Getting data culture right and why it matters

There’s been a renewed focus on digital transformation over the past two years, driven in part by the pandemic. Whilst it was already on many organizations’ agendas and a central component of their business strategy, the pandemic led to a significant need to speed up the digital transformation that was underway.

Accompanying this shift, there has also been the growing need for better data literacy across all employees. However, the importance that businesses place on data literacy awareness and training, and the benefits that greater data literacy can bring, often fades into the background when introducing new technologies or initiatives. The issue here is that if employees are not fore-armed with the right knowledge, businesses simply are unprepared to reap the full rewards that tech strategies can offer, hindering the accrual of any long-term benefits.

A ‘data culture’ plays an essential role when it comes to an effective digital transformation within the business. Specifically, data culture is when everyone within an organization understands the potential value of data, their role in using data, and how data-driven insights and actions can accelerate the achievement of the overall goals of the business. McKinsey predicts that by 2025, most employees will be leveraging data to support their work, so it is going to be vital that they have a solid understanding of how value can be derived.

However, business leaders will not wake up one morning to find that their business has a thriving data culture. It takes work and is an ongoing process. You have probably already heard the term ‘data-driven’ being thrown around as leadership teams plan ahead. To bear the fruits of this labor, they are going to need to make sure that their data culture is strong.

It might be hard to see how a data-first approach can be implemented across the business and some employees could find it difficult to see how data can be of real value within their role. So, it will be essential to break through these barriers to introduce a strong data culture: there are a number of steps that businesses can take to help them achieve this.

As is often the case, a good first step is supporting current staff, ensuring that they feel comfortable and positive about embracing new ways of working. This can be done by making sure that the right enablement and training is in place to help them succeed.