McKinsey, a consulting firm, has called the lack of data strategy one of the top five reasons why data efforts fail. According to their research, only 30% of financial institutions surveyed had a data strategy.
On the one hand, it seems unusual that an organization does not have a formal strategy for one of its most robust assets, but on the other, it can be quite obvious. It is challenging to create a strategy when the pathway is fraught with uncertainty and ambiguity. The best way to break through these obstacles is to knowledge. Improving the organizational knowledge of the critical elements of a data strategy is a vital part of gaining clarity.
Here are four questions to help assess your organization's data strategy's current condition to provide clarity on the direction in this new world.
#1 Is the enterprise data vision relevant?
Does your organization have a data vision? If so, take a moment to review the organization's data vision. What was the business problem identified that data will solve? Does it seem relevant? How should it be adjusted or altogether scrapped? If your organization does not have a data vision, think about creating one. The enterprise data vision is the overarching data destination that the credit union is aspiring to achieve.
#2 What friction do your members/customers experience doing business with your organization?
Your members/customers are engaging with your organization in ways they may not have before. It is essential to identify areas of friction that members may have doing business with your organization. If the friction is too much, members will take flight, so the quicker these friction points can be identified, the better. Please note that changes do not need to be massive process overhauls. In most cases, smaller, iterative changes are better. The quicker your organization can reduce member/customer friction, the faster you will experience short and long-term rewards.
#3 How has our current data culture change?
With the increase of remote work and workplace PPE, work has simply changed. And, by default, it has also changed your culture. Taking a moment to identify the good, the bad, and the ugly of your "new normal" will help bring clarity to positive aspects of your organization's culture and what to continue to encourage, foster and feed.
#4 What is the current state of our organizational data maturity?
Take a moment to review the current state of your organizations' data maturity. What does your organizations' data maturity look like? Do you have a formal data governance program? If data maturity feels like a low priority, then please take a moment to adjust your thinking. Data maturity is the foundation, the blueprint, the architectural renderings to your dream data home. Most home building experts will never head to an open piece of land and just digging and hope to create a home. Why would you do that with your data?
Now is a perfect time to align the data vision to the friction and create a plan that will leverage the new culture and focus on achieving impactful member relationships.
Where can I fill my data knowledge gaps?
With a stop at the
Data Education Center.
We believe that data transformation doesn't have to feel overwhelming or expensive to be impactful. After helping over 600 credit union leaders launch their data journeys, we have identified several consistent knowledge gaps. We have worked hard to fill these gaps with a variety of educational artifacts:
What if I want something more? Does someone offer data education classes with real-world applications?
Yep, that is what we do, of course, and so much more. To learn more, please review our data transformation institute