The Common Problem: Treating Data Input as “Admin”
“They know they should be filling in the forms but it’s just not getting done.”
I’ve heard this frustration a few times in recent conversations.
As the conversations progressed, it was clear that the reason for non-completion is not due to people being difficult or lazy. Often it’s because the individual does not see form filling as the main part of their “real” job.
They view data entry as ‘admin’ and when that happens, the input may get pushed down a to-do list or ignored.
As a data analyst, I understand the impact of data not being input because if data isn’t input then I can’t analyse it. But there is a way to improve this: explain ‘why’ the form needs to be filled in, not just ‘what’ needs to be done.
From ‘Admin’ to Performance (The Sports Story)
“The players really like the new system but I couldn’t get them to complete the feedback forms which would make the system work even better for them.”
I was speaking with a sports coach who was using video technology on the playing field to capture a player’s play from various angles. The players loved it because they could watch their play back and notice things the coach was encouraging them to do which they hadn’t noticed before.
To improve their game even more, part of the system required players to fill in a form immediately after each training session stating how they felt and how they thought the training session had gone.
It was a simple form, but it was being ignored.
The coach was frustrated thinking “Why won’t they complete the forms? It’s for their benefit” while the players thought “I don’t want to do ‘admin’, I just want to play.”
The coach hadn’t appreciated initially that this was how the players viewed the forms. By handing out forms and telling the players to fill them in (the ‘what’ to do), they had omitted to fully explain ‘why’ it helped the players. Once the coach realized this and explained how the information was used to spot trends in play, and suggest improvements tailored to them, the forms were filled in.
Once the players understood why the forms were important and saw the direct benefit to their own performance, the attitude and behaviour changed from ‘filling in forms’ to improving performance.
The Danger of giving the Wrong ‘Why’ (The CRM Story)
In another case, a team was using a CRM system to track customer interactions and potential future work. However, the input was often minimal or inconsistent (just enough input to get the form to submit), late, or omitted altogether.
I spoke to an individual who had been tasked with improving the volume and quality of the input.
The person knew the staff were professional, cared about the customers, and provided a high standard of service, but they also knew that work had been lost because too many people from different departments were phoning the same customers with offerings and the customers were fed up of the constant calls. This happened because not everyone was logging their discussions on the CRM system.
In internal discussions, some departments were very surprised, annoyed, and upset to hear that customers had been lost as they had not been advised — as the CRM had not been updated!
The individual understood that some staff viewed the CRM input as ‘admin’ and felt like it was a distraction from their main job. This was one reason for the lack of data input.
But there was a bigger reason — an ill-judged explanation of ‘why’ the data mattered had previously been given to staff.
Staff had been told the reason why they had to input the information was for management reporting and Directors bonuses. This reason felt remote from the day jobs of the staff and offered them no incentive to add information to the CRM.
Changing the ‘why’ to being customer focused, understanding that the input or lack thereof affected other departments abilities to do their jobs, and being transparent about the loss of customers resulted in increased input to the CRM system.
Input improved because the ‘why’ finally aligned with something the team cared about — making their job easier and better customer service.
When the ‘Why’ is Invisible (The Accounts Payable Story)
In the workplace, it is common for people to focus solely on their own tasks without realizing how their input — or lack of it — affects others. Often, this is not due to carelessness, but because the wider context is not visible.
I recently spoke with a finance manager at a global organization who was surprised to find that their accounts payable team didn’t realize how much other departments relied on their data for financial reporting and making decisions. The team was relatively new and, during a quick induction, they had only been told ‘what’ to do — process the invoice so it could be paid.
So, while the team was getting the work done, they did not realise that inputting data into the wrong fields or using vague description made the information difficult for others to use.
That only became clear when the manager organised a call where the full process was laid out end-to-end.
Once the team could see who relied on their input and heard tales about the impact for others when the input wasn’t quite right, the quality improved.
It is understandable to focus on the “what” when someone is new to a role but circling back later to explain the “why” is what cements the understanding.
Explain the “Why”
In each of these stories, the underlying issue was the same.
It wasn’t that people didn’t know what they should be doing, they just didn’t see the full picture as to why it mattered.
When people see the direct link between their effort and a better outcome — whether that’s their own improved performance, a better experience for a customer, or a smoother process for a teammate — the behaviour can change.
It is a small shift, but it is more effective than just repeating an instruction.
So, if the data you require is not being input to your system, perhaps consider moving from saying ‘what’ is required and start explaining ‘why’.