4 Secrets to Getting Internal Business Intelligence Reporting Right

Internal business intelligence done right is not the result of good luck, nor is it magic. Business intelligence is meant to be shared. And, that means ensuring everyone has instant access to reports and dashboards when and where they need them.

There are specific things you can do, starting today, to help improve your internal business intelligence dashboards, making sure everyone within your business can understand and work with the metrics. Following are our favorites.

1. Make it personal.
What’s one of the of the biggest mistakes you can make when creating a new dashboard? Assuming you know what the executive or business unit needs! If you want to deliver business intelligence reports that matter, take a step back and figure out, specifically, what matters to the individuals who will be using the reports. A great start is to take the time to ask them and walk them through their options.

2. Cut out the noise.
A business intelligence dashboard is designed to give you a snapshot of the action. Think about it this way: your car dashboard tells you key metrics about your vehicle—how much gas you have left, your mileage, tire pressure, etc. But it doesn’t tell you absolutely everything about every engine part under the hood—only the ones that matter most, right?

Your business dashboard should act in the same manner, providing team members with the key stats and insights they need to effectively do their jobs and make smart decisions.

3. Make it pretty.
Okay, it doesn’t have to be pretty, but it does have to be visual. Reports with graphs, charts and eye-catching insights do a great job translating the complexities of Big Data into digestible takeaways. Everyone learns and thinks through data differently, but 65% of us are visual learners.

That’s a sizeable number. Visual learners grasp concepts quickly – through images, videos and graphs. Pictures are what makes sense for them—so give it to them in your business intelligence reports.

4. Simplify the lingo.
Scientists and engineers may naturally think and speak in complex, technical jargon. But what about the rest of the business? If you’re going to be sharing business intelligence dashboards, it’s critical that they come packaged in a friendly format.

In Other Words, Make It Readable.

Readability matters. It matters to Google (yes, Google tracks how readable your website content is!) and there’s even ways to score your readability, such as the Flesch-Kincaid grade level index. Removing complex jargon from your business intelligence reports makes them relatable, friendly and easily understood.

Put Your Internal Customers First.

If you’re struggling with getting your internal audience to understand business intelligence, keep these four simple secrets in mind. These four tips will help your audience grasp the information you’re sharing and put it to good use.

There’s one theme to all these secrets: they put your internal customers—their needs, the way they learn, what metrics they need to see—first.