The more data-literate your company is, the better you’ll be able to achieve your goals. Working with companies all around the world, it’s clear to me that those organizations that don’t increase their data literacy will be behind. This is due to not being able to make the most of the valuable business resource of data. In this post, I explain data literacy and discuss why it is so important for every business.
What is Data Literacy?
The first step towards data literacy is to be able to communicate, write, and understand data within context. Next, data literacy requires that employees, and not only data scientists, critically analyze the data to find meaning in them, and then extract actionable business insights. Employees who are experts in a specific business area will be best equipped to apply data insights to produce results. All employees within an organization should have access to data. If your organization is data-literate, it can make data-based decisions. However, users will also be able to experiment with the data to discover new insights or opportunities. Data is not only collected but it must be put to use. This will ensure your business’s success in the future.
Why is data literacy so important for every business?
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), spending on big data and analytics products is expected to surpass $200,000,000 by 2020. However, 50% of organizations will still not have the data literacy and AI skills needed to achieve business value. It doesn’t matter how big your organization’s data collection is, it won’t make any difference if it isn’t put to good use for your business. Data must be analyzed to gain actionable insights that can provide business value.
Data literacy will be the 21st Century’s equivalent to literacy in the last century.
Data Literacy Training will lead to success and momentum. Everyone within an organization must be aware of the reasons why data literacy is important. Employees should understand how data can be used to affect their day-to-day activities and to help them make better big-picture choices. The right approach can help each employee reach their goals, do their jobs better, and make a positive contribution to the company’s overall performance. You can also make your operations more efficient by giving everyone access to the data. People who understand their business won’t need to wait for data scientists. The bottleneck has been removed.
Furthermore, employees who can read and understand data will be better equipped to manage it appropriately. This will help to reduce the number of data breaches.
These six crucial steps will help you improve your organization’s data literacy.
1. Your organization’s current level of data literacy. Is your manager able to suggest new initiatives supported by relevant information? What percentage of decision-makers is using data?
2. Identify fluent speakers of data and gaps in data analysis. Data analysts must be able to speak fluently about data. However, translators are needed to help bridge the gap and facilitate communication between data analysts. You should also identify the communication barriers that hinder data from reaching its full potential.
3. Explain why data literacy’s important. People who understand the “why”, of initiatives, are more likely to support the training. Your organization’s success depends on data literacy.
4. Access the data. It is important that everyone can access, manipulate, analyze, and then share the data. This may require the use of technology like a data visualization system or management dashboard to make it simpler.
5. It is best to start small when creating a data literacy plan. Begin with one business unit and begin to assess “missed opportunity” with data. Your pilot program will help you to improve the program. You should make data literacy fun and interesting. Remember, data training does not have to be boring.
6. Your leaders should lead by example and prioritize data insights within their work. This will show other members of the organization that you value data for making decisions and supporting day-to-day operations. Proposals for new services or products must be supported with relevant data and analytics. This will help to create a data-first mindset.
Every organization will have a different path, but everyone must start the journey to becoming a data literate. Or they will find themselves in the future business world. Data literacy is the key to success.
