You wouldn’t use a typewriter to write a novel when you’ve got the latest iMac on your desk. Just like you wouldn’t use spreadsheets to manage your workforce when innovative online platforms are available.
Yet so many businesses do just that. Spreadsheets are used by companies for… just about everything, it seems. However, they were designed for automatically updating calculations, not for managing people data, and experts are increasingly questioning the sense in using them when there are much more effective online options.
Spreadsheets have a number of challenges when it comes to handling important information, including high rates of human error, inadvertent deletion of data, difficulty in sharing information across many people, and inability to see live or real-time data. They were not designed to store historical data, so they sometimes get “updated” and information is lost, and the exporting of sensitive data can be a security risk.
The internet is littered with tales of spreadsheet errors that have caused major problems. The London Olympics oversold its swimming events by thousands of tickets due to a spreadsheet error; also in London was the infamous “London Whale” case in which JP Morgan Chase & Co lost approximately $6.2 billion in a trading debacle. Investigators found that spreadsheet issues were a contributing factor, with information not properly vetted, people copying and pasting data between spreadsheets, and cells being divided instead of averaged.
Using spreadsheets can involve a significant commitment in time and human resources. In the USA, a recent study by IDC found that spreadsheets are responsible for $60 billion in wasted productivity every year, with one-third of the time spent using spreadsheets wasted due to repetitive work and manual processes. The study found that eight percent of enterprise employees were “advanced spreadsheet users” who spent 26 hours per week buried in their spreadsheets.
So why is the use of spreadsheets so ubiquitous? There are lots of reasons. For a start, they are really great at doing exactly what they were designed for – storing and calculating data. Also, Excel is often taught in schools, so many people are familiar with the software. Companies have developed a “spreadsheet habit” that’s hard to break, and there is a belief that learning other processes will be too hard and time-consuming. This type of thinking means that many organisations don’t take advantage of new technologies that will save them time and money.
How you manage the compliance around your organisation’s most important asset – your people
How you manage your workforce compliance can make or break your success due to the serious financial, operational and reputational risks involved in having non-compliant employees or contractors on your sites.
Cited is an online platform that provides organisations with reliability and peace of mind about their workforces. Cited checks individuals’ identities and helps to manage the validity of workers’ credentials on an ongoing basis through automated renewals of licences and certification. Sign up for free.
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Cited is a single source of truth that is reducing business risk and saving companies time, money and energy – and spreadsheets just can’t do that. Sign up for free.