5 Tips to Cultivate a Data Driven Culture

Data Driven Culture February 26, 2021

Mary Kate Morrow

Writer

5 Easy Tips to Make a Data Driven Culture

Creating data driven business culture is a top priority for many corporations. In fact, 50% of companies have already invested in big data according to studies. Over 70% of those businesses plan to make additional big data investments in the future. The drive to create data driven culture is unsurprising when considering the value data offers businesses.

Despite access to extensive financial resources and an abundance of research available to consult, some businesses are still struggling to become data driven. Studies conclude that obstacles to create data based businesses are oftentimes more cultural than fiscal. In a data driven culture, data is considered a strategic asset of a company. From decision making to business processes, a data driven culture handles information in a very specific way.

Creating data driven culture may initially feel overwhelming for some business professionals. Thankfully there are many best practices and tips available to guide professionals seeking to create data driven business culture. 5 tips and best practices for creating data driven culture in the workplace include-

1. Leadership

Creating a data driven culture is much easier if a business has the right people on its team. From data scientists to chief data officers, there are many positions for businesses to consider. Increasingly, businesses are discovering the value of having a chief data officer on staff. A chief data officer is an amazing resource for businesses seeking to create data driven culture. The chief data officer role oversees everything from data driven decision making to creating data strategy.

Business intelligence and data analytics are also common responsibilities of chief data officers. Data scientists are analytical data experts that can significantly assist efforts for building data driven culture within a business. Data scientists help businesses with many decision making needs with data based suggestions. Unfortunately, many data scientists are sequestered within their businesses. To avoid this, unnecessary boundaries between other business professionals and data scientists should be minimized.

2. Accessibility

Even data driven companies can struggle to find a balance between accessibility and security. On one hand, in order to create data driven organizations it is essential that employees have organization data access. On the other hand, a data driven organization must make sure that anyone who is not authorized is able to access data in order to keep information secure.

Thankfully there are many data driven companies that have figured out how to become data accessible for employees while maintaining security. Data management software is a great tool for helping businesses build data accessibility and security. With some data management software programs offering self service platforms and machine learning technology, employee data access can be even further optimized.

3. Integration

Proper data integration is a powerful tool for building data driven culture. In the same way that data management software can help with accessibility, it can also help with integration capabilities. Machine learning offered by artificial intelligence has done much to optimize data management software. The best data management software can synch and streamline customer and organization data seamlessly.

An example of integration between software programs occurs when sales records in sales automation software are connected to marketing software. As a result, a business could analyze data regarding advertisement effectiveness and make decisions that are company data based. Additionally, proper management software integration can significantly decrease employee time spent on redundant data entry. Plus, data quality will not be compromised unintentionally through accidental employee data entry errors or inaccuracies.

4. Objectives

The establishment of data based objectives is crucial to building data driven culture. Businesses must make sure that data based goals are communicated to staff members that possess varying data literacy capabilities. Data based goals should also include appropriate key performance indicators. Key performance indicators and data based objectives can encompass business processes ranging from sales to marketing processes. Businesses must make sure to use data for all goal oriented tasks. As such, data must not only be accessible but also be utilized effectively to support internal processes.

5. Decisions

Too often, businesses make decisions without utilizing data properly. Unfortunately, even in a self proclaimed data driven organization, this phenomenon can still occur. Efforts to collect data and preserve quality data are wasted if the information is not properly used for decision making initiatives. In order to create data driven culture in a company, processes should support decisions. Decision making that is based on data analytics and insights may necessitate information from a variety of different channels and sources. As such, data management software can help businesses make sure they are executing the best decision making possible.

Data Driven Culture- Key Takeaways

A data culture is crucial for both optimal business success and bottom line profitability. The data business professionals use helps build a driven company and workforce.
Becoming data driven necessitates a cultural change that could change management processes and overall company objectives.