When we talk about data management, we’re looking at how an organisation collects, processes, organises, and maintains data. An efficient and robust data management system is at the core of organisations whose processes run effectively and align with their target operating model. However, achieving data management best practice can be challenging, meaning opportunities to streamline functions can be missed.
At the heart of data management is data ownership – i.e. who’s responsible for data, and what this involves. It goes without saying that the better your people’s understanding of the importance of data ownership and their roles in it, the better the overall data management of an organisation.
We know getting people to take ownership of data can be a hurdle in itself. So, we’ve pulled together advice on how you can implement a data management plan that promotes ownership of data and returns powerful results for both your people and processes.
Barriers to Data Ownership
Traditionally, anything and everything ‘data’ has fallen under the responsibility of an organisation’s IT department. They’ve held the keys to data access and management, but it’s fast becoming outdated in a business world where users need to retrieve and analyse data, fast.
Data is at the heart of more target operating models than ever, so democratising it needs to be a priority for organisations wishing to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape. On paper, it seems relatively simple. But the reality is a challenge. People who have had little, or not even any, data responsibilities may feel apprehensive about owning data, or unprepared for these new accountabilities.
Need support with your data strategy? Find out how we can help!
What is a target operating model?
A target operating model is the ideal operating state of an organisation. You can think of the target operating model as an organisation’s blueprint for carrying out its strategy to run efficiently and meet targets. People, systems, and data are all fundamental to target operating models.
Read our blog, Target operating model: Delivering your business strategy, for more details.
Why Data Ownership is Important
On average, poor data quality costs organisations $13 billion a year (according to 2020 research by Gartner). The quality of data is directly linked to your data management system and ownership, because it’s a result of how people enter, process, and use it. So not only can data ownership empower users to better understand data, but it holds influence over decisions, not to mention the bottom line.
Dive into the impact of poor data quality further in our blog: What are the costs of poor quality data?
Overcoming Data Management Challenges
The first challenge you have to tackle is understanding your organisation’s strategic goals and pain points. Once you understand your organisation’s ambitions you can start to look at people and processes. Data ownership doesn’t happen overnight – it’s an ongoing activity that you’ll need to continue refining for the best results. When data owners understand how their data contributes to key business outcomes such as customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, or regulatory compliance they are far more likely to prioritise accuracy, timeliness and completeness.
We’ve broken down three areas to look at to take the first step to better data ownership for your people and processes:
- Executive buy-in
- Policies and documentation
- Training and communication
1. Get executive buy-in
When executives or leadership are bought into data ownership, you’re immediately proving its worth and importance to your people. Plus, you have someone to allocate the resources (people, time, money etc) necessary to prioritise and solve problems. Where data ownership is practiced organisation-wide, it naturally becomes intrinsic to how people work. With executive buy-in, people are more likely to buy into the importance of data ownership themselves, and feel driven to make time for the responsibilities it involves.
Whether you’re wanting to make someone a data owner, delegate, steward, or custodian, make sure you’ve got executive buy-in first – and watch as your people’s confidence in their data management role grows. Our blog has advice on how you can talk about everything data to your board of execs: How to deliver a successful data strategy presentation to the board.
2. Nurture confidence with data ownership policies and documents
On this note, confidence comes when your people are clear about what’s being asked of them, and why. Having the right policies and documents in place (as well as related training and support) are the basics of defining roles and responsibilities so that data ownership activities are understood and carried out.
We also recommend you add details of data ownership roles and responsibilities to employee records, like objectives, and performance reviews, so they can be referred back to as and when needed. Remember to update these as ownership responsibilities evolve, too!
3. Invest in ongoing data ownership training
To make sure your people have the necessary knowledge and skills to confidently carry out their ownership role, providing the right training is imperative. Alongside standard courses or training, speak with your new data owners to understand how else you can support them with the additional responsibilities. Communication is key to building a culture where everyone understands:
- Why data is important for business
- How to use data effectively
- Their individual role in looking after/owning data
- Who the data owners are
Better Data Ownership for Better Results
The clearer you are with your data owners about what they’re responsible for, and why, the better your data quality – and in turn, data insights, will be.
For advice on how to tailor a data management plan that empowers people to take ownership of data, please contact our friendly team.
And for support with building the data strategy to take your business to the next level, check out our guide: How to write your data strategy.
