Data as a Second Language: The Skill Missing in Successful Talent Acquisition

(US and Canada) I have a six-year-old son and he’s a “why” kid. He likes explanations and is constantly seeking to understand the reasoning behind decisions or requests. Not an hour goes by that he isn’t requiring further information before choosing to move forward with the requested task. I was a “why” kid, too.  

Most “why” kids turn into Input adults. Input is one of the 34 CliftonStrengths Themes, and those with this strength are often avid collectors of information. We can all agree though that, regardless of how much information someone requires before making a decision, most human beings enjoy knowing. As employees within an organization, our teams enjoy feeling overall alignment with the outcomes and strategies that they are the driving force behind.  

Data Quality through Data Literacy

We already know that prioritizing data quality is step one to becoming data driven. However, what is step one to improving data quality? In most IT suites, the argument is better processes, better data fields, and better technology. I disagree.  

Organizational data literacy is the most important step to truly achieving great data quality, data-driven decision making, and data management. Those fluent in data as a second language can identify and understand data sources, analyze them to generate insights, and use those insights to make better decisions that increase organizational value. 

Upskilling the human beings behind the processes, informing those who are inputting the information into the data fields, and enabling those using the technology to be fluent in the data language is the true step one. Data quality will be achieved through data literacy, and data literacy is the precursor to realizing data’s full value.

According to Qlik's 2022 Data Literacy report, 89% of C-level executives expect their team members to be able to explain how data has informed their decisions, yet only 11% of employees are fully confident in their ability to read, analyze, work with, and communicate with data. This is a massive gap in expectations between senior leadership and employees. Who is going to fix the disconnect?

The learning, talent acquisition, and human resource functions are key. The hiring and upskilling processes of the future for entry-level through senior leadership roles include one primary change:  hiring people at all levels that are fluent in the language of data and make our people smarter. 

Creating a Culture of Data Literacy

When all employees, at every level of the organization, understand the components and importance of our data story, a few things will happen. 

First, we will likely see a significant behavioral shift in the more than 33% of employees who find a task alternative to avoid data use, and the 14% of employees who simply avoid the task altogether, according to a 2020 Accenture study. We will see a large portion of the first barriers to a data-driven culture topple with employees’ confidence and fluency in their new data language.

When individuals in every function understand the objectives that their inputs are helping to achieve, improved data quality will be a natural byproduct. Data as a second language is a skillset that can result in never-before-seen return on investment for our organizations.

Prioritizing even a basic understanding of the importance of data quality for employees who are responsible for data input can have an immediate impact. As we all know, stories told by data are only as good as the data source. Data quality improves when the employees responsible for the input understand their organizational impact.  

Action Steps

• Communicate, train, assess, repeat.

Communicate the importance and outcomes of having a data literate organization and culture. Train your employees to become more fluent in data as a second language. Assess their ability to identify and understand data sources, analyze them to generate insights, and use those insights to make better decisions that increase organizational value. Repeat.

• Hire talent that speaks, reads, and writes data as a second language.

As your talent teams are searching for skills on job boards, ensure that they are seeking data literacy as well. Educate your talent acquisition teams on how to ask questions that seek data literate new hires. Simply asking, “When was the last time you used data to make a decision?” could help move the organization to be more data minded.

• Weave data literacy into your culture. 

Being a data literate organization is not just about employees, but a full, leader-supported, behavioral change and mindset switch. Soon, your employees will instinctively use their skills to drive smarter decisions and outcomes. 

A rising tide lifts all boats, and a rising understanding of the importance of data literacy and data quality in an organization will raise profitability, engagement, and productivity. The team members that you want to retain will want to see your organization succeed and be prepared for the future. So, honor the “why” kid in each of us. Tell your teams why data literacy or data as a second language at every layer matters. Describe the outcomes you are anticipating and how resilient your organization will be as a result.

About the Author

Kasara Weinrich, Principal Consultant, Future of Work at ADP, is an industry-recognized professional disruptor and futurist. As a lover of ideation, Weinrich’s mind is constantly spent designing and exploring the future of work while using data to guide decisions and invent the future.

Weinrich serves the ADP Global Sales organization as an amplifier, strategist and creator. She also serves the tech industry and data market through deep research, data aggregation and consumption. Weinrich is dedicated to sharing the outcomes of each through social media, thought leadership pieces, and speaking engagements.

With a master's degree in Business Administration cored in Prescriptive and Predictive Analytics, and a bachelor's degree in Communications, Weinrich thrives on the ability to simplify the complex. As a natural change seeker and thought leader, Weinrich enjoys any opportunity to think not just outside the box, but as if the box had never existed in the first place.