You need data to ‘know.’
‘Knowing’ is one of the most important aspects for improving your operation.
However, this often gets overlooked.
- You are too busy to look at your data.
- Incomplete and inaccurate documentation.
- Communication between and amongst departments is below par.
You are missing facts.
Does this sound familiar?
The limitations above prevent your operation from being proactive.
Sadly, you cannot manage what you do not know.
We say it all the time!
It threatens the welfare of an operation like yours.
It is also a multi-part challenge to overcome.
Resolve it by collecting insightful data and using it to improve your operation.
It is time to get the facts.
Today, we are going to show you how.
FIRST, YOU NEED STRUCTURE
Do you use an incident management system?
Are you about to put one in place?
What is your solution?
Do you have an infrastructure in place?
Has it increased your awareness, enhanced real-time communications, or has it led to accurate documentation?
Most importantly, does it provide you with analytics – you can use?
Here is the bottom line:
Are you able to collect all the data that you need to show that the software solution works?
If not, what is affecting this?
It must be tackled.
For you to capture analytics to prove your system’s return on investment (ROI), you need Proactive Operations in place.
- Do you have an infrastructure in place?
- Are you using the best solutions in the marketplace to capture real-time data?
- Is Proactive Operations real at your property?
If you are not sure, we can help.
If you know the answer is, “No,” please keep reading.
Today, we are going to show you what leads to proving your solution’s ROI.
The logging of incidents alone does not prove ROI and is only one aspect of Proactive Operations.
You are investing in a solution.
Let us put you in a position to use it – better.
Do this so you can get all the analytics you need.
INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTS INVALUABLE ANALYTICS
Give your staff the ability to communicate, collect, and manage information efficiently.
Get useful data.
It is the best foundation for achieving results.
Start with your infrastructure.
They are the moving pieces to “nail down.”
Organize it to work cohesively with your software solution.
Get facts that you need for improving your operation.
Ask yourself, who is involved?
It should include representatives from any functional area where issues or incidents could affect performance and the customer experience.
This is important because it helps you understand where your data lives.
Before proving your solution’s ROI, you need to have a bird’s-eye view of your operation.
It makes you a better leader, first and foremost.
Organize Your Personnel
Depending on your industry and type of property, infrastructure will vary.
Your organization might consist of one property in one location or many properties spread around the globe.
That doesn’t matter.
Today’s infrastructure is designed for agile operations where personnel can manage multiple properties from anywhere in the world.
Have full control of the data communicated throughout your organization, whether you employ 10 employees or over 10,000.
Permit your personnel to receive the information you want and how.
Sustain an organized environment for being effective, efficient, and expeditious.
EMPLOY PROACTIVE OPERATIONS TO CAPTURE ALL IMPORTANT DATA
“Why to invest in a software solution?” and “Why to put an infrastructure in place?” are answered by one word: Analytics.
Building your infrastructure gives critical analytics.
You need analytics to understand the operational effectiveness and readiness.
Analyzing data is how you improve future outcomes.
Create a structure that leads to relevant facts.
Use them to achieve Proactive Operations.
Direct Communication Generates Real-Time Data
The days of dispatching your team and not receiving status updates are gone.
At this point, you have your infrastructure in place.
The first step in getting ROI from your software solution.
Next, use it to maximize communication that results in purposeful data.
- Execute instant communication of relevant information.
- Staff in multiple locations are talking to each other with limited or no confusion.
- Organization and clearer initiatives for each employee.
Manage, track, and collect the details of an incident or issue from start to finish.
Real-time data is the effect of real-time communication.
No more missed information.
What is the result of real-time data?
You are executing Proactive Operations and proving ROI.
Reliable Data Sustains Actionable Analytics
You can measure and improve your process.
- Response times to wet spills
- Deploying wheelchairs to customers
- Returning lost and found items
- Preventing equipment from breaking
How can you accomplish this?
Begin receiving, collecting, and documenting data that has a purpose.
You know, the “stuff” you need!
Our questions below help you make the best operational decisions, which lead to a return on your investment.
- How long does it take to receive a call?
- How long does it take to dispatch the incident or issue to appropriate staff?
- How long does it take your responding staff to get on scene to the incident or problem?
- How long does it take your staff to mitigate the conflict and begin responding to the next?
Let us explain their importance to you.
How long does it take to receive a call?
From the time it takes your customers or staff to:
- Identify an incident
- Send a text message via text messaging software/call it in/report incident via mobile device to your personnel in the operations center.
How long does it take to dispatch the incident or issue to appropriate staff?
A slip and fall call comes into the operations center.
It is determined that there is a food spill at the scene.
The dispatcher must notify medical to look at the customer and housekeeping to clean the area.
How long does it take your responding staff to get on scene to the incident or issue?
From the moment the incident or problem is dispatched to all departments, determine the length of time each unit takes to arrive on-scene.
How long does it take your staff to mitigate the incident and begin responding to the next?
Your team is responsible for everyone’s safety, right?
Once they close out one incident, their ROI is generated from their ability to respond to the next one efficiently.
These questions help you understand appropriate response times.
They will give you the foresight you need to improve your whole operation.
This is how you prove your solution’s long-term worth.
However, do not stop there.
Continue questioning the state of your operation.
Use your results.
The hard facts you have gathered from your software solution lead to more value.
Dive deeper to maximize the value of your software solution:
- Will increased staffing result in faster response times or diminish value? What is the cost differential here?
- Which locations require a stronger focus on your team’s awareness?
- Do you have hot spots that need a more robust security presence?
- Is training the leading factor in staff performance? Should you conduct more tabletop exercises? Alternatively, is solution adoption low?
These are only a few of the many questions to ask.
As you can see, scrutinizing your operation further with reliable data provides limitless insights.
Continuous improvement is a never-ending pursuit.
You can only continue the quest if you ‘know’ what you must work with within your operation.
THE BIGGEST ROI TO YOUR BOSS – LIABILITY DEFENSE!
Talking about ROI is nice.
To your boss, it all ends in dollar signs.
They are here to bring in revenue and to protect that revenue for stakeholders.
Your role is to manage the operation.
Your boss’s role is to protect the big picture.
Show your boss how all of this protects the bottom line using the tactics in this article – your future is bright.
You now know what to manage and how to improve it.
This makes all the difference.
Here is some perspective.
A fight occurred at your property many years ago.
Seven years later, it has come back to haunt you.
The incident occurred at your property under your watch, so you get deposed along with your boss.
You show up with every piece of data related to this longstanding incident.
It took your team two minutes to efficiently respond to a fight, which is a highly regarded response time amongst your peers.
You have the information to show your team does this regularly too.
They consistently respond in this timeframe to incidents and issues.
You demonstrate to the court that you are always adequately staffed.
Kudos, your ability to provide the facts with a digital paper trail is first-class.
Consistent response times are par for the course at your property.
You use a highly efficient system.
Plus, could you ask for a better outcome in court than this?
OVER TO YOU
Investing in a software solution means building an infrastructure to support it. Then, you must use it to get the facts.
Once you have the facts rolling in, you must analyze your operation to improve it. Long-term improvement results in ROI.
How? You can prove it with hard facts your boss can see.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in April 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness and freshness.
