectives. Continuous performance monitoring plays a key role in planning and subsequent control because it provides information on processes developed by the organization. The effectiveness of any control strategy depends to a large extent on the correct suitability of developed performance metrics and KPIs.

What dashboards cannot miss in your company?

A dashboard is a dashboard that visually displays the most important information about the business. In case of using a tool like Multipeers, the information is updated permanently and automatically, so that you have at your disposal the most current information on everything that happens in the company. By using a dashboard, you can easily see if your business goals are being met. Linking KPIs with day-to-day activities is essential if individual and global goals are achieved more simply. In today’s article, we leave you 5 dashboards that you cannot miss in your company!

Executive Dashboard

An executive dashboard groups essential information for decision making. It is a panel that uses graphical features to simplify the general understanding of information. It is a very useful dashboard to analyze the KPIs and all the processes of a company. The standard executive dashboard is based on management methodologies such as the Balance Scorecard. The objective of this panel is to provide all executives with access to important data for the correct evaluation of new opportunities and improvement points.

Operational Dashboard

This dashboard is used by the work teams and focuses on the processes that each team needs to perform its functions. The data contained in this dashboard are intended to identify critical points of the operation, helping to correct them. They also facilitate communication between all members of the same team.

Analytic dashboard

This dashboard provides detailed information and is used to set trends against corporate goals. This panel allows you to see the results of internal actions as well as external public reactions to campaigns. A good example of this type of dashboard is Google Analytics.

Dashboard project management

This panel allows to follow all the management of the project, from planned activities, schedules, among other aspects. It is a very important tool because it decreases the probability of error and increases the effectiveness of communication.

 

Managers are not always able to identify deviations in work routines in a timely manner, which compromises business productivity. The dashboard will aggregate the history of the company’s operations and can set defaults to detect deviations and anomalies in real time. So the system is able to realize that something is not right and to alert you right away so that you can act before it becomes a serious problem!

How to analyze your business data efficiently

Analyzing the data generated by the companies is very important to be able to follow the evolution of the business. Only with detailed, careful and real-time analysis companies can succeed and be able to keep up with the competition. The information generated by companies is increasing, so the managers find some difficulties in analyzing the data, due to the immense amount of information that they have at their disposal. In today’s article, we leave you important tips for analyzing your business data efficiently!

Use the data to trace customer profiles

It is mandatory to know the profile of the client, their needs, tastes and expectations. We can draw this profile if we are attentive to the signs that he/she leaves in the different channels of communication with the company. In today’s digital world, we all leave clues and everything that the client does on the Internet can be relevant information for the construction of his/her profile, so that the company can offer a personalized service. Your behavior creates statistics, which in turn create consumer behaviors. Through data analysis, we can improve our service for that customer by increasing their connection with the brand.

Make frequent changes to simplify processes

A process is something that the company does on an ongoing basis. As it is something that is repeated over time, it is essential to create norms and routines to improve each process. Automating everything that is possible, eliminating what is unnecessary and standardizing what is repetitive are some of the possible ways to improve business processes.

Take the definition of KPIs very seriously

Companies produce thousands of data in a short time and it becomes impossible to analyze all available indicators. KPIs – key performance indicators – are the indicators of business success and are those indicators that demonstrate to us whether the company is going the right way. It is essential that managers define the most relevant indicators so as to always know if the expected results are being achieved. It is humanly impossible to evaluate all the indicators; it is fundamental that the manager focuses on those who show us exactly what the state of the business is.

Create easy-to-read reports

Data analysis should be done on a constant basis so that decisions are made on the basis of current information. Many companies make weekly reports and when they find the information this already has a few days. Ideally, you should create short, relevant, easy-to-read reports. Multipeers allows you to create simple reports, in which all users perceive information and analysis outputs. This change will positively impact the marketing actions, which will be much more controlled and effective.

Analyzing the data is essential to meet the constant challenges of today’s competitive business world. It is no longer enough to analyze the events after these have happened: it is essential to always be aware of what is happening at each moment. Business monitoring systems such as Multipeers are essential tools in today’s business world because they allow us to analyze the second thing that is happening in the company, allowing you to act immediately without having serious consequences.

 

Find the main aspects of Lean IT

The software industry is constantly evolving. Being a very competitive market, it is essential that the solutions provided by companies solve problems quickly and be flexible. It is critical that this area innovates and creates a new software development culture. Lean IT adapts the original concepts of the Lean philosophy and Toyota’s IT system. The goal is to adapt to the business in order to create value for customers by changing the way companies work and improving their business culture. In today’s article, we will cover the main aspects of Lean IT.

Origin of the term

Lean IT is an extension of the industrial Lean, which had its origins in 1950 in the Toyota factory. At this point, the world was going through an economic crisis and it was essential to reduce costs and optimize performance levels. Through the Lean method, companies minimize waste and produce with high quality, which increases customer value and makes processes more efficient. This work method uses optimization processes such as Just in time and continuous improvement.

More efficient processes

Dealing with information technology environments means having to constantly update them to anticipate and avoid problems and instabilities and promote continuous improvement (according to Kaizen methodology). Managing an IT environment is a complex process and this methodology seeks to create more functional systems that are able to integrate all processes, making them more secure and reliable.

Standardization of processes

This is one of the main features of this method. Standardization is the easiest and safest way to perform a task without fail. Lean IT suggests the following processes to streamline tasks: 5S standards application checklist, clear operation instructions, process parameter definition, setup parameter pattern, and problem escalation pattern.

Faster production

One of the main focuses of this methodology is the increase of the speed of the processes, which in turn increases the productivity and the profit. Well delineated and flawless processes make the company more productive and this will make the financial results are higher.

Greater Involvement

The Lean IT methodology involves the entire organization in the production process, not applying to only one sector of the company, but to all hierarchies. This method involves all employees so that success is achieved in the end easier.

The main advantages of document management for companies

Document management: find the main advantages for companies

Document management is essential for the correct functioning of a company. Nowadays, there is more and more data in companies, which delays quick access to information, leads to loss of documents and complicates decision making. The implementation of a document management system allows companies to manage their unstructured information. In this article we will talk about the key advantages of document management for companies!

Dematerialization

A document management system allows paper documents to be scanned, giving rise to electronic documents that are classified and available according to certain criteria. In this way, it will be much easier to consult invoices and contracts, for example.

Control of information flows

With a document management system it is easier to guarantee information security because there is knowledge about where it is. With these systems, it is also possible to define processes and ensure that they are fulfilled from the moment a new document arrives at the organization until its treatment and cataloging.

Reducing costs and increasing productivity

This is the advantage that most pleases the managers. As there is greater speed in the availability, access and treatment of documents, employees are free to perform other tasks that bring productivity to the company. The reduction of costs is a consequence of this increase of productivity. Another factor contributing to savings is the reduced need for storage space, which is a heavy expense in most businesses.

Facilitated search

Document management systems provide a search engine capable of performing document searches for its content or features, instantly locating it, anytime, anywhere. Documents can also be connected to business monitoring systems such as Multipeers, making them important data sources for decision making.

Reduction of number of documents

The use of specialized software in process automation is essential for organizations and allows to reduce the number of documents. The advantages are immense, starting with the ease in finding the information until the decrease (or even elimination) of the use of paper in the companies.

Lower risk of information loss

Paper documents are harder to catalog and more likely to get lost. With the great volume of information that comes to companies on a daily basis, it becomes humanly impossible to manage all the available data. With the use of a document management system it is easier to save the information and ensure that no important data is lost.

The current economic situation means that companies have as their main objectives to increase productivity and reduce costs. The technology, when well used, is an important ally of business management and contributes on a large scale to better levels of income.

Get to know the importance of internal communication for meeting the objectives

Internal communication is made up of interactions, information exchanges and relationships within a company. Internal communication is often undervalued because managers are not always aware that the employees of a company are the first public of an organization and that they must be informed about the current state of business so that they can act in order to fulfill the objectives required. In today’s article we are going to talk about the importance of internal communication for accomplishing the goals!

Eliminating the semantic barriers

In a company we all speak the same language, but we don’t always understand the linguistic used. An organization is made up of people of different backgrounds and if we use a very technical language we run the risk of not getting the message we want to pass. Internal communication helps to ensure that this awareness exists and that messages are always passed in simple, objective language. This is the only way that employees will understand the state in which the company is and what they will have to do to help them achieve their goals.

Increasing competitiveness of teams

Competitiveness in the right dose is very positive in order to increase the delivery of employees in the performance of their duties. Knowing the goals of everyone and of the company in a global way allows employees to be stimulated to achieve their goals.

Better working environment

Internal communication transforms the organizational climate, improving interpersonal relationships and impacting very positively on the company’s productivity, making the whole business more profitable. When there is good communication, people communicate more easily with each other, exchanging ideas and finding solutions more quickly.

More knowledge

When there is an effective internal communication policy, it is easier to form collaborators because they exchange information between them and share knowledge. In a company that encourages good communication, employees will not be afraid to say “I don’t know” and will be able to learn from more experienced professionals.

Better financial results

In addition to all the advantages that effective internal communication brings to the company, the financial results of the organization also undergo very positive changes. A study carried out by Tower Watson revealed that companies that have effective communication had a 47% appreciation in the stock exchange over a period of 5 years, and this result is much more positive than in companies that don’t invest in internal communication.