3 steps to overcome data silos

But according to a recent survey on corporate data initiatives, 74% of companies(opens new window) believe they are inadequately data-driven. Many employees feel the same, with just 25%(opens new window) believing they have the knowledge and skills required to use data effectively.

The situation is often made worse by chronic data silos that prevent employees from finding, interpreting, and sharing key insights.

As modern enterprises continue to invest in emerging technologies, the call to increase confidence in data skills and decrease costly data silos is more urgent than ever.

Data silos arise when information is dispersed among different systems, departments, and applications, leading to a lack of access and information sharing.

This issue is not a novel challenge for organizations. Even before the digital age, employees in different departments would often fail to share information. But with the rise of digital tools and technology, problems related to data silos are quickly compounding.

Poor data quality currently costs organizations close to $13 million a year(opens new window) on average. If left unchecked, that number could become even greater.

Here are some of the ways data and information silos could be holding you back.

The task of centralizing and organizing decades of isolated data may seem daunting, but developing a strategy to remove your data silos is critical to building a modern data-driven culture.

A well-planned data silo strategy will focus on centralizing data from various sources to create a data management system that is both accessible and actionable.

This can involve integrating your business applications, removing duplicate or inaccurate data, and enabling your databases to send information back and forth.

A strong culture of skills development is key to removing data silos and sharpening your competitive edge. By providing applied learning opportunities to new starters and existing employees, you can:

Today, 74% of employees(opens new window) say they are willing to learn new skills to remain employable in the future. To capitalize on their desire to learn, start by identifying your current data champions for a clearer picture on where to focus your efforts.

Not every employee needs to be a data analytics expert, but they should be able to understand how proper use of data drives value for the organization and everyone in it.

Here are some steps you can take to begin developing a company culture where employees at every level are encouraged to break down data silos and increase productivity.

Data silos proliferate when only a select few team members understand how your data is collected, interpreted, and applied in day-to-day decision-making.

In our work with over 1,000 companies, we have identified three core categories of employees who are routinely involved with a company’s data functions.

Nearly nine in 10 executives already face skill gaps or expect gaps to develop within the next five years(opens new window). In the near future, a handful of data champions simply won’t be enough.

To stay competitive in a digital business environment, data skills will be required at every level and within every department.

Once you identify the data champions in your workforce, you can begin to create a strategic plan for company-wide data upskilling to reduce data silos and drive greater collaboration across the business.

Today, it’s not uncommon for companies to have multiple data warehouses, each with its own data sources and platforms. As data ecosystems become increasingly complex to navigate, the main goal of data integration is to deliver clean and consolidated data for a variety of business users.

Review each department to identify the percentage of team members who:

Employees must feel empowered to locate isolated data and use it to meet the requirements of various stakeholders. Review each business unit to identify which team members are working with data daily, which ones are using data to drive decision-making, as well as those who are still held back by siloed data or a lack of data skills.

With a clearer picture of which team members need the most support to increase their data capabilities, you can work to develop a scalable skills development program that combines the fundamental theories of data analysis with real day-to-day training on your own data platforms.

If your organization is like most others, data champions may only account for 10 to 15% of your workforce. With the right training, that number can be greatly increased.

Recent LinkedIn data(opens new window) shows that the skills needed for a given position are expected to change and shift by roughly 50% by 2027. Although 69% of organizations(opens new window) are doing more skills building now than pre-pandemic, there is still a large gap between the day-to-day requirements businesses need and the types of skills traditional training routes deliver.

By leveraging the best of data science theory, plus real application on your organization’s tools and workflows, modern training methods, such as professional apprenticeships, can help you:

With the ability to meet your employees where they are — whether that’s at the start of their careers, growing in their existing role, or moving into a new one — professional apprenticeship programs can help you build a highly skilled workforce capable of making the most of your data in real-time.

“By upskilling individuals to become data efficient in their varied roles and functions, they could move the business forward and deliver products and services without dependency on the data analytics and science team,” explains Rachelle Rhinehart, Strategic Account Director at global trends forecaster WGSN.

Despite having over 250 in-house experts and data scientists in over 200 countries, leadership at WGSN struggled to embed relevant data skills across the organization. With help from Multiverse, WGSN’s apprentices increased their data skills and their impact.

“A lot of businesses didn’t realize how much we were doing on the data and analytics side,” says Ryan Keane, VP of Data and Analytics. “As soon as they heard that and saw how embedded it was in our forecasting process, it helped us win new business.”

In many cases, what feels like a silo mentality is simply a lack of data management skills.

Today’s employees believe the opportunity to learn and grow is the number one driver of a great workplace culture, but only 52%(opens new window) feel their manager encourages the use of work time to gain new skills.

By training employees on real day-to-day data tasks, our expert team at Multiverse has helped companies like WGSN, Citi, and more to overcome their data challenges and elevate their productivity.

We can help close your data skills gaps through apprenticeship programs that drive real results for your business.

Learn more about how our programs can help you build a workforce of data champions.