If you can’t see it, you can’t manage it. But making sure you have all the pertinent facts - and can lay your hands on what’s relevant, when it’s relevant - can be a real challenge. 

Most of us can only hold about 3 to 4 things in our working memory at once, which is why important details disappear unless they’re written down and stored properly.

The more your business grows, the more there is to absorb. Admin becomes harder to deal with, day-to-day tasks quickly pile up, and working between inboxes, folders and spreadsheets saps time and energy. No wonder you can’t remember what you had for breakfast!  

In a world that’s increasingly data-driven, many organisations feel they’re drowning in details and can’t see the wood from the trees. 

What slows teams down isn’t data, it’s not having a clear way to find the key details quickly. With WorkSmarter’s software, the ‘filter’ is built in - so you’ll see the right information and avoid everything else from cluttering your view.

And of course the right information needs to be kept up to date, easily retrieved by the right people, and be accurate. If you rely on information that isn’t evidenced, you run the risk of your ‘facts’ proving unreliable and non-compliant.

Taking a methodical approach to collecting, storing and analysing your company information means you can pinpoint the crucial facts and obtain real insights that help you make informed decisions and meet your statutory obligations.

Capture the Essentials

Personal & employment: collecting all the right basic information enables everything to run smoothly, from payroll to holiday entitlement. Include background checks, role and workplace responsibilities, working hours, and all employment terms and conditions.

Absence & leave: did you know that UK workers lost 148.9 million days to sickness in 2024? That’s 4.4 days per worker on average, according to data from the ONS.

Understanding your own absence and leave numbers helps you spot patterns: this valuable information can be evaluated and acted upon to help support staff, reduce sickness absence, and organise your rotas more effectively.

Return to Work notes and absence reports mean managers don’t have to remember past conversations, rely on guesswork or risk bias. Evidence really does beat opinion when it comes to staff absence - when you can see it, you can tackle it.

Performance & progress: the best way to help your team perform consistently and effectively is to have regular check-ins, and set clear, realistic goals and objectives. Probation reviews for new staff can help them understand what’s expected, and when. If issues arise, support can include additional or refresher training.

Keep everything documented, even if it’s just a few short notes on progress, actions and deadlines, so managers can see the full picture at a glance, spot patterns early and keep conversations fair and consistent over time.

Store & Retrieve

Being able to locate and access the right information when you need it relies on having one central place where you can find everything.

If information is hidden away in email threads, personal drives and old spreadsheets, you’ll be fighting a losing battle and increasing your risk of data breach.

The ICO’s incident data shows mis-sent or mishandled emails are a persistent cause of reported personal data breaches. Scattered details make that more likely.

UK GDPR requires you to assess and, where needed, report qualifying personal data breaches to the ICO within 72 hours. If you’re ever accidentally caught out, you’ll need to know where everything is stored and be able to retrieve it as quickly as possible.
 
Centralise all your HR information, control access, and keep an audit trail. 

Linked documents: for the sake of security, ease of access, and compliance, anything crucial connected to your employees should be stored safely within their HR file with secure access controls.

Data Transformed

When all the facts are drawn together, it’s easier to see the bigger picture. Clear, evidence-based reports give you a true view of what’s really happening in your company. If you don’t know the in-depth facts about company absences, for example, you may miss any issues that could be dealt with at an early stage.

Staying close to key metrics gives you more control. Factual summaries help you spot trends and keep day-to-day operations running smoothly.

At-a-glance metrics on holidays, absence, TOIL and overtime show where cover is tight and where workloads need balancing.

Ready for Change

With the government’s Employment Rights Bill in its final stages, significant changes will be coming soon to every workplace. New requirements around unfair dismissal, sick pay, parental rights and much more mean it’s essential to keep all your employee facts and figures recorded and organised so you can evidence decisions and remain compliant.

The WorkSmarter Way

WorkSmarter gives you one trusted place for HR data, bringing your essential people information together. Managers don’t have to remember to sweat the small stuff because everything’s documented, so nothing gets lost.

At a glance: dashboard, shared holiday & absence calendars, work schedules and timesheets.

Go deeper: HR files, employee records, performance management, training records.

Instant insights: reports for teams, absence, expenses, timesheets, assets & issuances, accident logbook and so much more.

Secure by design: Your sensitive workforce data is encrypted, backed up and protected. Compliance is built in and access permission-driven, so the right people see the right information - and only when they need to.

Take a quick data health check with one of our platform specialists. Get in touch today.