The More You Know: 3 Ways Performance Data Helps You Make More Strategic Business Decisions 

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to running your business successfully. The more you know, the more you can mitigate risk and liability, ensure predictable EBITDA, and reduce your overall spend.

That’s why performance data is so important.

Simply put, performance data is information that indicates “how an operation, program, or other element of your business is performing,” says Morgan Parsons, director of marketplace operations at ServiceChannel.

Depending on the type of business you run, there could be all kinds of performance data you could harness to measure your operations’ efficiency, effectiveness, spend, and more. In manufacturing, for example, you might want to know the spend for stamping a widget, how long it takes to produce each one, and what percentage of them fail to meet customers’ acceptability requirements.

Similarly, in facilities management, you might measure the average spend per work order, the time it takes to complete a work order, and the percentage of work orders a service provider completes during their initial visit.

“By understanding these metrics, CFOs can identify areas of opportunity or concern and align [their] teams to address the root cause and enhance the performance of the organization,” Parsons says.

Why Performance Data Is Important
Performance data opens a window into an organization’s health and gives business leaders concrete information they can use to make educated, future-focused decisions.

More specifically, Parsons says, a CFO could “use performance data to best understand the areas of their business that are costing them resources, creating waste, or performing suboptimally. This should be important to assessing resource needs, ROI associated with internal investments, or in determining where resources could be removed. Additionally, these metrics can be used to determine where to invest.

“If a CFO matches performance data with targeted goals or milestones, [they] can best assess the success of various programs or projects.”

Track Now, Save Later
One key benefit of performance data is that it can help you stay on top of asset maintenance so you aren’t hit with unexpected and costly repairs at any of your locations.

Let’s say you oversee the financial operations of a chain of restaurants. If you use a multilocation facilities management software program such as ServiceChannel Analytics, you can easily track when your equipment — e.g., HVAC — is due for upkeep and schedule that preventive work with a recommended provider when the time is right.

“Understanding equipment performance, aging, and upkeep costs can … inform capital expenditures related to facility investments,” Parsons says.

In short, the more you know and can plan up front, the more you can save in the long run.

Work With Providers You Trust
When it comes to performing maintenance on or repairing assets at your facilities, you want to work with vetted providers you can trust while maximizing your spend. That’s where provider data — a subset of performance data — comes in.

Provider data might include scores for different providers — from electricians to plumbers to HVAC technicians — their rates, how quickly they complete work orders, and more. With ServiceChannel Analytics, you can access a network of approved providers (complete with detailed information about each of them) to find someone who makes sense for your specific needs. The more you know about the person you’re doing business with up front, including their prior work experience and rates, the more you can minimize risk, liability, and unanticipated spend.

How ServiceChannel Can Help
Performance data is a powerful tool to understand and track how different components of your business are doing so you can make informed decisions to reduce spend and inefficiency, minimize liability and risk, and ultimately grow your business. Learn how ServiceChannel Analytics can help you make the most of your asset, location, and provider data with accurate, predictable reporting at servicechannel.com/products/analytics.