Wouter Neef
7 min read
How Wouter Neef learned the importance of data literacy
After over 7 years spent in analytics, Wouter Neef learned the importance of data literacy hands-on. "I worked in a business role, within the analytics organization, but I wasn't data literate myself. This meant that I needed the data analysts to help me out regularly." Further in his career, a new employer provided him with a data literacy course that gave him the tools he needed to make data-driven decisions without any help, and in doing so, he became more successful and more efficient at his work.
Wouter is now at the helm of Data Booster, a company that creates custom data literacy courses for all types of businesses with, as he puts it, "data-driven decision making at its core, realized with 3 core values: hands-on, customizable and scalable." It has become his mission to make employees at the companies he works with data literate in their own right.
But which conditions need to be in place for a company to start a data literacy program? Neef paints us a picture with some hands-on examples from companies he has worked with in the past and present.
According to Neef, the first condition that needs to be satisfied is that of having a lead-by-example management team. "If management or leadership does not see the value of data-driven decision making, you won't get the budget or time to even get started on a program, let alone to create any type of momentum or awareness for data literacy within your company."
In his experience, people are not fond of change. They like where they are and where they feel safe. Data often seems like a daunting subject. But, when leadership shows its commitment by joining in, and by rewarding those who embrace the change, it will ignite a data-driven fire within the company.
Wouter points out a bank in Australia, where this mentality shown by the management has proven to be extremely successful. The Head of Retail joined in the data challenges that were being organized to grow awareness, hoping to show others how data literacy can further the company, but also inspire employees to see the benefits for individual career development.
Without the data, there's nothing to go on. Having the right tools that make the data accessible to everyone who needs to use it, is a core condition before starting a data literacy program. Using the same tools company-wide is definitely recommended, as this will make it easier to discuss data between different teams within the organization without needing unnecessary translating.
According to Wouter, having data in itself isn't enough. If the data is not clean and clear, and the tools aren't easily accessible, even data-skilled employees will be unable to find or use what they need. This can cause frustration and demotivation towards using data. "There needs to be a clear data structure, with a catalog that everyone knows how to read and use." Different teams will probably need different sets of data for their work. This data needs to be cleaned from irrelevant other data sets that can cause wrongful or relevant insights.
Whether you use data coaches, data ambassadors, or data analysts that can help, it's of vital importance that there's a support network for those who work with data. This can come from the top down but doesn't necessarily have to come from above. The crucial aspect is that they encourage questions and that the help is accessible all around you, and with any type of data background. There's no shaming of less experienced colleagues, only encouragement.
According to Wouter, there are 4 conditions that need to be satisfied before you can start a data literacy program: 1. Having leadership that is committed to and sees the value of data-driven decision-making. 2. Having the right data tools as a standard company-wide. 3. Having a structure in place for your most important data sources so that data is clear, clean, and ready to be used. 4. Having a self-sufficient support network in your company for those who work with data.
These 4 conditions should be at the forefront of starting your data-literacy program. If either one of these is not set up right, it'll be an uphill hike to get momentum and enthusiasm within your company.
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