Calming the storm of problematic data

Problematic data. It doesn’t just impact your reporting. It impacts staff relationships.  

You can envision it: Your team is frustrated when their reporting is wrong because the data is wrong. Or when it’s going to take too long to get what they need. Or, worst of all, when there is no way to get what they need.  

For the teams that are responsible for data management, problematic data impacts their day-to-day on a core level. They dread requests for information. They are frustrated with their processes, which, in many cases, has become a workaround of a workaround of a workaround to accommodate incomplete configurations, errors in data entry, inefficient business processes, and problematic uploads. They know there is a problem, but they don’t know how to fix it, or it feels overwhelming.

Any of these cases create a dynamic of mistrust and frustration that can become the norm. It’s easy to slip into a state in which departments are at odds with each other. Team members might disagree about the accuracy of the reporting – but on the flip side, they also exhibit cagey behaviors that prevent the kind of open sharing that would help right the ship. There may be complaints about how long things take – but some of that comes from protectiveness among teams. They might feel attacked if attribution logistics change in a way they see as out-of-favor. They might know their results aren’t in a great place and want to hide that fact. They might be used to a standard way of operating and worry about what a new way of thinking might suggest about how they’ve been running their programs.

The scenarios are unfortunately endless to imagine.

Bad data tends to stem from a cultural issue. As humans, we know that most hesitancy comes from a place of fear. But as managers, we need to recognize that it’s our top-down responsibility to instate a culture that supports open conversation, the freedom to fail forward, and a willingness to question processes so that evolution is a constant.

So, the next time a conversation comes up around what data is “wrong” or what process is “bad,” what if we start from a place of understanding instead of finger pointing? When we treat problematic data as a curiosity rather than a reason to blame, we’re much more likely to create the kind of openness among teams that yields to what we actually want: progress.

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When you’re ready to start digging in to understand the state of your data – or if you need some help understanding how to foster productive conversations about data with your team – we’re here to support. Contact us to kick things off.