Data communication
The benefits of data truly touch every aspect of an organisation, from performance of individual tasks to finding efficiencies with everyday operations, yet the problem is highlighting this to decision makers in a way that is accessible.
“Data has tremendous potential – when leveraged correctly, it can transform entire workflows, streamline business processes, and inform strategic planning, which can lead to significant cost savings, and sometimes even revenue growth,” said Waseem Ali, chief executive officer, Rockborne. “However, despite data’s various benefits, an investment in data can take a while to pay off. And this can be frustrating to business leaders, especially if the ROI from data has not been explained or fully outlined to them. Because of this, it is crucial that data leaders learn the skills needed to clearly articulate the benefits of data.”
There are multiple ways for data leaders to improve their skills in describing data and promoting data benefits, including enhanced storytelling, upskilling data literacy across an organisation and the use of tools such as data visualisation. Data leaders must strike while the iron is hot and convince the decision makers of their organisation that their data – the product they produce – is valuable and worth the investment. This is easiest done early in the journey and highlighting some quick wins, as well as demonstrating a long-term project that looks set to improve business capabilities and aligns with the wider organisational objectives.
It is worth noting that – for some businesses – the data created can itself be packaged and monetised as a new product. This is an easy way for the data team to improve their standing and perceived value within the business as there is a clear monetary value which can be readily understood.
The need for data talent
A second issue for businesses to navigate is finding the right talent for their data journey. There has been an ongoing issue with data team recruitment and retention across the industry for several years now and it will take time for this to be rectified, but there are still solutions.
Firstly, the needs of the data team must be addressed and examined to ensure that potential candidates are screened to meet these criteria. Secondly, HR needs to be brought on board and educated in what is required of the new hire. Data leaders must establish a clear business case for their investment in data and recognise that these value-add metrics require constant review, which is only possible with the right talent on the team.
“Finding data professionals with a good mix of technical and softer skills can be challenging,” said David Farmer, chief executive officer, Harnham. “If you’re struggling to resource data talent, consider partnering with a specialist recruitment agency to help fill your team’s data skills gap.”
There are multiple ways in which careers in data are being promoted and improved, including through an annual salary survey for data professionals. Through these initiatives, there are greater insights into the benefits of a data career, industry discrepancies, workplace compensation and even company working arrangements. Armed with this information, organisations can better understand what data professionals are seeking, how they can stand out from rival businesses at a time of fierce employment competition and improve their staff retention rates.
What is stopping businesses?
One major hurdle is the cost of investing in data – for larger organisations this can easily stretch into costing millions and take months to implement. However, as the old saying goes, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second-best time is today,” and this is true for data. The sooner decision makers are informed enough to execute actions relating to data, the sooner the benefits of data investment and education can be reaped.
Unfortunately for data professionals, the current economic climate of inflation and cost-of-living crisis – plus the looming spectre of a global recession – means many companies are reluctant to funnel funds into an investment where they would much rather look to cut costs. The twist here is that quality data can highlight unseen cost savings and show where increasing budgets for different departments may in fact generate greater revenue – but the investment into data analysis is required to make this a reality. It is no secret that data comes with a hefty price tag and a daunting education curve, but it should not be a barrier for entry, and this can be rectified with clear communication, storytelling capabilities and improved data education.
“While the upfront investments of building a data team can be costly, data has the potential to save companies millions over the long-term, making it a worthwhile investment when its executed right,” said Ali. “I’ve seen this happen in my personal experience: I worked on a data project that ended up saving my employer in the millions.”
It is up to the data professionals within an organisation to make the case for investment and then follow through on providing clear and relatable stories of how and why the investment has been a success, even when that involves hard-to-explain metrics. This requires diligence, education and the correct application of tools to succeed, but it is possible for businesses of all scales and maturities.
You can add your experience and insights to the annual data salary survey here.
