Boosting Your Digital Skills for Work

Why this matters in Aotearoa New Zealand right now

In Kiwi workplaces, the people who stand out are those who can solve real problems quickly and reliably. Building practical digital skills boosts your autonomy, reduces rework, and helps you add value without always relying on “IT.” The goal here is simple: do better work, faster, with fewer mistakes.

The essential toolkit (no fluff)

Data literacy

• Start with the business question: What decision needs to be made in your team or organisation?
• Choose metrics with context (trend, seasonality, segments) so numbers actually mean something.
• Tell a clear story: context → insight → implication → action.
• Golden rule: if it doesn’t answer a question, it’s decoration.

Advanced Excel/Google Sheets

• Functions that save hours: XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, INDEX/MATCH, IF/IFERROR, FILTER, UNIQUE.
• Pivot Tables with slicers to explore data quickly.
• Power Query/Queries to clean and standardise data in minutes (dates, cases, categories).
• Good practice:
  • A “Parameters” tab, named ranges, and a short “Read me” explaining logic and assumptions.
  • Conditional formatting to highlight exceptions and targets.

SQL and BI basics

• “Survival SQL”: SELECT, WHERE, GROUP BY, JOIN, ORDER BY, LIMIT.
• BI tools (Power BI/Looker Studio): connect sources, build live dashboards, and share role-based views.
• Keep it focused: 3–5 KPIs that genuinely guide decisions.

No code/low code automation

• Quick wins:
  • Form → sheet → automatic acknowledgement email.
  • Update your CRM when a status changes in a spreadsheet.
  • Create project tasks from a form submission.
• Tools: Zapier, Make, and native automations in Google/Microsoft/Notion/Airtable.

Security fundamentals for NZ workplaces

• Classify information (public, internal, restricted) and apply the principle of least privilege.
• Use MFA/2FA and a password manager.
• Respect the Privacy Act 2020: minimise data collected, secure storage, and clear access controls.
• Backups: simple, regular, tested.

A 6 week path you can follow

• Weeks 1–2: Advanced Excel + Power Query on a real monthly report.
• Weeks 3–4: SQL basics + 1 BI dashboard with three critical KPIs.
• Weeks 5–6: One no code automation for a repetitive process (e.g., intake → sheet → notification).

Portfolio mini project (to prove your impact)

• “Cut the monthly report time from 3 hours to 40 minutes using Power Query and a one click Power BI dashboard.”
• Show before/after, include screenshots, and quantify business impact (time saved, errors reduced).

Quick checklist

• Define one key business question.
• Pick one real dataset and standardise dates/categories.
• Deliver one dashboard and one simple automation.
• Document lessons learned and next improvements.