More and more companies nowadays have the desire to lead with a data-driven vision. Done well, this needs more than an extensive tech stack and an ocean of consumers’ data. It also requires the right culture and a team that will support this vision to its fullest.  

Below you’ll find some key steps to building a culture that will let you create and sustain a data-driven business. 

Get Them on Board 

The very first step is to get everyone on board. You do not want employees acting as detractors or old school with your new objective.  

How you’ll ask? Give them a reason to believe in and be excited by your vision. How will using data for decision making make their work life better? Prepare to communicate transparently, involve them, set expectations, and last but not least, listen and address their concerns.  

Involve everyone 

Here’s a secret for you: Data does not only serve Marketing! If done right, every department in your company generates some sort of data that can be actioned upon. Think about marketing and sales data used by customer service; and vice-versa, customer service data used by marketing or even product development.  

Involving all teams from the beginning is crucial to ensure buy-in in the vision from the start.  

Embrace Change 

The new vision will bring new ways-of-working, new processes as well as new tools. The team and company must embrace those changes for the data-driven vision to be successful.  

Employees are not born ready to change, they need preparation and help along the way. Again, open communication and listening will be key in this process.  

Disseminating data throughout your organisation will need certain skillsets that your employees will need to learn. Providing them with adequate training will ensure they are able to follow along versus feeling left behind.  

Learn through Failures 

The company should be ready to accept failure as a part of the trip.  

Leading with data means iterating and trying new hypothesis every day. Not all will be immediate successes.  

Your organisation should be ready to see mistakes as inevitable and, more than anything, as an opportunity-to-learn. Failure should be rewarded and not sanctioned. That’s the mindset the entire organisation should adopt.

Give Authority to the Right Players

We’ve seen many companies hit a wall because the right authority was not given to the right people. 

In today’s world, data flow at the speed of light through your systems. When a behaviour or an opportunity is identified thanks to data, it should not have to go through 5+ organisational layers to be approved, for instance. Because bottlenecks just like those will translate into missed opportunities and prevent you to be a fully data-driven organisation.  

To avoid this, top and bottom contributors need the right power and ability-to-execute quickly.  

While there are many elements in delivering a data-driven vision, having the right culture and mindset are crucial to your long-term success. Once you get everyone on board, do make sure your company and most importantly your employees are fully equipped to go through with the new vision.  

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