Ask Our Experts: Bridging the Gap Between Data Teams and Non-technical Stakeholders
A: Bridging the gap between data teams and non-technical stakeholders should be a multi-way effort.
From the technical side, data analysts first have to be aware of business needs and then adopt communication best practices. Insights should be delivered in the plain language of stakeholders, eliminating technical jargon and providing business context. Data storytelling techniques should be leveraged to ensure communication is engaging and persuasive.
From the side of stakeholders, having a high level of data literacy is key to avoiding communication gaps and insight misinterpretations that can lead to distorted decision-making.
Moreover, as hierarchical organizational gaps widen in larger businesses, having mediator roles can also be beneficial. These roles can be performed by experienced business analysts or specialized positions like data translators. Making room at the management tables for data-experienced managers and chief officers will bridge the gap more easily.
From a big-picture perspective, developing a wider data culture environment within an organization can eliminate such gaps on different levels. Business data maturity can only be achieved if business objectives are aligned with and then enabled by data uses, which highlights the importance of crafting a data strategy in alignment with the overall business strategy.
About the expert:
Islam Salahuddin
Data Analyst,
The KPI Institute
- A data analyst with a strong focus on storytelling and data visualization, growing statistical knowledge and a developing set of technical skills and tools
- As a specialist in data analysis at The KPI Institute, Islam leads the generation of research on the domain of data analytics and the development of business analytics toolkits
- A former research analyst at Frontier MEA Ltd, in charge of data gathering and introducing data analysis pieces
- Worked as a junior data analyst at InfoTimes, performing data scraping, analysis, and data visualization and producing data-driven pieces in both Arabic and English
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This feature was first published in the Ask Our Experts section of Performance Magazine Issue No. 26, 2023—Data Analytics Edition. To download the free digital copy, visit the TKI Marketplace. You can also purchase an additional printed copy via Amazon.