Introduction
Data literacy is the ability to use data and analytics to make decisions and solve problems. But what does that really mean? Well, for starters, it’s not just knowing how to pull a report off of your company’s website and interpret it. Data literacy means being able to think critically about the information you have at hand—whether that information comes from an Excel spreadsheet or a database—and then apply those critical thinking skills in order to make better decisions.
Let’s talk about how you can develop this skill in your own organization so everyone gets better at making smarter business choices based on data-driven decisions rather than intuition alone:
Why is data literacy important?
Why is data literacy important? Because it helps you make better decisions.
Data literacy helps you make better business decisions. It helps you identify existing problems and take advantage of new opportunities, while avoiding unnecessary risks. Data literacy also allows you to optimize your processes and resources, which leads to increased profits for your company.
Data literacy can help with personal decisions as well—from financial issues (like how much money should I spend on this?) to health concerns (how do I get fitter?). In fact, any time there’s an opportunity for decision-making involved in something as simple as choosing between two restaurants for dinner or deciding where exactly one wants their vacation destination, being able to recognize the different kinds of information available will be key.
Data literacy might even help us make better social choices! For example: knowing how much crime rates are increasing or decreasing in various neighborhoods will allow people who live there decide whether they want their families living there too; likewise if someone from another state thinks about moving somewhere else where they know no one yet – but they’re worried about not finding any friends because everyone seems so friendly here… maybe it would be worth exploring whether those other places have similar populations who also feel comfortable meeting strangers so easily? We’ll never know unless we ask!
Teach employees to ask questions.
Asking questions is one of the most important skills you can develop in your career. The best way to learn is by asking questions. The more you know, the more you’ll be able to do and the more successful you’ll be at solving problems. Ask questions of your data, ask questions of your peers, ask questions of your boss and customers, vendors and competitors—and trust me when I say this last group should absolutely never be ignored! There are no stupid questions: there are only stupid answers.
Ask yourself: What do I want to know? What am I missing? What am I unsure about? And then go out there and get it! You will not regret it (unless it turns out that having an answer for everything is actually pretty boring).
Make data easily accessible.
- Data should be accessible to everyone.
- Data should be easy to find and access.
- Data should be easy to understand, whether you’re a novice or an expert in the field.
- Data should be easy to use, whether that means it’s ready-to-use for reporting or analysis, or can readily be integrated into your existing processes and workflows as needed (including automatic updates when new data is available).
- Sharing and collaboration are key elements of any successful data culture: sharing with others outside your organization, collaborating internally on teams across departments (and even divisions), finding external partners with whom you can share information needs/requirements/opportunities etc., helping others learn more about how they might better use their own internal data systems…the list goes on!
- Archiving is equally important; not only do we want our organizations’ records stored securely over time so future generations can access them if necessary without worrying about losing everything due to hardware failures (which will inevitably happen), but also because many of us don’t like deleting old files either! We need backups just like we need archives where old versions are kept safe until needed again someday…or never again depending on circumstances surrounding deletion requests made by users themselves.”
Create teams of cross-training experts.
Cross-training is an important component of data literacy. It helps employees understand the value of data, and it enables them to work as part of a team that uses analytics to solve problems.
A cross-trained employee knows what his or her team does, how they do it, why they do it and how their work contributes to the business. Cross-training helps employees understand how data analysis fits into all aspects of your organization—from customer service to sales to marketing—and makes them more confident in their ability (and desire) to use data analysis throughout their day-to-day responsibilities.
Emphasize the value of storytelling.
Storytelling is an effective way to convey information and emotion, as well as a message and a vision. When you tell stories, you can convey your ideas in a more memorable way than through plain facts.
The key is to use the right kind of story—one that people will remember and feel connected to. It should be relevant to what you’re trying to achieve with it (like telling about how your company overcame challenges), authentic (like sharing personal experiences), inclusive (like including details about what others have done or said), accessible (so anyone can understand it), vivid (using rich descriptions) and motivational (by showing how actions lead to results).
If you want success in using storytelling techniques, here are some tips:
Mine data for actionable information.
When you’re talking about data, you’re talking about information. And information is power. With data, you can make better decisions, improve processes and build better products—but it all starts with mining your company’s existing infrastructure for insights that will create a culture of data literacy within the organization.
The first step in this process is to determine which metrics are most important to your business and what questions need answers in order for those metrics to become actionable (e.g., sales vs total revenue). You should also consider how these metrics can be used across departments or teams (e.g., marketing vs product development) so as not to get tunnel vision on one aspect at the expense of another (like revenue growth but not profitability).
Once you have an idea of what questions need answering and how they relate back into other areas of the business, then comes getting started with building out dashboards that display these key performance indicators (KPIs), along with any other relevant information like historical comparisons over time periods that matter most based on their context within each business unit’s goals.”
Demonstrate how data works for you.
Demonstrate how data works for you.
Data literacy isn’t just about understanding the basics of statistics and algorithms, it’s also about understanding how that knowledge can improve your business. This can be accomplished in several ways:
- Show how data is used to make decisions. When making key decisions in your organization, use the information from your analytics platform as part of your decision-making process—don’t rely on gut instinct or intuition alone. Be sure to show all stakeholders how their input contributed to the final decision being made and how it will influence future ones as well.
- Show how data impacts the company’s bottom line. If you manage a marketing team at a retail store, demonstrate exactly why spending money on digital advertising makes sense by showing them what percentage of traffic came from paid ads versus organic search results (and what kind of conversion rate they generated). If you manage customer service agents who answer emails from disgruntled customers, show them which messages include keywords that indicate customer frustration so they can prioritize replying in a timely manner rather than letting those messages go unanswered until tomorrow when they have more time available to respond with complete answers instead of partial responses based on guesswork alone
Data literacy can help every employee make better decisions
Data literacy can help every employee make better decisions. As a manager, it’s important to create an environment where your team members are working with the right data and tools to make the best choices possible. If you’re trying to encourage people to use data in their work, you have a few options:
- You can provide training for employees who need it. Data literacy isn’t something that everyone learns naturally—or at all! So if your team doesn’t know how or why they should incorporate data into their processes, consider holding some in-person seminars on the subject. This will give them more knowledge about what kinds of questions can be answered with data analysis, and which ones might require other methods instead.
- You can set up systems for sharing relevant information across departments within your organization (and even outside). If someone needs access to certain datasets but doesn’t have any way of getting them onto their computer or phone? They’re going to get frustrated quickly! It’s important that everyone has access wherever they happen
Conclusion
Data literacy is an important skill for the modern workplace, and it’s one that you can teach. By making data accessible and demonstrating its value, you can help your employees make better decisions in their daily work lives. As more people understand how to use data to their advantage and become more confident with their own skills—and by extension, their company’s success—you’ll be building a culture of data literacy.