At Skeleton Key, we’ve found that organizations in just about every industry are looking for ways to cultivate a culture of operational transparency. Transparent business operations not only builds trust with your team and customers; employees also work more efficiently when they know leaders are guiding the organization with their best interests in mind. While achieving this goal can take a variety of forms—from holding more open-ended meetings to encouraging regular performance reviews—have you considered the role your business software plays in prioritizing transparency?

For businesses looking to take transparency to the next level without compromising security, there’s no better option than the Workplace Innovation Platform offered by a customized FileMaker solution.

Concurrent Data Access

Many businesses rely on spreadsheets to communicate, track, and manage critical business data. But what happens when someone on your team ends up working on an outdated spreadsheet or forgets to share it with the rest of the team? What if the wrong person is sent sensitive data by mistake? Best case scenario, you end up with outdated, irrelevant information; worst case, you expose your organization to a data breach. Rectifying mistakes then takes time as spreadsheets are cross-referenced, slowing your team down.

The answer? A FileMaker solution allows your whole team to work on the same concurrent database as it’s updated in real time. That means everyone’s looking at the same information at the same time, so everyone’s always on the same page and nobody has to worry about working on the wrong spreadsheet. At the same time, a FileMaker solution delivers comprehensive security tools to minimize mistakes and mitigate the risk of compromised data.

Simplified Reporting Tools

While ensuring everyone in your organization has access to the same mission-critical data is a vital first step to more transparent operations, what your team does with that data is just as important. Fortunately, a FileMaker solution offers robust capabilities to streamline sophisticated data analytics on one centralized platform. Leaders can quickly create customized reports of complex datasets to ensure that team members are achieving their goals, keeping project timelines on track, and prioritizing customer satisfaction.

Fostering Collaboration Among Team Members

How does your team collaborate? In today’s work environment, getting quick answers to simple questions has become essential for facilitating innovation and creativity. As your team’s workflows become increasingly interconnected, you need a centralized platform to keep the doors of collaboration open. 

When your team can quickly ask questions and get answers to those questions, small issues are less likely to be brushed under the rug until they become big problems. With a customized FileMaker solution, we can integrate chat functionality so team members can always reach out to each other and get the answers they need, even when they’re out of the office or on the road.

Powerful User Access Controls

Of course, increasing business transparency doesn’t mean giving every team member access to all of your business’s data. Instead, it’s about giving them the data they need to do their jobs more effectively. A FileMaker solution gives you the ability to control exactly which users can access specific data, so mission-critical information is always a click away. These same controls simultaneously protect your organization from data breaches and unauthorized access.

A Streamlined Platform

When your team relies on multiple applications and platforms throughout the workday, it can become increasingly difficult to track how they’re working. At the same time, the more applications you rely on, the more vulnerable you are to network vulnerabilities and security flaws. With a FileMaker solution, you can quickly consolidate the capabilities of multiple applications to make it easier to see how your team is working while also prioritizing cybersecurity.

Robust Dashboards

One of the most powerful business transparency strategies a FileMaker solution opens up is the capability to create customizable dashboards for each of your employees. These dashboards can include critical metrics, key performance indicators (KPIs), project timelines, and any other information that makes their day-to-day tasks more manageable. That way, they have all the tools they need in one place. With a custom dashboard, they know exactly what tasks they need to complete today to keep your organization going in the right direction tomorrow.

Partner With Skeleton Key to Increase Business Transparency

If you’re ready to pinpoint strategies for cultivating business transparency at your organization, contact the team at Skeleton Key today. We’ll work with you to identify areas prone to administrative oversight and customize a FileMaker solution that delivers clarity at every level of your operations.