Democratizing Dashboards

Dashboards are a common theme in discussions about the use of data and analytics. One of the first deliverables that’s requested in just about any data project is some sort of executive dashboard, so that an organization’s top tier management can review key performance indicators and understand at a high level what may or may not be going right with the business.

Don’t get me wrong - this is a great use of data and analytics, if done right, and, honestly, many times it is done well. Raw data get cleaned and processed, get aggregated to an appropriate level of summarization, and someone selects the right visualization to present the information. Combined with a few other charts, graphs, and key statistics, dashboards continue to be great tools for executive management.

But that’s not where it needs to stop. Every employee of an organization, presumably, is there adding some value to the overall goals of the organization, and also is (one assumes) an overall positive influence on the bottom line. This is because they’re doing some job that needs to be done and which otherwise would cause the organization to struggle. Each of these employees can and perhaps should have a dashboard of their own.

What value is there in this?

First, there’s the idea that knowledge is power. Knowing - being able to see - your daily output can serve as a reminder of the value that you bring to an organization, and placing this front-and-center each day for employees can help to inspire creative contribution and problem-solving throughout the day, to address each of the key areas demonstrated on a dashboard.

Second, it’s been shown that turning otherwise mundane tasks into some sort of a game improves the overall outlook that people have on those tasks. Presented with metrics, people will instinctively make it a game, even if it’s one they play only with themselves, to try to improve those statistics the next time they do them. Have you ever driven a car with a real-time fuel efficiency meter, or one that grades your fuel use during acceleration, cruise and stopping phases? Without even thinking about it, you might feel a compulsion to improve your efficiency, just to see the numbers improve - and in the meantime you’re doing something good for the environment.

Third, it opens up the conversation about data and analytics. You will find that employees start to ask questions about their work and their own efficiency, that may actually be insights that are useful at a much higher level in the organization. By exposing data that’s related to your employees to those employees, you’re created feedback channel through which you can collect some degree of validation that your metrics are accurate, as well as ideas for how to further refine the way they’re collected or presented.

Dashboards don’t need to be limited to your C suite. Giving your rank-and-file employees visibility to the way their work impacts the company through dashboards opens up possibilities for improving their metrics, too.