Building a data-engaged culture is perhaps the hardest part of a CDO’s journey. In Voice of the CDO 2024, leading Chief Data Officers reflect that it’s not just helping employees to understand data, but changing how they think, feel, and work with it.
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Building a data-engaged culture is no easy feat. For many Chief Data Officers (CDOs), this is one of the most challenging aspects of their role. While technology often grabs the headlines, the real difficulty lies in changing how people think, feel, and work with data. It’s not just about providing employees with data literacy training or introducing new tools. As CDOs in the Voice of the CDO 2024 report highlight, true transformation comes from fostering a cultural shift within organisations — one that moves beyond understanding data to fully embracing it as an integral part of everyday decision-making.
Changing Culture Without Overwhelming People
Cultural challenge is something every CDO grapples with. As Nuno Assis, Director Global Data, Governance and Analytics at Miele X remarks:
“People have a tendency to go back to what they know, and this is a challenge that is deep in the roots of culture. So, the question was, how can we change culture without changing culture?”
The reality is, changing culture too rapidly or with heavy-handed measures can backfire. As data leaders have learned, a more measured, collaborative approach is key. This means aligning data initiatives with the organisation’s goals and helping employees understand how data can support their own objectives. It’s about measuring the appetite for change in the organisation and the velocity that it can absorb, meeting people where they are and matching their tempo until you build greater momentum.
A Journey from Data to Outcomes
CDOs in the report have found success by focusing on business outcomes. Elizabeth Osta, Strategic Advisor at Data Leaders and former CDO at Heineken, explained that demonstrating significant financial impact from data and AI use cases drives serious engagement:
“Measuring financial value from the deployment of AI use cases is a good and solid starting point. You need to be quite bold and want to create value with AI that, over time, is the same size as a small business unit.”
The clincher is delivering against expectations.
Paola Cagliani, EU Chief Data Officer at Admiral Group Plc echoes this approach:
“I start aligning data initiatives with the organisation’s strategic goal and objectives by finding critical metrics in the company’s strategic plan and showing how data foundations can successfully improve them.”
By connecting data initiatives to tangible business outcomes, CDOs can overcome initial scepticism and build momentum. This paves the way to evolving the measurement of data and AI’s impact in the future to include societal and environmental outcomes, further embedding data into the broader strategic fabric of the organisation.
Fostering Partnerships and Accountability
Another important factor in building a data-engaged culture is collaboration. As Samir Patel, Head of Data at BAE Systems noted, co-creation is an essential part of fostering this engagement:
“We don’t release any service without having it co-created with a business partner. It’s built in by design from the start.”
For Joëlle van der Bijl, CDAO at FrieslandCampina, co-creation and partnership is also the root of successful transformation:
“You have to see each other as partners, not as separate entities. As data leaders, we need to immerse ourselves in the business issues, ask questions to clarify needs, listen carefully, and adapt. I truly believe that’s where success lies.”
By working closely with business units and co-creating data solutions, CDOs ensure that stakeholders are invested in the outcome. This shared ownership leads to a deeper commitment to using data effectively, as business leaders feel personally accountable for the success of the initiatives.
A Cultural Shift Through Education
Data literacy and education are pivotal in shifting how employees feel about data. In the report, George Papadatos Global Head Data Strategy and Data Assets, Syngenta shares how their Digital Growth Academy was designed not just to teach skills but to foster curiosity and openness:
“For the first time, we defined what kind of behaviours and attributes we want from data culture. And that’s curious, open, data-centric, and empowered.”
The Digital Growth Academy at Syngenta represents a comprehensive approach to transforming how employees think about and engage with data. It was tailored specifically for Syngenta’s R&D staff, focusing on upskilling them to support the company’s digital transformation strategy. What makes this academy stand out is its emphasis on both technical skills and cultural change. It’s not just about training people to use new tools — it’s about embedding a mindset that sees data as integral to innovation and decision-making.
The Road Ahead: Building the Foundations
The journey to building a data-engaged culture is ongoing. It requires a long-term commitment from both CDOs and business leaders to continuously invest in education, co-creation, and aligning data initiatives with strategic goals. But as the Voice of the CDO 2024 report demonstrates, these efforts are paying off.
The Voice of the CDO, produced in partnership with Databricks, draws from insights from the Data Leaders CDO think tank. The report shines a light on the evolving CDO landscape, revealing their multifaceted role and how they lead business transformation.
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