TH Herbert is the CEO of Semarchy, a data software company that enables organizations to leverage their data to create business value.
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Data remains one of the greatest assets to drive innovation. In the whirlwind of shifting marketing strategies, hiring decisions and scaling, executives must prioritize the collection and intelligent use of the metrics at their fingertips. This is especially true when creating a healthy and successful company culture—a space where employees feel confident in relying on data to inform their decisions.
However, business leaders should understand that fostering a data-driven company culture for their organizations can be challenging. According to a 2019 survey by NewVantage Partners, 92% of companies identified that cultural, organizational and process challenges presented the biggest roadblocks to becoming a data-driven organization.
In my experience, such challenges are often driven by a combination of lack of knowledge, fear of losing control, intimidation due to the perceived scope and complexity of the problem, and excessive “gatekeeping” across departments and data silos. Problems like these hurt team productivity, collaboration and communication, and ultimately hamper progress in better leveraging one’s data.
What’s important to remember is that having a data-driven mindset means looking beyond the numbers and challenges during all decision-making. Your company culture can thrive when you turn these insights into assets—and strategically put them to use in everyday operations. These changes can allow your team to collaborate better, accurately predict market changes, and boost ROIs.
Here are four actionable ways to foster a data-driven company culture in 2023.
Educate your team about data analytics.
Rather than relying on the skill sets of your company’s data scientists, offer educational opportunities to each department of your organization. To truly develop a data-driven culture, the entire team must successfully share the standard skills of collecting, governing and enriching data.
Depending on your industry, push for initiatives to teach them about data management, data quality, the importance of shared and “master” data and other key concepts to gaining true business insights from their data and analytics.
Whether planning monthly seminars or enrolling your employees in an online course to complete in their own time, these learning opportunities can empower your teams to leverage resources in innovative ways. They can also encourage data accountability at all levels of your organization, demonstrating your culture’s commitment to security and compliance with important policies. Just remember that this learning is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to get comfortable with this shift in mindset.
Democratize decision-making.
One leader should not make company-wide decisions—they should be democratized, allowing for those on the front lines to raise their voices. After all, data scientists can have stronger relationships with a company’s insights than its executives do.
As a business leader, you must remove your own biases from the equation and ask for your employees’ perspectives. When receiving input from your teams, ask them to back up their claims using analytics and trusted data sources. What pieces of data support their claims? Are these insights transparent across all departments? When you decentralize the decision-making process, you allow diverse perspectives into the mix. Data, when accurate, doesn’t lie, and this diversity of responses can move you in the right direction.
Build a leadership team to push data initiatives.
A company’s managers are the ones who set the standard for shifting their company culture. That is why building a leadership team that prioritizes data initiatives is essential. At our company, we do everything in our power to lead by example and ensure every strategy’s quality. We’re smaller than other organizations in the data management space, but we are committed to maintaining governance and making data-driven decisions.
Ensure your leadership team’s core values and business goals align. It is also crucial to measure each individual’s engagement. According to a Fortune survey cited by McKinsey, “just 10 percent [of CEOs] said that their leadership-development initiatives have a clear business impact.” It’s time to turn the tides and elect enthusiastic and flexible leaders to push these initiatives forward.
Emphasize the benefits and value.
The benefits and value of fostering a data-driven company culture are limitless. The value should guide technology decisions, empowering businesses to make better data a permanent fixture in their modern enterprise. Your team can make smarter decisions, boost productivity, enhance customer experiences and confidently respond to challenges. Ultimately, becoming data-driven can empower organizations to pursue digital and data transformation initiatives. If you want to make your mark in the business sector, it’s important that your employees consider data one of their most valuable growth tools.
It is a cultural decision to treat data as power—and if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that, in the long run, capabilities will benefit your employees, your customers, and your business.
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