STRATEGY & OPERATIONS
Data Isn’t Just Numbers: Turning Your Data Into a Compelling Story
By Sarah Specht, Founder & President, Specht Technologies
There was a time in my career when one of the numbers I could report was 500.
During the pandemic, a program I managed delivered 500 care packages across five states, while adapting to no-contact requirements.
Five hundred was an impressive number. It was something I could put into a spreadsheet, a report, or a dashboard.
But 500 didn't tell the whole story.
Because I was also responsible for entering and managing the program's data, I could show much more.
I could show that 20 volunteers and 10 staff members helped make those deliveries possible. I could show how many deliveries were made by volunteers and how many were made by staff. I could show the program's reach across five different states.
Suddenly, 500 wasn't just a number.
It showed participation.
It showed reach.
It showed the contribution of volunteers and staff.
It showed how a program adapted during an extraordinary period and continued getting support to people who needed it.
And behind every one of those numbers was a person.
That's when data becomes powerful.
The number tells you what happened. The data around it helps you tell the story.
What Are You Missing When You Only Report the Total?
If I had only collected one number—500 deliveries—I could have answered one question:
How many did we deliver?
But because we captured more information, we could answer much more meaningful questions.
Who helped make it happen?
How much did volunteers contribute?
How much did staff contribute?
How far did the program reach?
How did the work continue when the way we normally operated was no longer possible?
Those pieces of information gave context to the total.
And that's something I think organizations sometimes lose when they become focused on meeting reporting requirements.
We collect the number the grant requires. We count the people served. We report the activities completed.
Those numbers matter. Sometimes they're absolutely required.
But they may only tell part of the story.
Your Data Should Show the Work Behind the Work
There is often an enormous amount of work happening behind a program that never makes it into the final report.
Staff are coordinating.
Volunteers are contributing.
Processes are changing.
Problems are being solved.
People are finding ways to keep services going when circumstances change.
If your data only captures the final number, much of that work can become invisible.
That's why I believe organizations need to think beyond “What are we required to report?”
They should also be asking:
What information will help us understand and demonstrate what it actually takes to do this work?
That doesn't mean collecting everything.
More data isn't necessarily better data.
It means identifying the information that helps you understand your program, demonstrate its reach, recognize the people contributing to it, measure outcomes, meet reporting requirements, and explain the impact of the work you're doing.
The Story Isn't Always About the Biggest Number
Numbers need context.
Five hundred may be an impressive number in one program and an insignificant number in another.
A smaller program might reach fewer people but create a significant change in their lives. Another program might serve thousands of people but have difficulty demonstrating what happened after those services were provided.
That's why activity and impact aren't always the same thing.
How many people did we serve? is an important question.
But so are:
What happened because we served them?
Who helped make that possible?
What resources did it take?
What changed?
What did we learn?
That's where data begins to move beyond counting activity and starts helping an organization understand its impact.
A Dashboard Should Help You See the Story
A dashboard doesn't become valuable because it has beautiful charts.
It's valuable when someone can look at it and understand what's happening.
Leadership may need one view.
Program staff may need another.
A board may need to understand progress and outcomes.
A funder may need specific information tied to grant requirements.
The people doing the day-to-day work may need information that helps them make decisions right now.
The same underlying data can help answer different questions when it's collected, organized, and presented thoughtfully.
And when that happens, reporting stops being something you scramble to assemble when somebody asks for it.
The story is already there.
Keeping the Work Going While Making the Data Work Better
The reality is that organizations don't get to stop doing the work while they figure out how to improve their systems.
Programs still have to run.
Staff still have responsibilities.
Volunteers still need to be coordinated.
People still need services.
Grants still have requirements.
Reports still have deadlines.
I understand that because I've been on that side of the work.
During the pandemic, I wasn't simply looking at a spreadsheet showing 500 deliveries. I was managing the program while also managing the data that documented what we were accomplishing.
I knew what those numbers represented because I understood the work behind them.
That's the perspective we bring to Specht Technologies.
We understand that you can't put your organization's work on hold while you rebuild a database, clean up years of information, rethink what you're collecting, prepare for a grant report, or create a better reporting system.
Our goal is to help you keep the work moving while making the systems behind that work better.
That might mean streamlining how information is collected, reducing duplicate entry, identifying what really needs to be tracked, organizing existing data, improving workflows, or creating dashboards and reports that make the story behind the work visible.
Because the data running through an organization is about much more than numbers.
It can show the work.
It can show the people behind the work.
It can show the reach.
It can show the challenges.
It can show the outcomes.
And ultimately, it can help show why the work matters.
Technology and data shouldn't create more work for the people already carrying it. They should make it easier to do the work—and easier to show why that work matters.
Trying to solve a complex technology, data, or process challenge?
Let's talk about what your organization needs.