Leadership is essential
Aylward began by emphasising the importance of building a strong data culture within EDF and aligning the core of that culture with the net-zero emissions ambitions. This is a long-term journey that requires a consistent combination of leadership, technical expertise, and community. This is only possible with regular communication, clear storytelling, and buy in from senior decision makers.
Aylward stated there are some key things that data leaders need to do to achieve success when building a strong data culture:
- Setting a clear vision: Leaders must communicate the company’s purpose and the role of data in achieving it. The aim needs to be to provide a clear direction and motivation for teams.
- Championing data: Senior leaders need to actively support data initiatives across the organisation and demonstrate the value of data-driven decision-making.
- Build a suitable environment: It is the duty of the data leader to build an environment that is conducive to fostering innovation, experimentation, and learning. The environment needs to be able to provide the necessary tools, resources, and support to those that need it when needed.
These steps then need to be supplemented and supported by the development of a strong community. This can be made possible by investing in people, such as hiring new talent and retraining or upskilling existing talent. Data leaders should look at how they and the organisation can offer opportunities for growth, competitive compensations, and inclusion within the work environment.
Aylward said one of the best ways he has managed to see positive results was to foster collaboration through a diverse talent group. By encouraging knowledge sharing of different ideas and backgrounds, better decision-making solutions were found, alongside the development of new concepts that could have been missed otherwise.
One other aspect that data leaders need to focus on for developing data culture is technology. Aylward explained how choosing the appropriate technology stack can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of data initiatives, as well as supporting users – even outside of the data office. EDF has itself adopted an Agile practice which the team has found helps deliver value faster and quicker response times to changing requirements.
Finally, Aylward highlighted the importance of a holistic approach to building a data culture. It requires a combination of strong leadership, a talented team, the right technology, and a supportive organisational culture to achieve, but it is possible for any business regardless of their legacy or current maturity level.
Data office experiences
Whitcomb then took to the stage to provide some detailed insights into what it is like to be working within the data office during a journey of data culture. She explained that EDF proactively invests heavily in its employees, fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, following the steps laid out by Aylward.
There are numerous key initiatives that have been put in place to foster a culture of continuous learning and development for Whitcomb and her peers. This has improved retention levels, reduced churn, and has strengthened the data culture of the organisation.
The first of the initiatives explained by Whitcomb is a structure competency framework put in place by business leaders which provides clear career paths and skill development opportunities for all departments across the organisation, not just data. This also allows movement and flexibility across different departments to allow people to explore other opportunities and share their talents in new ways.
Staff at EDF are allocated 10% of their time for personal development in a scheme designed to help learn new technologies – which is particularly poignant for AI and generative AI adoption – and upskilling in existing areas. This has helped give people the opportunity to learn on their own terms in a way that suits them best, further enhancing the data culture.
The personal development time is complemented by informal and formal mentoring schemes. The schemes allow users to improve their skills and understandings of specialisms, as well as improving communication and connection across the business.
Whitcomb explained that this ties in succinctly with the community building aspect of the transformation. Initiatives such as data guilds and communities of practice foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among employees in addition to providing support and guidance.
Once news of these initiatives reaches outside of the organisation through promotion or word of mouth, diverse talent notices that EDF is building its brand to be a data and tech company, not just an energy provider. This has increased the amount of talent that has applied to open positions and has improved thought diversity across the business.
Whitcomb ended by detailing how these initiatives have contributed to a positive work culture, employee satisfaction, and overall business success at EDF, and that this is why excellence – and award-winning achievements – have been reached.
Multiple forms of investment are needed
Aylward returned to the stage to explain how award-winning initiatives at EDF were achieved through investment and winning favour with decision makers through examples. The data team at EDF had focused on investment in:
- Diversity
- Technology
- Culture
For diversity, EDF’s data office implemented a new approach with the HR team by creating diverse interview panels to see out diverse perspectives alongside talent. This required collaboration and communication with non-data teams to achieve a data-driven solution that has proven diverse hiring processes result in better functioning teams. Specific goals were set in place to improve diversity across the different data teams and to promote underrepresented talent that already existed within the organisation.
Regarding technology, Aylward emphasised the need to prioritise tools that align with team needs and industry standards. There have been conversations throughout the community about businesses jumping to bring new AI technologies into the fold, but there must be careful and considered thought about what is needed where. These tools also need to bring a level of flexibility to operations so the best tools for each task can be assessed, even if that means deviating from existing standard practices.
Away from the tools, investment in data modelling and cataloguing is essential to achieve success. Robust data modelling empowers end-users to build valuable data product, while competent cataloguing improves prioritisation, transparency, and accessibility for all users. Aylward championed combining strategic platform investments with rapid delivery of valuable use cases to ensure continued investment and proof of concept.
Finally, when it comes to investing in team culture, Aylward promoted encouragement in innovation and risk-taking – even if failure is an outcome. The best steps forward are often found after understanding why something has failed, and this need to be communicated through honest feedback without fear.
As a data leader, Aylward stated it was his duty to set ambitious goals and get the backing of senior leadership to support the teams in achieving these goals. This also fosters collaboration with other departments and external partners, providing further thought diversity to challenges and encourages people to be open to new ideas.
One of the final comments Aylward made was that, as a data leader, he must trust his team members to make decisions and take ownership of their work. It can be difficult to step away from the day-to-day operations, but it is essential to develop new data leaders. By creating a supportive and inclusive team culture that places trust and confidence in people, as well as rewarding achievements big and small, the successes will be numerous with improved talent retention.
Ultimately, with a string of award successes highlighting the work of individuals and teams within EDF that follow the guidance of Aylward and enthusiasm of Whitcomb, the organisation has demonstrated how it implemented change and why it was worthy of recognition. Other organisations should follow in EDF’s footsteps to enjoy their own transformative successes.
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