There are a bunch of fancy-pants new apps on the market that promise to help you get stuff done fast, whether it's a location-tracking-list-automating-password-managing-calendaring app or some other *insert buzzword* tool that seems like a multi-tasking dream.
While it's a rare case that the old school tool is actually cool, there's a reason why Excel has been the gold standard for so long when it comes to problem-solving. It helps you make sense of raw numbers, whether you're organizing them, crunching them or trying to come to a business conclusion from your calculations (like whether or not you should take the name business trip next year, or what your margins for production for a new business offering actually are).
Since 80% of jobs require spreadsheet and word processing skills, it makes sense you've probably stumbled over Excel at one point in time. But the tool does a whole lot more than just produce a table of numbers - here are four reasons why you should learn Excel:
1. Excel Helps Solve Business Problems
So, you need to compile a list of all the events you had in Q4 and compare the return they produced to the ones your company launched in Q1 — then you need to present your findings to the sales and marketing teams, and make an assessment on what kind of events you should hold the next year. How do you figure out what content might be the most relevant? How can you forecast what kind of return you'd get, based off of the leads the previous quarters returned?
Does that sound intimidate to you? It's admittedly a tough task, but it honestly wouldn't be so bad if you knew how to use Excel. That one tool can handle it all, from organizing data (like dates, number of attendees, numbers of leads produced and eventually, number of closed deals), to completing both basic and complex mathematical formulas (immediate ROI calculations and forecasting). You can also turn that data into easy-to-visualize charts and graphs to make a more compelling case for your assessments.
In short: Excel helps you draw actionable conclusions from data - and that alone is a huge reason to master the tool.
2. You Can Get Your Work Done Faster
Please don't type in calculations (agonizingly slowly) on your phone or calculator app during your lunch break, trying to figure out some numbers - that's so 1990. Instead of adding up your monthly expense report yourself (also known as entering the 9th circle of hell), use Excel's programs and functions to add them up for you. Plus, it's pretty much guaranteed to be more accurate than if you attempted it yourself.
3. Give Yourself More Hiring Options
Excel is a universal computer program - it's so widely used, it's almost like having a shared language used between teams, even if every other platform in your office environment is department-specific. Managers know the value of having a skill that's so easily transferable, so knowing Excel well can increase your options in terms of job prospects, or even increase your starting salary.
And if you're interested in a field like data analysis, where knowing how to use Excel to make sophisticated calculations is essential, it can literally be the difference between getting hired or up to thousands tacked onto your salary.
4. Excel Skills Are Useful In Any Profession
Regardless of what you're doing in the office, there's definitely a way that Excel can help you do it better - whether that's organizing your data more efficiently, streamlining your workflow through automation or communicating your ideas.
DCM's Excel Training Courses
Our Microsoft Excel courses cover a range of topics, which will enhance your knowledge of Microsoft Excel features and the steps required to use these features correctly.
Our courses are designed to help your team understand how to use Excel correctly and improve the team's efficiency in using spreadsheets at an introductory, intermediate or advanced level.
Our 1-day Introduction to Excel will show you the basic commands, functions and capabilities of Microsoft Excel. It is designed for those who are new to spreadsheets. You will begin to learn how to input data, work with formulas and functions, and then create tables and charts in order to demonstrate figures visually and attractively.
Our 1-day Intermediate Excel course is designed for learners who have used Excel before and want to expand their knowledge, improve formatting, organise data, highlight key information and creating formulas/links between sheets.
Our 1-day Advanced Excel course is aimed at learners who have a good grounding in Excel either from experience or from attending our Intermediate Microsoft Excel training course. If your job involves manipulating and analysing data in Excel, you will find this course very useful.
If you have any questions about any of courses, please feel free to contact one of our team today.
Source: Digg.com
