“fivestar* was very receptive to our idea of a dashboard and produced an amazing product for our organization. They were always prompt in their work and happy to provide follow-up assistance as needed”. - Carrie Mihalko, Statewide Development Director, Steel Valley Authority
The Steel Valley Authority (SVA) is a nationally recognized leader in layoff aversion, offering programs such as the Strategic Early Warning Network and Layoff Aversion Training and Technical Expertise. These initiatives support workers, their families, small manufacturers, and communities by identifying and preserving at-risk jobs.
To pinpoint companies in need of SVA's services, numerous Excel files from multiple sources were previously compiled, transformed, and analyzed manually. This labor-intensive and time consuming process involved cross referencing data, cleaning inconsistencies, and consolidating information to identify potential clients and market opportunities.It required reviewing thousands of records with varying formats and quality and performing repetitive data manipulation tasks, which increased the likelihood of human error and limited the team's ability to act quickly on insights.
To address this challenge, our team collaborated with SVA to gain a comprehensive understanding of the key metrics and criteria used to identify at-risk companies. This involved working closely with stakeholders to map out existing workflows, define business rules, and prioritize the data points most critical to decision-making. We developed a Power BI solution that integrates data from Excel workbooks and Salesforce, enabling the creation of dynamic visuals for SVA's reporting needs. This integration allowed for real-time access to a centralized dataset, greatly improving efficiency and data accuracy. These visuals included maps to display the geographic distribution of companies, tables summarizing critical company information, and customizable filters to refine results based on specific risk indicators or business attributes.
As a result of this solution, SVA significantly reduced the time required to identify at-risk companies- from several hours to just minutes. SVA gained additional benefits including:
Consolidation:
All seven data lists were consolidated into one platform.
Eliminated the need for manual cross-referencing.
Advanced Filtering:
Quick identification of manufacturers appearing on multiple lists.
Reduced time spent on manual identification and addressing redundancies.
Automation:
Automated data integration and matching processes.
Minimize human error, resulting in higher accuracy in outreach efforts.