How Can Government Employees Obtain Clean & Aligned Data?

If you work for a small to mid-sized county government in social services, criminal justice, or any other role that uses data then you already know: getting reliable data is a huge challenge.

Most government agencies use several different tools between Excel, forms, and databases. To get a holistic view across these different systems, a data-cleansing and synchronization process is a must. But right now, it often looks like this: 

• Data is entered into different systems 
• Data is then exported and brought into Excel
• Someone attempts to manually cleanse and align it
• Start all over again next month

This creates several huge problems. The biggest is that this is extremely time-consuming and very much prone to human error. Another is that it’s difficult to identify the same client across different systems. 

So how can government employees effectively obtain clean and coordinated data? There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but there is a better way. 

Related Content: Case Study: Increasing Efficiency & Data Access for Human Services County Department

Efficiently Obtain Clean, Coordinated Data with A Better System

If your foundation is shaky, then the whole house might fall down. The same is true for data. No matter how optimized, any organization that uses multiple databases, data entry points, and static documents that need to be uploaded, there is going to be dirty data. 

The best approach is an ongoing data solution to extract, cleanse and condense data into a single environment for reporting and analytics. That’s where Superior Consulting Services can help.

We look at your current systems and create a repeatable, automated process for data reporting and analytics. The specifics may change, but generally, we recommend a process that looks like this:

1. Data is extracted from your various current systems and spreadsheets.
2. That data is merged into a common repository (data warehouse).
3. During the extract process, we combine and transform the data to eliminate bad data, correct obvious errors, and tie together common items (i.e. a client receiving multiple services) across systems.
4. We establish an automated process that will execute items 1-3 routinely, to optimize new data as it’s collected.

The end result? A dynamic, easy-to-use reporting environment. Access dynamic reports to track the vital information you need:

• View current case loads per service, team, or employee.
• Track which services are being utilized and how, in order to meet grant requirements.
• See the full scope of services a single client is receiving, or broaden the scope to look for demographic trends and commonalities.
• Gain the valuable data you need to identify areas of optimization so you can better serve your community.

The specific environment depends on your systems, data, and needs. The challenge with trying to clean up data - as you’ve probably discovered - is that there is no one-size-fits-all all solution. When you have a problem like this that needs a custom solution, then you need a partner with the experience to problem-solve for your unique setup. That partner is Superior Consulting Services. 

We have extensive experience with government organizations, particularly County Human Services departments. To get a taste of what we can do, check out a few of our case studies:

Case Study: Increasing Efficiency & Data Access for Human Services County Department

Case Study: Optimizing Data for a City

To explore how we can help your county, request a free consultation. This no-obligation session is an opportunity to discuss your needs. No viewing of sensitive data is required during this session. We can provide you with concrete next steps and an action plan for moving forward.