In our recent exploration of who should handle data at your company, we shared some of the perks of training existing employees to manage complex data sets. A recent survey by New Vantage Partners reports that as executives prepare to increase data investment over the next few years, an overwhelming 68% plan to retrain current staff to manage big data initiatives rather than hire new specialists.
While it’s easy to understand that this approach might be more cost efficient and capitalize on the value of varied perspectives, actually training your employees to leverage big data is much more intimidating. To help, we have four ways managers can prepare their staff for data adoption.
Before you do anything else, bring in a data specialist to teach your team how big data differentiates itself from the information they’re used to managing. After the initial training, consider holding one-day seminars on a monthly or quarterly basis to keep your staff updated on the way data optimization practices evolve over time.
As your company moves towards data adoption, senior leadership should take a hard look at organizational structures. Some changes might be necessary to allow current employees the time and space become the resident data specialists.
Data, especially when it comes to its impact on business growth, isn’t just a passing trend. If your company is considering a big data investment, it’s critical that data governance standards be formed before implementation. Shaping your data staffing and training with intention will set it up to be successful for years to come.
Why not establish a data lab at your company? This can serve as a platform for employee training in the future and serve as a place of congregation for your current staff members who have been tasked with big data implementation. You can use it to provide them with guest speakers, seminars and other inspiration to make growth happen.
Image via (cc) Port of San Diego
(Click here to expand)
