After dedicating months to analyzing data and creating visual representations, you were excited to share your insightful work with your company. However, instead of receiving the expected appreciation and admiration, you were met with glazed eyes and the occasional yawn.
What gives?
Turns out, most people are not experts in analytics like you. They didn’t study statistics and data visualization for years. Your analytics skills are unique and valuable, but it can be challenging to communicate your insights to your coworkers.
However, don’t worry! With some skill, you can convert even the most analytics-resistant colleague into a supporter.
Here are seven tips to promote analytics and engage your entire organization.
Make Data Accessible With Centralized Analytics Hub
If you want people to actually use your fancy analytics tools, you’ve got to make the data easy to find and access. Set up a centralized “analytics hub” where employees can explore metrics, reports and dashboards for their areas of the business. Call it whatever fits your culture – the “data depot,” the “insight interchange,” the “metrics marketplace.” The name isn’t important, but making analytics available in one spot is crucial. Rather than burying reports in a maze of folders or making people log into 12 different systems, aggregate everything in your analytics platform. Curate the content so users can easily find what they need. Sort and filter by topic, department, data source, or whatever taxonomy makes sense for your organization. Give employees autonomy to explore on their own, but also highlight key metrics and recent wins right on the homepage. If the thought of creating an “analytics hub” seems daunting, start small. Pick one team or business unit to focus on, build out a basic dashboard, and expand from there. Providing a single access point, even for a subset of data, can spur interest and show the possibilities. Sure, security and governance are important, but if you lock down access too tightly, no one will use the tools. Find the right balance through role-based permissions and restrictions. Give employees a sense of ownership over the data by letting them request new metrics or ask for custom reports. After all, analytics adoption depends on analytics access. Open the doors, turn on the lights, and let the insights flow!Promote Adoption Through Training and Education
To get folks on board the analytics train, you have to show them the benefits. And since most people would rather watch TV than read a boring slide deck, training better be engaging.Make it Relevant
Show how analytics applies to their specific roles. Sales folks care about closing deals, so demo how analytics improves forecasting and identifies high-value leads. Marketers want to optimize campaigns, so highlight tools that gage audience sentiment and spot trends. Help each team understand what’s in it for them, and adoption will skyrocket.Keep it Casual
Forget stiff, jargon-filled presentations. Have a genuine conversation about how analytics makes jobs easier and more impactful. Share a few laughs – people retain info better when they’re enjoying themselves. Keep things light and interactive with real-world examples, hypothetical scenarios, and open discussions. Let people ask questions and voice concerns. Address issues openly and honestly.Provide Ongoing Support
One-and-done training won’t cut it. People learn at different paces, so offer refreshers and follow-ups. Provide job aids like cheat sheets, video tutorials, and quick reference guides. Have analysts and power users mentor newbies. Make yourself available to answer questions and troubleshoot problems. Ongoing education and support are key to building analytics confidence and proficiency. With regular, engaging education tailored to each role, and plenty of support as people get up to speed, you’ll have the whole company leveraging analytics in no time. But remember, even the best tools are useless without people who know how to use them. Focus on adoption, and analytics success will follow!Incentivize Usage With Contests and Gamification
Want to get your coworkers actually using those fancy analytics tools your company invested in? Make it fun. Because if it’s not fun, no one’s going to do it.Gameify that data!
Set up contests and competitions to motivate people to dig into the numbers. Offer prizes and rewards for things like:- Identifying key metrics/insights
- Creating the most useful dashboard
- Asking the smartest questions about the data
Bragging rights
Everyone loves to be the smartest person in the virtual room. Give people a way to show off their analytics skills and insights. Maybe set up a Slack channel or messaging board for people to share what they’re finding in the data. Recognize and call out the most interesting discoveries. Help people build their internal reputations as data rock stars.Make it social
Speaking of Slack, take advantage of the social aspects of the workplace to spread an analytics mindset. Set up channels where people can ask each other questions about reports or dashboards. Encourage people to set up virtual “study groups” to tackle analytics projects together. People are much more likely to adopt new tools and concepts when they see their coworkers using them.Keep it lively
The worst thing you can do is bore people with mandatory analytics training or make data seem like a chore. Keep things light and casual. Use humor and real-world examples in your communications. Make analytics seem exciting rather than tedious. If people are engaged and having a good time, they’ll be far more open to learning. So put down the sticks and pick up the carrots. A little fun and friendly competition can go a long way toward driving analytics adoption in your organization. Turn data into a game, and you’ll be surprised how quickly people get on board.Conclusion,
So there you have it, seven tips to help your company embrace analytics and make better, data-driven decisions. While getting started with analytics can seem overwhelming, focusing on education, communication, and building confidence will help your team rise to the challenge. Before you know it, “because the data says so” will be the new standard response in meetings. And when that happens, you’ll know you’ve achieved analytics nirvana. Now go forth, spread the good word of analytics to the people, and watch as your company reaches new heights of productivity and success. The data is on your side!
