Creating a data-driven organization

Making your organization data-minded is a journey, not a destination. It takes time and effort to change the way people think about data and its role in the company. But it’s worth it. A data-minded organization is one that can make better decisions, faster.

In this article, we will discuss some ways to help your organization become more data-minded. We’ll also take a look at how adopting a business intelligence (BI) tool can encourage employees to interact with data in new and innovative ways. By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of what it means to be data-minded and how you can start making your organization more data-minded today.
 

 

Using business intelligence

One way to encourage employees to interact with data is by adopting a business intelligence (BI) tool. BI tools provide users with an easy way to access data and make sense of it. They also allow users to create visualizations, which can help people see patterns and relationships that they might not otherwise notice. In addition, BI tools often come with built-in collaboration features, which make it easier for team members to work together on data projects.

By adopting a BI tool, you can help your organization become more data-minded in two important ways: by allowing employees of all kinds to interact with data, and providing an easy way to share data and insights across departments.
 

Company-wide data interaction

Adopting a BI tool can offer instant access to data for employees of all levels. Regardless of your job function, title, or level, data can help you make better-informed decisions.

BI solutions allow users of all personas to interact with the data through the use of datasets, reports, dashboards, and analytics. More technical users can focus on areas such as data integration, transformation, and visualization. While business users can focus on dashboard creation, data analysis, and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs).

BI tools also offer intuitive features that allow users of any skill level to start performing data analysis. This means that BI does not have to be segmented into a single department, such as IT. Instead, users across the entire organization can have access to the data they need, and use it in new and meaningful ways to improve their job performance.
 

Sharing data and insights

It’s also extremely important to freely share data and insights in order to promote a data-driven culture across the entire organization. When data remains in certain departments, insights become siloed for those specific teams. The truth is, data can be extremely valuable for users of all types and job functions. Allowing these users access to data will help them stay better-informed about the overall progress of the business.

Data should also be shared within all levels of the organization to promote transparency and increase trust. A major pitfall is only sharing data with top-level executives, leaving lower-level employees in the dark. This is a terrible business practice that discourages innovation within the organization. Within reason, data should be freely shared with the entire company on a regular basis. Through the use of all-hands meetings or department training, leaders can share the insights they were able to gain as they make sense of their business data. Individual contributors should also be given the opportunity to share insights from their data with the intention of promoting change within the organization.
 

 

How can I promote a data-minded organization?

Transforming your organization to become more data-driven may seem like a daunting task. Even if your business is small, employees tend to stick with what they are familiar with or comfortable with. If you find yourself struggling with how to begin the process of promoting change, here are a few suggestions you can follow:

Lead through example

During challenging situations, it’s always best to lead by example. If you feel your company is not making a sincere effort to become data-driven, consider implementing these ideas within yourself and your individual team. As your coworkers begin to notice the changes, they will be naturally curious to see the results that come from being data-driven.

Don’t be afraid to learn or ask questions

Data skills are in high demand in today’s workplace, but many people struggle to get started with data analysis. Understanding that it may take additional time and training to become more data-driven is a crucial first step. Data-driven organizations that focus on training and professional development tend to be more successful in instituting cultural change throughout the organization.

It’s also important to ask questions and seek guidance from peers when you don’t know what to do. It’s ok to not have the right answer in any given situation. Becoming data-driven is a learning process, meaning you will stumble from time to time or feel lost. Continuing to ask questions and learning new skills along the way can make all the difference in becoming data-driven.

Share your insights with everyone

A final suggestion we can offer is to share your data insights with anyone and everyone! Becoming data-driven is exciting, and it should be shared throughout your entire organization. As you use a BI tool to perform data analysis, create dashboards and reports, or automate routine tasks, be sure to share this progress with your team and coworkers.

Modern BI solutions are amazing at sharing data insights with others because they are a managed service built on the cloud. This means you can easily share any insights you generate with others anytime and anywhere. BI is making it easier than ever before to help companies become more data-driven.
 

Conclusion

In order for your company to be successful in the long run, it is important that you become data-minded. This means taking a data-driven approach to all aspects of your business, from product development to marketing and sales. Thankfully, there are many ways to achieve this goal. You can start by encouraging employees to interact with data in new and innovative ways.

BI tools make it easy for employees to explore data and find insights that can help them improve their work. By using a BI tool, you can empower employees to make decisions based on data instead of intuition alone. Ask yourself how you can help your company become more data-driven.