Digital businesses thrive on data and the analysis of data, yet many organizations still treat data and analytics as secondary to their business initiatives instead of treating it as the number one asset. A healthy data-driven culture should allow traditional processes to be automated, operations optimized and costs reduced, as well as visibility into business performance. 

Advantages of a data-driven culture

Buzzwords come and go – but “data culture” has remained over the past few years. Although different industries take divergent approaches to adopt data analytics efforts in the current technology-driven society, the big-picture idea remains the same: allow data analysis to drive operational excellence through a streamlined strategy and higher employee engagement. In order for a data-driven culture to run successfully, executives should cultivate a sense of purpose so that the whole organization is invested in the objective and enthusiastic for the adoption. A sense of purpose begins with having a clear understanding of how the organization gains a competitive advantage and continuous feedback of the return on investment with a data-driven business model. Furthermore, data democratization allows for a more inclusive work environment as silos are broken down. Employees are empowered as they take on more challenging tasks and menial work is paired with artificial intelligence/machine learning. A team of individuals who can bridge the worlds of data science and day-to-day operations will allow a smooth transition and fewer significant disruptions.  

Challenges that companies face

Challenges that organizations face when implementing a data-driven culture is that leadership may overlook the employees’ motivations, desires, and emotions during the transition. Individuals who are not well-oriented in technology may revert back to traditional business practices due to a lack of clarity in understanding the value of data. Leadership that takes a hands-off approach may fail to manage cultural behaviors in an enterprise, and employees are subject to confusing communication, inconsistent decision-making, and non-actionable insights.  

How can we help?

With Thynkli, we will help your organization streamline and establish processes by providing toolkits to assist employees working with the new structure, and guide leadership to carry a seamless transition to a data-driven culture using lean change management practices. 

Is your company ready for a digital transformation? Where are you on your journey? Take our digital maturity assessment today!