Duplicate Entries
Last month we had a look at how to merge any duplicate entries of Stakeholders and Properties in the system. But unless you’ve found one while entering data, how do you know what duplicate entries are in the system?
There are a couple of options available to find any duplicate entries, all of which can be found in the general Search tab of the system.
You can either run a search to Find a Stakeholder based on a duplicate Email, Name, or Organisation.
It may be worth running the search on a couple of those parameters to make sure you’ve found all of them.
Once you’ve got your list, you can either export them into a .csv file to have a closer look at them or start merging away!
Why would I want to get rid of Duplicate entries?
Firstly, they can take up unnecessary space in your system, but most importantly, they could create confusion and ultimately, missed data.
For example, you have a phone call with Jane Bennet, and when you search for that name in the database, 2 results turn up, both matching the description of the Stakeholder you just spoke to. Which profile do you relate the Event to? Which profile do you look at when you want to know more about Jane?
Option a) Relate the Event to both Stakeholders and call it a day.
This option would make sure anyone looking at either profile knows they were involved in that Event. However, it would also show that more Stakeholders were involved in Events than actually participated, which would be reflected in any reports run involving Events.
Option b) Pick one Stakeholder and hope for the best.
This is the option that can lead to staff members missing data. If you’re about to have a meeting with Jane, you might look at their profile to see if there’s something you should know before meeting with them. If the Event is associated with the other profile, you might miss an important interaction which may be brought up in the meeting.
So to keep your database tidy and easy to navigate, have a look at last month’s merging blog, and start merging those confusing duplicates!
Next month we’ll be looking at cloning – a great option to save time if you have a recurring Event or Action to complete.
