Let’s start out by acknowledging that your executives are always going to get their reports. Whether you’re pulling an all-nighter to make it happen or it’s available on-demand, those reports, and the numbers and answers they contain, are non-negotiable.
However, recurring reporting packages, or answering ad-hoc questions, can take up so much of your team’s time that you don’t have the bandwidth for more strategic and proactive contributions.
To try to mitigate this, you have 2 options:
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Try to get your executives to self-serve in Pigment
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Make it easier to access the numbers yourself and get them into an easily digestible format
Some executives will never want to log into a tool, and some will be Pigment’s biggest champion. Either way, it’s in everyone’s best interest – not least of all yours – to create the right environment for sourcing these answers at a moment’s notice. In this article, we’ll lay out four steps to make sure the right data is in the right place and the right format when you need it, because that’s what will save you time and increase your bandwidth.
The 4-step process to meeting executive needs in Pigment
Step 1: Find out what your execs want to see
You may have a log of all their requests to start from, but nothing beats open-ended questions like “what questions do you always need answered?” “What metrics are you most concerned with?” “What are your stakeholders always asking you for?” You may be surprised by some of the answers.
Unsurprisingly, most execs we work with care most about cash balance and burn rate. Especially in times of economic uncertainty – but also even in the most stable of times – cash is king, and execs need to have a pulse on cash. Having insights into cash trends, as well as what has impacted or will impact cash burn, will be one of the most valuable insights you can offer. Combine that with the ability to pull different levers and analyze the possible impact, and you’ll be able to answer almost any question that comes your way.
Beyond this, different execs in different roles will care about different things, so start a conversation to learn what matters most to them, and tailor your analytics in a way that those questions can easily be answered with the insight necessary when you need them. Design dashboards that not only offer the answer but also the explanation to help you foster these conversations.
Step 2: Show your work, and offer to show more
This step is especially important when you have an exec who doesn’t want to use Pigment or who never trusts their data. If they ask for something, make sure you explain where you got the number, and provide more than just the answer but its impacts. For example, “according to the cash flow app in Pigment, it’s X. We can also see that it’s happened because of Y. Would you like to run a scenario against it?”
This accomplishes 2 things:
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It reminds them that you’ve built a solution that produces these insights, and that these insights and more are readily available in the solution provided
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It positions you to add strategic value to the conversation moving forward, which is part of the reason we’re wanting to free up your bandwidth to begin with
Step 3: Leverage dashboards for common requests
Whether it’s execs or other business partners, leveraging dashboards for common requests will help you get them quicker answers. Even if they’re not using Pigment, it will make it easier for you to find what you need, but it will also make the idea of logging into Pigment more attractive to them. To enhance this experience, work with your leaders to understand what information is important to them and how they want to analyze data. Whether their dashboards are chart heavy or grid heavy, the more digestible it is for the end user, and designed in a way that they can consume data, the better the chances are that they will leverage Pigment rather than rely on you or your team for quick questions.
Step 4: Schedule periodic check-ins to keep up with growth
As the market and business change and grow, it’s the perfect opportunity to use some of that gained bandwidth to add strategic value. Schedule regular check-ins with executive stakeholders to ensure they’re getting what they need from the dashboards and reporting packages. The more insights they get, the more analysis they may want, which allows you to flex those models even more and add valuable insights to the decision-making process.
How are you using Pigment to serve insights to execs in your organization?
If you’ve created a useful dashboard or found an effective process for partnering with your executives, we want to hear from you! Share your experiences and best practices in the comments, as well as any questions you have.
