Monitor your team’s performance with effective MS Access database design

A successful team needs to be managed and monitored. You can use a spreadsheet for this purpose, but it is not as straightforward as one might think at first glance.

This is because you need to take manual steps in order to keep track of key measurements such as sales over time while also compiling the information into graphs displaying week-to-week or month-to -month comparisons. Again, this is all usually done manually using spreadsheets.

There are many pitfalls when letting the 'pieces fall as they may' and allowing staff members to enter and/or summarize their own work progress without regular supervision and fact checking.

Your staff may take advantage of this situation by either forgetting about updating their KPIs altogether (easy option), adding extra chores onto other people's plates simply so that these tasks don't fall to them or perhaps the task just gets forgotten amidst the business of the day - either way, it’s very difficult to keep an accurate set of data in a spreadsheet with many different people accessing it and inputting their data manually.

By comparison, we have databases:

Creating reports is easy with a database system. You can extract complete and accurate information from it, without the need for manual steps.

As sales are made or jobs are completed, these are automatically attributed to specific employees and their key performance indicators can thus be measured accurately.

Data extraction tools that require manual input may not be reliable due to human error when accessing and utilising the data available. Errors can also arise with the input of the data itself as discussed earlier.

And so, having an automated database will instead give you access immediately to summaries, reports and visualisations will not only be more time effective but accurate.

The fact of the matter here: Spreadsheets are not Databases:

So stop trying to use them as one! Spreadsheets are pretty quick and cost-effective to make, but they have a multitude of limitations.

While spreadsheets can be great for specific calculations and handle complex formulas, that is really where most of the fun stops.

Databases give us consistency in reporting:

A database is an electronic file that stores and automatically recalls information, much like a spreadsheet but with more features. These databases can be accessed by thousands of people over the internet and are updated automatically so they never become out-of-date or inaccurate.

A lot of confusion can arise in a workplace from the distribution of different versions of one spreadsheet across a network or even when more than one person needs access at any given time

More than a numbers game:

Databases can handle more than just numerical data in their calculations. They allow the complex organisation of text inputs as well as images and code!

Databases can see everything all at once:

A spreadsheet is a great tool for recording some key data points. But if you want to get into the nitty-gritties of how different types of information may move together, then they're not so helpful anymore!

A database is a collection of data organized to provide business insight. It has a relational structure that allows for more robust analysis, between similar datasets or those of different types.

Businesses should consider using databases because they offer the ability to draw different kinds of information from complex relationship networks in order to find insights into how it all works together.

Make the switch sooner rather than later:

We can go on and on about the benefits of databases and while we are happy to continue to elaborate in future posts, it's still a fact that an early move from a spreadsheet-based business to a database based one is best.

Think of it this way, prevention is better than a cure. You don't want to leave it till the system breaks down, the information goes missing or till your spreadsheets are drastically incorrect before coming up with a solution.

Team performance is an organic, moving, changing beast and without accurate and consistent data management, small gaps can develop in the team's performance data leading to questions about overall impact and work ethic.

Presenting and discussing team performance data with your employees is a tool to build company morale and work towards goals. In order for this to be effective and timely, you will need a system that works for you. Speak with our expert Access database programmer today about creating a customised database for your business and how it can be utilised to improve employee performance.

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