In the Spotlight: Introducing New Reporting Capabilities

BGRS’s newly introduced reporting features, developed with client input, make it even easier to see both ‘at a glance’ status and deep program insights. Clarence Steele, Director of Business Intelligence at BGRS, is In the Spotlight as he provides a look into what the new features mean for BGRS’s clients.

We know that our clients played a big role in developing these new reporting capabilities. Can you tell us a little about that process?

Clarence Steele: Absolutely. Working closely with our clients has been one of the most exciting aspects of developing these new reporting features. Our intensive design-led process involved focus groups and conversations with clients, as well as our internal teams, to provide more insight on the features clients valued. That included identifying the reporting needs of key stakeholders in client organizations, prioritizing the data clients wanted to see on their dashboards, and how they would like to see that data displayed. That input really shaped the design of our reporting capabilities.

What were some of clients’ top priorities?

Clarence: From our focus groups, we knew clients had a couple of key priorities – they wanted to be able to drill down on key areas of interest to them and look at the data in a number of different ways in order to gain a deeper understanding of impact and trends. Ability to flexibly customize the reports according to their specific needs was also key.

So then you turned their wish lists into reality! Tell us about some of these capabilities – what’s new?

Clarence: The first step was to settle on our business intelligence platform. We chose Power BI, knowing that it integrated well with many of our clients’ reporting tools. We used volume, cost, and exceptions as our key data categories, hearing from clients that these were the main areas of interest. We introduced a new geo-spatial map that lets clients view their program data by these key categories, and made it easy for them to filter the data by components such as business unit, geographic area, and date range. Clients can also display data across multiple program areas and drill down to pinpoint the largest impacts on a particular area. For instance, if they want to analyze costs for the year, they can look at them by the variable that has the most impact, such as business division, policy, location etc. That enables them to answer questions like “what are the key drivers of costs in the program,” or “what are the areas of highest exception rates?” This allows clients to better understand the various forces that are affecting their programs, supporting policy and program decisions, and better manage to their talent goals.

Another exciting outcome of the client discussions was identifying new areas of need that were emerging due to new mobility patterns and trends.

Anything else?

Clarence: Beyond the ability to customize the data displays, there is an increasing need for clients to be able to extract our data and incorporate it into their own reporting tools. We can export the detailed data in excel of csv format, with future releases focused on more sophisticated integrations between BGRS and our clients. Data is also updated automatically, so that anytime clients pull a report, the information is accurate and up to the minute. Saving and sharing within their companies is easier too, with established authorization levels to ensure data is protected.

The new capabilities also include reporting for clients with BGRSflex™ programs. Can you tell us a little about those?

Clarence: The new BGRSflex visualizations allow clients to quickly assess which benefits customers are utilizing most frequently along with breakdowns by region to identify geographical trending. This kind of data helps our clients to better understand trends in employee benefit consumption and ultimately make more informed budgeting and policy decisions.

So – what’s next?

Clarence: We already have ideas in the pipeline, such as marrying client data with our Power BI environment for a more integrated client experience – but that’s just a start. We’re looking at this as an iterative process in which new enhancements are based on client input. Keeping our pulse on their needs will drive it all, and we’re looking forward to what we come up with together.