In this case study, we will explore how automated reporting reduced Directions Group’s analytical spend by over 30% and how they saved well over 50% on report creation on projects where they used E-Tabs Enterprise.
Who are Directions Group?
Directions Group is a leading business insights and analytics company with over 30 years of experience. They specialise in working with marketing, consumer insights and B2B insights professionals, empowering them to make strategic business decisions by delivering actionable insights that drive growth.
Directions were looking to streamline their reporting workflow for custom and complex projects. A few years ago Directions’ automation team internally developed an automation system using VBA code – ‘Visual Basic for Applications’, a programming language that enables users to automate tasks and create personalised solutions within Microsoft Excel. However, Rachel Cummins, Director of Data Report Delivery Solutions, recalls that, “as the complexity and demand for projects grew, the limitations of the VBA system became more apparent, and the team struggled to meet the growing demands of our clients effectively.”
Challenges Directions Research Faced With The VBA System
Required Technical Knowledge
The VBA system was too complex and required a level of programming knowledge which was unsustainable. Directions only had 1 programmer supporting their entire analytical team, comprising of 40 analysts.
Inefficient use of Analyst Time
Due to growing demands and complexities in requested reports, analysts were being pulled away from tasks that would benefit. Rachel reflects that “It was forcing our analysts to then spend time on more manual tasks instead of those high value strategic tasks like visualization, storytelling – really the things that help drive out clients’ business.”
Increased Demand for Quicker Turnarounds
The VBA system’s inefficiencies meant it became harder for them to accommodate rising client demands for faster delivery times.
Requirements for a New Reporting Solution
Recognising the need for better automation and stability, they explored the marketplace for a more efficient solution. Directions identified a list of strategic and technical requirements for the new solution to ensure the new system would be both effective and sustainable.
User Friendly: Seeing the challenges the analysts were facing, Directions knew they wanted the new solution to be user-friendly. They wanted to avoid complexities that came with the VBA system and enable analysts to work efficiently without requiring extensive programming skills.
Flexibility for Customisation: As a custom research company, client insights are at the heart of Direction’s approach to analysis. Every client project is different and comes with its own unique needs. For example this required the solution to have the flexibility to handle variance between waves e.g. handling dynamically changing brand lists and numbers of brands between waves of a tracking project.
Ecosystem: The solution needed to fit into Direction’s existing technical ecosystem; for example pulling in data directly from our myriad of source formats.
Support & Partnership: They needed a robust support system to ensure smooth onboarding and alignment with their team members, especially as they learned the program and managed day-to-day challenges.
Dynamic Calculations & Visualizations: They required a solution that could handle dynamic calculations such as stat testing through symbols, colour coding, and conditional formatting.
Data Integration: The ability to integrate data from multiple sources i.e. multiple Excel files, SPSS, SQL e.t.c.
Replication: To be able to repeat the same process and create multiple tailored versions of reports while maintaining data integrity!
E-Tabs Was The Solution!
After searching for a solution that would meet all their requirements, Directions Group discovered E-Tabs. After discussing whether it was the right fit for them, Rachel realised that E-Tabs “were not only going to meet these requirements, but also meet many of those unplanned requirements and exceed most of them.”
Rachel shared that one of the standout features of Enterprise for her was its ‘user-friendly interface‘ which was one of the main challenges they faced with their previous VBA system. While they understood that any new system would require some level of training, E-Tabs support provided comprehensive onboarding and ongoing support to ensure a smooth transition.
“The E-Tabs support team have been absolutely invaluable for us. Whether we’re facing last minute changes or new challenges, they’ve been consistent and timely, and their help has been absolutely crucial for our success.”
Rachel Cummins,
Director of Data Reporting Solutions, Directions Group.
Enterprise also allowed them to overcome other constraints. For example, it excelled in its adaptability and flexibility. “For so long, we had been forced to fit our client objectives into rigid platforms and systems, and E-Tabs allowed us to easily address and fit it as needed across a variety of client changes.” This flexibility enabled seamless integration into their technical ecosystem and internal reporting framework without disrupting productivity levels.
After introducing E-Tabs Enterprise to their workflow, Directions were able to easily implement the software across their scorecards and trackers. This allowed them to automate tasks such as statistical testing, colour coding, conditional formatting etc. The improved functionality also enabled them to make comparisons easily across multiple datasets, such as quintiles and previous data, which had been tagged in other programs.
Rachel poignantly point out that “if you’re trying to sort a chart across multiple questions, subgroups, waves etc, it can be really difficult to make sure that everything is lined up exactly, ensuring that the data is correct. But it’s so easy to do with E-Tabs. It’s great.”
The Impact – Freed Up Valuable Time For Their Analysis Team
After implementing Enterprise, Rachel surveyed a group of analysts to get a prediction of the number of hours they would have spent on their projects, had they not used Enterprise. She concluded that the team were able to decrease their analytical spend and hours significantly, and this was only just the beginning of it!
“We were able to decrease our analytical spend and hours significantly. We went from nearly 40 hours per wave to less than 10 hours.”
Rachel Cummins,
Director of Data Reporting Solutions, The Directions Group
Following the success of Enterprise, Directions quickly realised that automation did not need to be limited to just scorecards and trackers – it could do so much more.
Directions have begun to create templates for specific types of analysis across a variety of clients and even have the flexibility to customise them, rather than just working within the same parameters of the standard scorecards and trackers. Whether it’s a subgroup analysis, one-off project or multi-country report, Enterprise can automate it! They even applied stat-testing techniques like MaxDiff penalty analysis, showcasing the Enterprise’s versatility in handling diverse analytical needs.
Enterprise has enabled Direction’s analysts to focus on “designing the narrative upstream rather than refining it after the fact.” This proactive approach allowed them to align client objectives with the software from the outset, ensuring that the final report met expectations without the need for extensive revisions after it had been generated.
Happy Analysts, Happy Clients!
Enterprise has made Directions’ large complex project reporting more manageable, including both the efficiency and satisfaction for Directions’ analysts and clients. The testimonials below show how they contributed towards analyst job satisfaction, client satisfaction and more!
Takeaways
Rachel concluded that “To further enhance our capabilities and drive growth, we must adopt a more strategic approach.”She expressed the urge be more open to partnerships that augment capabilities to drive scale. So this means moving beyond that “build or buy” mentality. “E-Tabs has proven that partners can provide specialised skills that don’t require substantial internal costs and drive efficiency as well as growth.”
Directions are now expanding their view of reporting automation beyond just scorecards and trackers. “We’ve started looking for the more repeatable tasks and by doing so, that’ll help us extend our capabilities and help us innovate and drive greater value to our clients.”
And finally, Rachel tells us that “we need to move away from that ‘black box’ mindset“. Rachel then shared a pearl of wisdom, “You don’t want to force client objectives into solutions. We need solutions to help solve those client objectives.” These strategies help guarantee tailored, effective results without forcing compromises. Rachel concludes that “through partnering with E-Tabs, we can ensure that our solutions remain innovative, adaptable and highly effective.”