| | MARCH 20209So, what is data literacy or flu-ency? Data literacy is the ability to read, analyze & understand data, and fluency is the ability to com-municate using data. The First Industrial Revolution democra-tized the ability to read and write, which earlier was reserved for the wealthy only. Similarly, data liter-acy is an important component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, built on data, analytics, sensors and robotics.Regrettably however, Sodexo is a rare example of a data-liter-ate organization. Recent global research, which includes India, shows that 93 percent of busi-ness decision makers believe that data literacy is relevant to their industry, and it is important for employees to be data literate, yet less than a third see data lit-eracy as an important factor in a successful economy. Significant skills gap exists, with just 24 per-cent of the global workforce fully confident in their ability to read, work with, analyze, and argue with data. According to Forrester, only 48 percent of decisions are made based on quantitative information and analysis.Research by the global data sci-ence community Kaggle reveals that low data literacy and under-standing at leadership level is a roadblock to digital transforma-tion. Kaggle asked 16,000 data sci-entists and data analysts on what's holding them back in the work-place and found that three out of the top five barriers were about cultural and leadership shortcom-ings in data literacy. The ability to translate data into useable infor-mation that inspires action still dodges many of us; widespread data skills do not exist across to-day's workforce, data is not democ-ratized, and data-driven decision making is still a rarity. Business users need quite sim-ple information, presented in an easily digestible way that allows them to make better decisions. The idea that a frontline custom-er-facing employee needs to spend a lot of time analyzing informa-tion, is just not helpful if it doesn't directly contribute to how they do their work.It is impractical for organiza-tions to ask employees to retrain as data analysts/scientists. In-stead, data should be built into THE IDEA THAT A FRONTLINE CUSTOMER-FACING EMPLOYEE NEEDS TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME ANALYZING INFORMATION, IS JUST NOT HELPFUL IF IT DOESN'T DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO HOW THEY DO THEIR WORKthe workflow and made accessi-ble through the regular devices they use, like mobile phones. Once data is on the fingertips of employees in a user-friendly un-derstandable way will an organi-zation become data literate. Tools incorporating data into existing workflows and decision making processes enabled via embedded analytics have been around for more than a decade, but adoption has been slow. A fool with a tool will remain a fool, the old saying goes. It is im-portant to demonstrate that data driven decision making is solv-ing real life challenges. It should begin with decen-tralizing data. Traditional lead-ership and management feel powerful to control access to data, but this must change. Indi-viduals must have access to nec-essary data to make decisions. Resources must be directed to-wards supporting initiatives that ensured insights are captured and presented in a way that sup-ports data-driven decision mak-ing. If data is our most important asset, then we need to innovate a way to have it reflected in the valuation of the organization. Enterprises must have equal fo-cus on data workers ­ those who use data and analytics to take decisions ­ as much as on data scientists; this will be the foun-dation of digital transformation.Data literacy must be top priority for organizations; the end goal is for everyone in the organization to have the con-fidence to analyze data and make their own decisions. Data literacy will lead to data curios-ity, and curious organizations will be the successful survi-vors in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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