Read two. Pick one. Commit before you open a single tool.

01 · The Overtime DecisionOperations

The situation. Overtime has been climbing for nine months while headcount falls. Two vacancies have been open since April and were never filled. One team is running noticeably higher absence than every other.

Your initiative. A staffing decision you can defend in a budget meeting: hire, or keep paying overtime. Say which team, how many people, and what it costs or saves in year one.

Your data.

⬇Downloadops-overtime-2026.csv

Nine months of overtime by team and month: hours, cost, headcount, absence per person, open vacancies.

⬇Downloadops-hiring-costs-2026.csv

Salary, recruitment cost, onboarding weeks, standard hours and the overtime rate for each role.

Watch out. One row is obviously impossible. Do not just delete it. The cost cell on that row is correct, so the real number can be recovered.

02 · The Retention ProgrammeHuman Resources

The situation. 146 people left over eighteen months. Leadership believes the problem is the biggest department and that people leave for money. Neither belief has been tested against the data.

Your initiative. A targeted retention programme: which department the budget goes to, what the actual leaving reason is, and two interventions with an owner each.

Your data.

⬇Downloadhr-leavers-2026.csv

Eighteen months of leavers: department, hire and leave dates, tenure band, reason, voluntary, exit interview done.

⬇Downloadhr-headcount-2026.csv

Average headcount and number of locations per department, same period.

Watch out. The department with the most leavers is not the department with the problem. You need both files to prove that.

03 · The Channel RescueCustomer Service

The situation. 564 tickets across five channels in six months. One channel breaches its target on almost every ticket and yet has the happiest customers in the business. Another is quietly collapsing.

Your initiative. A channel rescue plan: name the channel that is genuinely failing, say why, and propose a staffing or target change with the numbers behind it.

Your data.

⬇Downloadcs-tickets-2026.csv

Six months of tickets: channel, date, hour, request type, first response hours, resolved first contact, satisfaction.

⬇Downloadcs-staffing-2026.csv

Agents assigned, hours covered and the response target for each channel.

Watch out. A high breach rate is not proof of failure. Before you accuse a channel, check whether its target was ever realistic.

04 · The Supplier ConsolidationProcurement

The situation. 193 purchase orders across five categories and a long tail of suppliers. Spend is concentrated in one category, and one supplier delivers late far more often than the rest.

Your initiative. A consolidation recommendation: which category to address first, which supplier relationships to keep or exit, and what the change is worth.

Your data.

⬇Downloadprocurement-purchase-orders-2026.xlsx

A year of purchase orders: date, category, supplier, value, delivery days, on time, requested by.

⬇Downloadprocurement-purchase-orders-2026.csv

The same rows as plain text, if you would rather paste than upload.

Watch out. Count your suppliers before you rank them. At least one appears under more than one spelling, and it changes the ranking.

05 · The Recognition ProgrammePeople

The situation. 161 staff responded to the engagement survey. One department scores far below every other, and one question scores worst across the whole company. The file itself is not clean.

Your initiative. A 90 day recognition programme: two actions aimed at the weakest score, an owner for each, and a pulse survey to prove movement.

Your data.

⬇Downloademployee-satisfaction-2026.csv

161 survey responses. Six questions scored 1 to 5, an overall score, and free text comments.

Watch out. The department that looks best has three responses in it. Say what the data supports, and admit what it cannot.

06 · The Cost Control ProgrammeFinance

The situation. The year to date position is over budget, and the Summary sheet does not agree with the detail behind it. Three defensible answers exist to the question of how far over.

Your initiative. A cost control programme for the next quarter: three concrete measures, each tied to a budget line, plus a monthly variance review so overruns surface in weeks.

Your data.

⬇Downloaddepartment-budget-2026.xlsx

Two sheets: 32 detail lines with budget against actual, and a department Summary.

⬇Downloaddepartment-budget-2026.csv

The same detail lines as plain text.

Watch out. Every saving you promise must trace to a line in the workbook. A saving with no line behind it is a wish.

07 · Your Own WorkBring your own

The situation. A decision from your own department, using your own data. Better than any of ours, if it clears the gate.

Your initiative. The same four deliverables, on your own redacted material. The instructor signs it off before you start.

Watch out. Four questions first, and all four must be yes. Can you name the decision somebody has to make? Do you have the data in a file today? Have you redacted every name, ID, salary and contract reference? Would you be comfortable if this file appeared on a screen in this room? Anything less than four, take one of ours.