To be relevant and competitive in today’s environment, businesses need data science literacy.
You may hire the best data scientist on the planet and still not make data science work for you. That’s because the first and most essential step to effectively transition your business is data science literacy.
Regardless of your organization’s size, data science has the potential to transform your business and drive the technological changes needed to stay competitive.
Data science and advanced analytics gives your business needs to stay ahead. Startups leverage analytic techniques to change what customers expect, causing business to hustle to keep up and more importantly, stay ahead.
As companies amass more and more data, interpreting it and using it to your advantage can seem overwhelming. A few years ago, The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) assessed data-interpretation and problem-solving skills of adults in 23 countries. The U.S. ranked 21 out of 23 countries participating. Data literacy is an absolute must-have regardless of your organization’s size.
Who is responsible for boosting data literacy understanding?
Schools and colleges prioritize math curricula such as calculus and algebra above more applied subjects like statistics and probability, causing the shift from academia to employers to create data science learning programs.
As AI becomes a more critical component of business, the need to understand how to challenge the outputs of algorithms is growing, instead of assuming system decisions are always right.
Companies may not be suffering from a lack of technical skills as much as a lack of soft skills in data-driven problem solving. The real value of what can be derived from data science can be realized by following these steps:
- Ask the right questions
- Understand which data is relevant and know how to test the validity
- Interpret the data well, so the results are useful and meaningful
- Test hypotheses using A/B tests to see what results pan out
- Create easy-to-understand visualizations so leaders understand the results
- Tell a story to help decision-makers see the big picture and act on the results of analysis
Of course, the advanced data skills from a data scientist are extremely important, but the associated soft skills can add greater comprehension.
Focusing on data basics is a good start for building data science literacy within your organization.
- Make sure people know how to use the tools.
- Business leaders should support capability learning, all the way to the CEO, and carefully select which data skills are most needed by your workforce.
- Use examples and stories in awareness campaigns to teach and inspire others about how to use data well.
Data literacy is important for almost everyone. With more people in your organization who know how to interpret data and ask the right questions, data-driven decision making will measurably improve your business performance.
Witmer Group provides you with a custom analytics service that will drive results, track, measure, and quantify your marketing goals and strengthen your strategies. Our expert data science team will help you gain deep insights and spot trends, opportunities, or areas that are hindering your growth. Contact Witmer Group today to optimize your marketing strategy through data-driven decision making.
Tell us what you need:
For more in-depth understanding of how Witmer Group can help you put data science to work for you, tell us what you need from us to move forward. One of our data scientists will get back to you shortly. Contact: jooann@witmergroup.com