Organizations generate more data than ever before, yet data alone doesn't lead to better decisions. The real advantage comes from knowing how to interpret information, uncover meaningful insights, and act with confidence.
That's why data literacy has become a critical business capability. It equips employees across the organization to understand, communicate, and use data to make smarter decisions that improve business performance.
WHAT IS DATA LITERACY?
Data literacy is the ability to read, comprehend, and use data in different ways. It involves asking the right questions to make decisions, building working knowledge, and communicating meaning and context to others. Data literacy is not about becoming a data scientist or learning programming languages. It’s about understanding the different types and sources of data, knowing how, where, and what to analyze, and ensuring that data is accurate, reliable, and useful.
Just as literacy involves the ability to read the written word and comprehend what you have read, data literacy involves the ability to source, interpret, and communicate data in context. Data literacy enables an organization to use data effectively to drive desired business outcomes.
Poor data literacy impedes an organization’s digital transformation and its ability to compete in an increasingly digital-first business environment. On the other hand, organizations that achieve data literacy reap significant rewards. According to research from Gartner, enterprises that have higher corporate data literacy scores can have $320-$534 million in higher enterprise value.
why is data literacy important?
No longer a skill set solely required of analytics teams, basic data skills have increased in importance in nearly all departments—IT, marketing, product, HR, finance/accounting, and others—becoming the most important skill for success. Data literacy enables employees at every level of an organization to confidently interpret data, make informed decisions, and communicate insights effectively. For employees to succeed in their daily work, decision makers consider data skills as the most important skills, with 82% of leaders expecting employees to have basic data literacy.
The data literacy training gap
While both decision makers and employees agree that data skills are important for workforce success, there is disagreement on whether or not employees are being adequately trained. And there are outstanding questions about how to determine whether an employee is truly “data-literate.” A recent survey revealed a gap between the need for data initiatives and implementation, with less than half of workers responding that they’ve been offered data training—which is harming organizations’ competitiveness.
- 79% of leaders say they equip employees with the data skills they need, but only…
- 40% of employees say they’re provided the data skills they’re expected to have
The research also found:
- 93% of decision makers believe that data literacy is relevant to their industry
- 63% of large businesses plan on increasing the data literacy of their employees
- 69% of decision-makers say a lack of data skills stops employees from using data effectively
- Only 47% of employees say they have been offered data training by their organization
- Only 34% of firms currently provide data literacy training
benefits of data literacy in the workplace
Better data-driven decisions. Data literacy gives decision-makers the confidence to evaluate market trends, customer behavior, and business performance before making strategic choices. Better insight reduces guesswork and leads to smarter business decisions.
Measured and improved ROI. Understanding data makes it easier to evaluate which initiatives deliver results, uncover hidden opportunities, and invest resources where they'll have the greatest impact.
Gain deeper customer insights. Data-literate employees can turn customer data into actionable insights, helping businesses better understand buyer needs, improve experiences, and create more effective marketing and product strategies.
Increased employee productivity. Employees with strong data skills make faster, more informed decisions and solve problems more efficiently. They also report feeling more confident and productive in their daily work.
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85% of data literate people say they are performing very well at work, compared to 54 percent of the workforce in general
Barriers to data literacy in the workplace
Building a data-driven culture takes more than collecting data. Many organizations struggle with common data literacy challenges that prevent employees from confidently using data to make better decisions.
Resistance to change. Shifting from instinct-based decisions to data-driven culture often requires changing long-standing processes and gaining support across the organization.
Data skills gaps. While nearly every organization recognizes the value of data, many employees lack the data literacy skills needed to analyze information and turn it into meaningful action.
No executive champion. Successful data literacy initiatives need leadership support. Roles such as a Chief Data Officer (CDO) or Chief Analytics Officer (CAO) can establish priorities, secure resources, and promote a data-driven culture.
Weak data governance. Enterprises are experiencing unprecedented levels of data production and consumption, which is why leadership must be responsible for data governance to ensure insights are properly vetted.
Organizational silos. Data expertise often remains within IT or business intelligence teams, limiting collaboration and preventing valuable insights from reaching business leaders.
Low employee confidence. Many employees don't feel comfortable working with data. According to Gartner, only 21% of employees feel confident in their data literacy skills, while 74% report feeling overwhelmed or frustrated when working with data. Investing in data literacy training can build confidence and encourage broader adoption of data-driven decision making.
how to improve data literacy across your organization
The key to realizing the opportunity of data is to unlock the potential of people within the organization. Here are some key steps to consider when planning a data literacy strategy.
- Set your expectations. Define what you want your data to do and how it will deliver tangible value for your organization.
- Create a roadmap. Understand the state of data and identify the investments needed to empower employees to fulfill business goals. Start with an objective evaluation of your employees’ data skills.
- Arm your employees. Invest in solutions that reduce data cleansing and accelerate data analysis, monetization, and productization.
- Close the literacy gap. Improve employees’ self-confidence to ask the right questions and assess the recommended insights through data literacy training.
- Create a culture of co-evolution. Regularly assess data tools for all roles to ensure that they continue to deliver based on user requirements.
DEVELOP YOUR DATA LITERACY SKILLS WITH MINITAB
As businesses and organizations become more data-driven, the demand for professionals who demonstrate data literacy will continue to increase. As such, taking the time to develop your data literacy skills can be a smart investment.
With the Minitab Education Hub, you can access learning paths, resources, and training all in one place – with different topics and different levels – that can be deployed and tracked across your organization. Flexible assessment capabilities, including instant feedback on quizzes and certificates of completion, provide feedback, and keep learners on track.
Minitab is also committed to supporting your employees’ growth by working closely with you, providing consulting, when necessary, and regularly updating learning materials to provide new training and learning paths that build on their skill sets. Whether you want to learn on-site, through a virtual classroom, or with self-paced courses, our experts make it easy to understand, analyze, and leverage the power of your data.
READY TO IMPROVE YOUR DATA LITERACY TO MAKE MORE INFORMED BUSINESS DECISIONS?
SOURCES:
Gartner Annual Chief Data Officer Survey, Gartner
A Data and Analytics Leader's Guide to Data Literacy, Gartner
Data Health Survey, Talend
Data Literacy Playbook, Gartner