Change doesn’t happen without the right people. Because data is a constantly evolving landscape, unlike, say, finance or law, you need people capable of making good decisions. Not only that, they need the power to act on those decisions and drive change. 

Data-driven organisations are ones where everyone in an organisation has access to data right at their fingertips. A culture that allows for data exploration can only be fostered when getting data is intuitive and hassle-free without the need to rope in your ‘specialised data team’ or your IT department. The more friction you have in your data process, the further you are from a data panacea.

For anyone to skillfully analyse data in their job, they must be data proficient. It’s not just having the right skills but also the inclination towards making data-driven decisions instead of going by instinct or gut feeling alone. Organisations with a thriving data culture hire people with the right skills and aptitude to make data-driven decisions, help employees develop their analytics skills through training, show-and-tell sessions, and other activities

You can have the shiniest technology, the most fantastic change management programme and the most well-oiled data engine whirring away in your analytical systems. Ultimately, if the people using it don’t trust what comes out the other end, it’s a bust. We’ve had countless conversations with clients confiding in us that their QBRs are a mess of tantrums between departments quarrelling over what specific KPIs mean.

The most forward-thinking companies treat data as a strategic asset everyone has to manage. When it comes to managing money, that’s not just the CFO’s problem. It’s everyone’s job to use the company’s resources effectively. Same thing with attracting, retaining, and developing people—that’s not just HR’s problem; it’s everyone’s. 

This is key. The people that wield the largest levers must buy in to data culture. The organisation looks up to these people. If they don’t care about how the company does data as much as it is recruiting or selling, it’s a bust. There needs to be visibility, and it all starts at the top.