Data is the lifeblood of organizations. So, it should be managed like the valued asset it is. Data governance provides the process and procedures to effectively manage it. Data governance comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Often it means different things to different organizations, and many organizations struggle to get their data governance initiatives up and running. Once they do, they struggle to sustain the momentum of their initial efforts.
Every organization should consider a cross-functional data governance team that includes, at the very least, representatives from your membership, marketing/communications, and IT departments. The data governance team develops and enforces policies to keep the organization’s data clean and updated. In addition, the team must have the full support of leadership to ensure that sound data collection and management practices are followed throughout the organization. No exceptions.
One of the data governance team’s first assignments is to conduct an audit of existing data sources. The goal of an audit is to answer the following key questions:
- What data do you have now and where does it reside?
- Who’s using that data and how?
- What is the common data used across the organization (master data)?
- What shape is the data in— how complete, clean, and current?
- What data you will keep and for how long?
- What data you will purge and stop collecting?
Other functions of the data governance team include making sure your organization stays in compliance with privacy laws, such as the European Union’s GDPR, state regulations such as California’s CCPA, and the inevitable federal regulations. The team should also focus on moving their organization to a culture of data transparency. You must tell members and constituents why you want their data, what you will do with it, and how those actions will improve the member, attendee, or customer experience. When they understand your motives, they’re more likely to share information with you.
An organization-wide, holistic approach to data helps to get it out of silos. The data governance team ensures that staff has access to the data they need to accurately understand members and customers, gain insight, and make data-informed decisions. Poor quality data will result in poor understanding and potentially bad decisions.
DelCor’s Data Governance assessment and methodology will help provide guidance moving an organization’s data initiatives forward. We perform and/or provide guidance for the following:
- Assess and recommend an appropriate data governance structure
- Understand the organizational pain points in the use of data
- Assess the current data practices and standards to determine which are working and where critical gaps reside
- Best practices for addressing identified gaps in data governance and data privacy
- Processes for governing the identification, collection, and use of metadata
- Processes that track data quality which consists of completeness, redundancy, and improvement
- Strategies and plans for data security, backup, archiving, and compliance
Questions? Contact DelCor now!
More thoughts on DATA Governance:
