Data Literacy: Enhance the Value of Your Data Assets

CDAOs are under pressure to show measurable results from data and analytics investments. Yet there is a wide gap between executive leader expectations about the impact of data, and the ability or willingness of business stakeholders to use it. In fact, respondents to Gartner’s 2024 CDAO Survey listed poor data literacy and other skills gaps among their top 5 roadblocks to D&A success.

But let’s clarify: What is data literacy?

Data literacy is the ability to read, write and communicate data in context, with an understanding of data sources and constructs, analytical methods and AI techniques. Data literacy helps people identify, understand, interpret and act on data within a business context to influence business value or outcomes.

As that definition makes clear, data literacy goes beyond knowledge of basic data concepts, like the ability to interpret graphs and figures and understanding the difference between a median and mean. Instead, a data-literate worker can interpret data to draw meaningful insights for a specific process or problem. They can also communicate these findings to others by translating the information into terms their audience can relate to.

That is a high bar, and few people without technical skills or training meet it. That keeps them from using the data assets the organization has to enable data-driven decision making, relying instead on gut feel.

To set the stage to increase the use of data by business stakeholders, CDAOs should initiate their data literacy programs with a series of presentations and meetings aimed at selling the value of data and analytics overall, and data literacy specifically.

To do that, first host an organizationwide webinar or town hall, or a series of mandatory seminars for business units/regions (in-person or online). This is a quick and easy way to introduce the idea of data literacy to large groups of people and sell the benefits. Follow these sessions with smaller group discussions, during which you can workshop examples to help stakeholders envision how data can drive business value and outcomes within their business units or functions.

Keep in mind that stakeholders will be asking what increased data literacy means for them personally and for their teams, as well as what it costs them in terms of time and effort. Though stakeholders may be swayed knowing that widespread data-driven decision making results in more efficient use of resources, better time management, cost savings and new revenue opportunities, motivation will also come from them knowing they personally will come out better off.

Recognize, as well, that change does not happen in the same way and at the same speed for everyone. Even if employees all start from the same position, they will gain data literacy at different rates based on how much aptitude they have for data literacy skills and how willing they are to embrace it.

Plan different communication approaches for “walkers” (those with low-to-medium aptitude and low-to-medium willingness), “joggers” (those with medium-to-high aptitude and medium-to-high willingness) and “runners” (those with high aptitude and high willingness), as follows:

• Awareness. Launch internal marketing campaigns for the late-following walkers with simple repeated messages, as in: “Your company needs you and your data.”