The days of CEOs waiting for the delivery of a physical report are long gone. Today, many forward-thinking executives are making use of data visuals and dashboards to gain insight into their company, rather than relying on IT.
There are many benefits of CEO dashboards with a connected interface, including the ability to track performance and monitor data, profits, balances, revenues and forecasts all in real-time. CEOs prefer their data on a dashboard for these top five reasons:
- Improves employee performance
When considering the implementation of an executive dashboard, employee performance might not necessarily be one of the most obvious benefits. However, CEOs who have used data dashboards have discovered that when they have clearer visibility and insight into all aspects of their business, they are able to see how well their employees are performing.
- Monitoring goal, progress, and achievements
Just as CEOs can identify the weak links within a business, they can also identify areas of improvement. By following particular projects on a dashboard, CEOs can quickly gauge whether or not their business plan is being followed, and easily determine if the company is on track for achieving its goals.
- Saves time and money
Using a dashboard cuts down on the time it would take for CEOs to review the numbers. The centralized, integrated nature of a dashboard allows an executive to view data from multiple sources at once without the need to generate spreadsheets or aggregate data manually. Additionally, CEOs can view important data remotely on their tablets or smartphones from any location at any time.
- Removes human error
The use of data dashboards also reduces the need for "gut" decision-making. With analytics and real-time reports, it is easy for CEOs to make important decisions by using the data and facts rather than relying on their instincts. Furthermore, dashboards make it easy to securely share important data with others in the company. For example, a CEO could share access to detailed information with all relevant departments in the company. This system creates transparency and a much more efficient workflow while reducing the amount of miscommunication that usually accompanies this process.
- Makes data more useful
The ability to view data analytics visually makes the information much clearer. When a negative trend is forming, CEOs can quickly identify it and establish a course of action, and correct before there is a major impact. Like Peter Drucker said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Dashboards allow for ongoing improvement by allowing executives to measure information they otherwise may have overlooked.
With the pace of business constantly increasing, it is becoming more important for CEOs to access real-time data and be able to apply it in timely and meaningful ways. As big data turns into huge data, it is clear that the best way for CEOs to go about this is to use data visuals and dashboards.