Data Literacy

Data culture and literacy are increasingly gaining significance for businesses, workforces, and society as a whole. With data playing a pivotal role in the pursuit of organizational goals and ambitions worldwide, it has become crucial to pay sufficient attention to the human side of data. 

However, to many employees it is often unclear what value data can bring to their organization and what is expected of them in the transition towards a data-driven organization. As a result, data culture and literacy have emerged as essential drivers for successfully unlocking the true potential and value of data. Despite the increasing possibilities for gathering, storing, reporting and analysing data, many businesses still have trouble successfully implementing data-driven solutions in their daily work activities. This has nothing to do with technical limitations, given the rapid pace of developments and innovations in the field of data & analytics. The most pressing issue is the difference in culture between data and analytics experts and the business users who need to understand the analyses and translate them into business insights, actions and value. To empower employees to generate those insights and add value, they need to be able to ‘speak’ the language of data and become more data literate.

Data literacy forms the foundation of an organization's data culture. It encompasses the ability to read, write, and speak data, enabling individuals to derive insights from the ever-proliferating data in the digital era. For a data-driven culture to thrive, the entire organization must gain a fundamental understanding of the value of data in all its forms and applications, fostering a shared data language that aligns with the collective values, behaviors, and beliefs of the organization. 

To ensure that individuals fully adopt their newfound knowledge about data and embrace a data-driven way of working in their day-to-day activities, setting up a data community can prove highly effective. This community acts as a supportive network of motivated professionals who share insights and challenges related to data. By participating in the data community, employees can take on more responsibilities and stay involved in the ongoing learning process. Sustaining this community requires the use of interventions that keep people connected, enabled, and inspired to drive the organization's data-driven transformation forward. 

KPMG stands out as a leading partner for your data-driven journey, drawing from extensive experience in major digital transformation projects and successful implementation of advanced data & analytics solutions for numerous customers. Our end-to-end support ensures a smooth transition towards a data-driven organization, backed by the expertise of over 100 Data & Analytics professionals and the dedicated People & Change team proficient in cultural change management. This synergy has led to the development of a comprehensive approach, enriched with accelerators for each phase of the process. Reach out to our experts and they will help your organization to get more value from data. 

Evelien Schumacher

Senior Consultant Powered Data & Analytics
E : Schumacher.Evelien@kpmg.nl

Laura Honshorst

Senior Consultant
E : Honshorst.Laura@kpmg.nl