A strong data culture is a crucial element in today’s business landscape, and the importance of creating a strong data culture was a key topic of discussion during a recent Driven by Data | The Roundtable, with data leaders in Manchester. Attendees at the event stressed the need to measure data culture in order to gain insight into how it’s evolving within their organization. The well-worn phrase “you measure what you care about” was uttered around the room more than once, during the discussion.
Throughout the evening’s discussion, many leaders also emphasized the importance of encouraging data curiosity across the business, including creating an environment where employees feel comfortable asking questions and exploring data. There were many suggestions of how you may achieve this from data department events to hackathons.
“There is a lot of talk within the industry about hard and soft skills, we know the soft skills are typically harder to master yet have the most impact. Outside of the usual suspects of communication, storytelling, and influencing, one thing we always find at the heart of a really great data professional is having an innate inquisitive and curious nature. Encouraging this attitude towards data is crucial for success.” Kyle Winterbottom, CEO, Orbition Group
Another key topic raised was the importance of proof of concept (POC) in order to gain business buy-in. Attendees noted that while POCs can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, they are an essential part of building trust with stakeholders and demonstrating the potential value of data-driven initiatives. This can be particularly important in industries where there is skepticism around the use of data. These POCs can range in size depending on where you are in your data-culture journey; it was remarked that a cookie-cutter approach would be disastrous.
Interestingly one of the areas that seemed intertwined with data culture was the subjective nature of data maturity. Maturing as an organization is not a one-size-fits-all process, and what might be considered mature in one sector may not be in another. However, it was agreed that organizations should strive to continually improve their data culture and capabilities, regardless of where they are in their journey. There should be an attempt by the data & analytics function to ensure that maturity is happening across the entire organization too, not just in pockets and silos.
“What you tend to find, is that data maturity and data culture are intrinsically linked, so it doesn’t surprise me that this became apparent within the discussions around the room. The more mature you become in your data & analytics capabilities, the stronger your data culture will be” Kyle Winterbottom, CEO, Orbition Group
Finally, participants emphasized the need for alignment between data strategy and business strategy. In order to successfully leverage data for business outcomes, data leaders must work closely with business stakeholders to ensure that data initiatives are aligned with broader organizational goals. This requires strong communication skills and a willingness to collaborate across departments.
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