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Please, send us your questions when you sign our guest book. We would like to include them and our answer in our upcoming Frequently Asked Questions.
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Isn’t there a limited market for the kinds of “process improvement” that you are proposing? What you are selling is what I think most [companies] would like to see their administrative staff have, but if they have it is considered icing on the cake. The bottom line is management wants an end product that is presentable and accurate; they simply want to get the job done.In other words, companies just want the basics [in administering their business]. Does it matter that the person who prepared [a report] didn't use the program to its best ability?And even if there was a need to learn the software better, aren’t there are videos and books available as opposed to paying for your contracted services?We don't think that the market is limited, at all. We simply think that we are thinking outside of the box that everyone has agreed to live within; i.e., that as long as there is a method to "get the job done," that's good. We think that what's considered "icing on the cake" should be the standard. If you don’t strive for excellence in everything you are guaranteed not to have it! No other aspect of any company is allowed to be measured by the mediocre standard of simply getting the job done. Everything any company does is happens through an administrative process; it is easily the largest aspect of any business in which productivity can be measurably improved. Anyone who has worked us on administrative projects will tell you that our commitment to excellence in all aspects of administration are what he or she want in their staff after we leave. Learning the software better is not the issue. We’re focused on learning to use the software better to do every day tasks. And you can’t learn that (or even teach it) from videos and books. What is needed is a way to fill the gap between what can be done, and what is being done. And that’s what Werecat is all about! Back to Top
With so many new and specialized tools being developed every day, can’t a company just find an application to meet their own individual administrative needs? I went to a session today at Cerner to learn a new computerized [database] charting system that Children's Hospital may purchase. If we decide we want it, everything we do will be put into the database. Nurses can do daily charting, physicians can order therapies and write computerized physician notes and summaries, and be able to pull out data that can go into a SPSS or EXCEL file to look at patient outcomes or for research. At the end of the presentation they told us the background of the database program is Oracle.The problem with jumping on Oracle databases as the way to automate administrative tasks is that these products are developed by systems people to produce a particular end product. The people who administer the process have to do things the way the systems people set it up, but systems people don't understand administration. Inputting hiring requisition information into the database at a recent client’s Human Resources department was just an additional process step instead of aid in getting work done because the software did not match the way the company wanted the work done. Everything you mentioned could be done using the software currently available on every hospital’s computer. Notes could be typed and saved in Word files labeled “Last Name First Name Notes Date”. Therapy orders could be sent using Outlook e-mail forms, and saved with the Label “Last Name First Initial Therapy Date. Test result documents could be captured digitally and saved with the label “Last Name…” etc. Simply storing all of the information was stored in the same place in your computer systems means it would only take a few well planned steps to being able to prepare reports or for research. Buying the new software means that all of the information regarding patient care will be stored electronically in the same place and therefore, more easily accessible for recall and reporting than it was in the past. But everything will still have to be customized to prepare the specific end product that your staff wants. And if that work is done using the same mediocre methods as before, you’ll be right back to doing things the same old way, you’ll just be using a pretty new (and expensive) toy to do it. Back to Top
I know you have taken years to develop this business. So, I really hate to say anything. But, don’t you think technology has moved on? Maybe enhancing your database knowledge would give you would get a lot more creditability and put you in a better position to be marketable.You are right, technology has moved on, past administration, without ever bringing it up to the 21st century. Recent statistics regarding the health care industry show how much of the cost of health insurance is associated with ADMINISTERING it (something like 2/3). And we recently heard a senior officer of Cook County (Illinois) services say something about not being able to compare the data in two separate databases because one is updated every day, and one is updated every six months. In the computer age, 2003! CAN YOU IMAGINE? Back to Top
How do you respond to the opinion that you are limiting your market by only providing the expert knowledge a good administrative secretary, if your company is lucky, should have?Actually, the market is huge. Everyone thinks like you do, so everyone is our potential market. The hard part is that it’s kind of like convincing everyone that the earth is round instead of flat. Everyone thinks that you'll fall off into space if you go down that path. Most people have the idea efficient administration means less work (and less jobs) but the truth is exactly the opposite. The horizon for possible administrative process improvement will always move forward; the possibilities for improvement are endless. Back to Top
Can you create Oracle databases? This is what the companies are looking for: systems database [knowledge], for example, Oracle, Microsoft Systems, etc. The market has moved away from Access and Excel databases and moved to Oracle type software programs because of the ability to manipulate large volumes of data. No one even asks how you got the education, companies just want to know that you are system certified and that is enough. This is the hot ticket. How can you be a “systems developer” without it?If an Oracle database was the solution to a client's needs (meaning, the tools at hand were already being used to the best of their ability), Werecat has additional tech resources to enable us to meet that need. On a systems note, the reasons for using Oracle and other systems databases are compelling and valid, but anything that is in an Access database (or an Excel spreadsheet or a Word table) can be moved into an Oracle database in the future, and almost every company has some version of Access (and Excel and Word). The main point is to get companies to use the great tools they already have at hand for getting administrative processes out of the 30 year rut that they are in. Back to Top
It is interesting how all this came about. Computers and desktop applications allowed us to do things we weren’t able to do before. We all learned by the seat of our pants and the software was geared for self-learning. Everyone I know, in school or on the job, had to learn, on the job, how to put together papers, presentations, and develop databases for statistical research. Some of us were better than others, but no one ever taught us [all of the tips and tricks]... and although it wasn't a Michelangelo, it got the job done. It would never occur to me then or now to hire someone to teach me how to do it better. My husband’s company did send him to get 2 day training when they got new computers and Microsoft office systems first came out (one hundred years ago!). However, it was just basic education because back then no one had any knowledge of the system.So, come on now! What’s all the fuss? You guys act like using computers is something new; something only you know how to do correctly. But everyone reading this knows how to use Word, Excel, Internet Explorer!Thank you for asking this question! Of course, everyone reading this knows how to use the software to get “the job done,” meaning that when there is a report or a presentation, they are able to put together, somehow. But computers should be more than just a glorified calculator or typewriter. Computing has revolutionized every aspect of Corporate America except administration; manufacturing (robots completing automatic functions), customer service (doing your banking or paying a bill on-line or even using a teller machine), etc. Truly computerizing the administrative functionality of Corporate America will yield an untold wealth of productivity enhancements. We’re not trying to help people produce Michelangelos; think more on the level of a paint-by-the-numbers picture “punched up.” Let’s take your college paper and turn it into a Corporate Report – like an Annual Report. Properly formatted, word processing applications today can:
And this list does not include using other tools, such as Styles and Macros. Imagine the time (and therefore cost!) savings of automating these functions – with guaranteed accuracy - one time. A 30-page document could be prepared in 8 hours instead of 1 week. And once an automated “template” is developed, the savings would multiply exponentially. Back to Top
It sounds like you want everyone to do everything your way. Is that what Back to Basics is all about?No, Werecat is really about customization for each customer, for each need. Back2Basics is our attempt to establish a basic vocabulary and knowledge for businesses and their personnel in using computers because we believe that not having those basics are keeping your company from making SMART business decisions. Back to Top
I don't know all the names of things, but I know how to use them. Why does your Quiz concentrate on what things are called?One of Werecat's underlying tenets is that computers are underutilized in administering business, and that basics such as knowing what someone means when they call something a "file," is one of the things that could revolutionize how problems and solutions are addressed in daily operations by using computers. Having the same word reference for the same things is what clear communication is all about. Understanding the basics of data storage (how much a 3.5" diskette, a CD, a hard drive can hold -- and being able to do the math to figure it out!), RAM; these are basic concepts that everyone at every company should have rudimentary knowledge of. Back to Top
What makes your database development process so effective?Our focus is getting the job done -- your job. Each project begins with the development of a detailed needs assessment. By asking a few, process-directed questions, we'll map the entire process, from input to output. We'll look at how things are currently done, and how information is used, shared and stored. Then we'll create a simple, effective solution that works the way you do, and meets all of your needs, while eliminating inefficient steps. At every step, our focus remains the work you need to do. Back to Top
How do your databases stack up against other products?Recently, we developed a database for an Executive Staffing organization. They had paid for three database solutions for the same problem within the last three years, without success. Their stated needs? To have a central location for storing candidate information so that they could more effectively share it amongst the group. We gave them a database that featured:
As you would expect, they loved it! Who wouldn't love a fast, user-friendly, dynamic database that provides complete access to all relevant resources, a custom-designed data sorting tool and is designed to ensure data effectiveness. Back to Top
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