Statistics, statistics and damn lies
The accepted quote seems to be "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" and is attributed to Mark Twain, possibly attributed to British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli. However all of this is open to interpretation.
It's a catchy blog title and I'm less focused on the three degrees of lying from lying, to outrageous lies to statistics. This blog is about getting a fair and balanced perspective of how a business is performing via its statistics.
We're talking non-financial facts and figures.
You can start dumping any number of useful statistics, for example:
- Customers numbers
- Potential customers
- Customers through the door
- Telephone system stats
- Mobile stats
- Incoming emails
- Outgoing emails
- Website hits
- Top pages
- Time spent
- Time lost
- Google analytics
- Facebook posts, likes, followers
- Youtube
- Sickness and Absenteeism
- Staff on disciplinary
- Training stats
It does not matter if you are the Chief Operating Officer of a multinational corporation, have the responsibility over a certain departmental budget or are running a retail outlet, you will have statistical requirements.
Back in the day, when implementing change into local authorities, I was always amazed at the concept of 'back of the fag packet' budget calculations. You were talking massive amounts of spending, falling well into multi-millions of pounds, being displayed in the most simple of ways. But there was a very good reason for this. There were multiple layers of financial checks and balances built into the system, via multiple finance and audit departments including external oversight, which double checked spending. The 'back of the fag packet' calculations were mainly financial summaries enabling operational decisions to be made.
So what on earth happened at Birmingham City Council?
I think it is worth at this point discussing the role of your financial team. Are you clear about their role within the business. Are they processors of payments, audit control, spending oversight or charged with ensuring value for money. Internal teams may have a clear understanding of their role within the business, but do all external resources understand where they stand?
So, let's stick with operational statistics. How can they help?
Your people are most important, so you'll be wanting statistics on sickness and absenteeism, recruitment, staff turnover and training. All such statistics should shine a torch into any potential business dysfunction or areas requiring change.
Your sales are fundamental. How is new business expanding? Have you managed to expand business from existing business? Are you maintaining the business you have already got?
How is your marketing performing? This is possibly the easiest area to obtain realtime data from your website, your social media channels and wider advertising. Does your marketing spend align with your three areas of sales development?
How is your IT functioning? You will obviously be looking at the fast-paced developments in AI and looking at areas to save money or drive turnover?
Within these core areas you may have area or regional considerations.
You may have certain projects underway that will need oversight reporting.
On top of any operational statistics you will fundamentally want your financial performance available at the touch of a button.
To conclude ask yourself, how can you make good decision without good data?
Today is the perfect time to get your reporting requirements in order. It is a simple matter of making a list. Where you get this information and how it is presented is a different matter.
However AI tools are currently available that can help now. Developments around business personal assistants are being delivered at pace. Understanding what data you need and how you want it presented will be all important when you ask your AI personal assistant to prepare this for you.
