How to Create a Data-Driven Culture

data-driven-1500x630 How to Create a Data-Driven Culture

We are truly in the digital age; data in every enterprise is growing at an exponential rate. A report from Forrester shows that businesses with a data-driven culture are growing 30% annually. And with this growth, our statistical analyses are becoming more accurate too. But one thing to remember is that as humans, when we see success we tend to stick to the behaviours we practiced before the success happened. As a result, sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in one mode of doing things. As well, we often fall into the trap of having data silos confined to only a certain team or project. But why? Why not make data accessible all through the entire organization and allow business leaders to make faster, better-informed decisions. And here’s where creating a data-driven culture comes in.

What is a Data-Driven Culture?

Although it’s a term that’s being used frequently in the technology community nowadays, what does it really entail? Essentially, having a data-driven culture means treating your data as the main resource and educator for every facet of the organization. Using data and analyses allows team members to make better-informed decisions that aren’t as skewed by what “feels right”. Although emotion is important, a part of what makes us human, it’s easy to be swayed into a less than optimal situation. There are a few main components that are crucial to securing a data-driven culture. Firstly, every team member needs access to high-quality data. But not only that, they need the tools and background knowledge to know how to implement the data itself. Having a tool like a central database is incredibly powerful, but only when the people using it know how to get the most out of it. 

Why is it Important?

For most businesses, the customer or client is the priority all the way through the business model. Companies with a data-driven culture better satisfy customers. With fact-based innovation, decision making becomes efficient. Strategies are clarified and backed by hard data. Having data scientists available to all branches of a company actually simplifies concepts, as counterintuitive as that might sound. More people leading to less entropy? With a data-driven culture, that’s the reality. Understanding and implementing these techniques offer the upper hand to the company, especially when combined with team training. 

Ways to Create a Data-Driven Culture

  • Change the Culture

At the root of it all, a change into a data-driven culture is a change in mindset on all levels. And the only way to incentivize this shift is to identify and communicate the necessity and importance of data. Make sure your team understands why data is such a vital part of an organization, and how it will help not only their own work, but the organization as a whole.

  • Lead With a Top-Down Approach 

Leading by example has always been a word from the wise. A top-down approach sets clear goals and expectations for all members of the organization, C-suite or otherwise. When the top executives show that they are investing time, energy, and mind space into a new process, others will follow suit. This will help change the aforementioned mindset.

  • Invest in High-Quality Data Infrastructure

Just like with anything else, when you are starting out, it’s usually beneficial to have durable, reliable resources. The same goes for a data-driven culture. Making sure to invest in high-quality data infrastructure demonstrates the emphasis that the leadership is putting into being data-centred. As well as this, it assures fewer bumps down the road due to technical instability. 

  • Establish Accessibility

The whole idea behind having data as one’s main resource is that the whole company gets to benefit from the statistics. It’s crucial to make sure that every team member can access information, whether it’s across divisions or not. Creating those inter-team relationships and communication between projects not only fosters community, but also a wider awareness of what else is going on. Additionally, when everyone is working from the same dataset, it’s less likely that analyses from different sectors won’t be in alignment.

  • Keep An Open Mind

Arguably the most pivotal part of adapting to a new practice is keeping an open mind. It can be difficult sometimes. Understand that data may be surprising and contrary to your belief, but it’s up to how your organization chooses to accept and reflect on it. Getting in the habit of backing all decisions with analytics and data points, increases credibility and provides fact-based evidence for decisions; this is great for communicating with clients as well. 

Optimus Information can help create a strategy and roadmap for your Data & AI initiatives and use your data for actionable intelligence to maximize the business impact.

 

Contact us if you want to learn more.

 

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Corporate Social Responsibility at Optimus

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What Community Service Means to Optimus:

It’s undisputed that giving back is a core connector in large communities and companies. At Optimus, contributing time and funding to various causes in society is something that brings us all together, reigniting our humanity. Especially in a large company like ours, corporate social responsibility through is especially important and we find that community service keeps us humble and grounded. For both the Vancouver and Noida offices, philanthropy is of the utmost importance; we want to make connections and see how we can make an impact. To us, community service isn’t just giving donations. We take the time to hone in on how we can make a difference to the communities surrounding ours. 

How We Choose to Give Back in 2019:

We believe that giving back to local communities is crucial in establishing tangible change. In Vancouver, we have focused on helping those in close vicinity to the office by creating small yet meaningful movements. In the fall, we gathered together in Oppenheimer Park, a recent safe place and home to many homeless citizens. A group of volunteers from our team spent a Saturday afternoon handing out hot samosas in this area of the Downtown Eastside. On that day alone, we estimate that we served close to 500 individuals.

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Vancouver CSR Team in Oppenheimer Park

In 2019, we also had a sandwich fundraiser to raise money for the Zajac Ranch for Children. A summer camp that provides fun experiences for children with disabilities, Zajac Ranch makes accessibility their top priority; medical conditions don’t hold back the children from enjoying the full potential to just be kids. Optimus and Enkel, our sister company, had volunteered to match the given donations dollar for dollar. We organized a sandwich fundraiser and collected personal donations from the staff which were matched by the company. Furthermore, we plan to organize a volunteer day and visit the camp later this year. 

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Vancouver Team putting collected items together for donation bags

Aligned Global Contributions:

During the harsh winter months, both the Vancouver and Noida offices contributed winter bundles to local communities. The Vancouver bundles included toques, gloves, socks, toothbrush/toothpaste, and a snack. In India with cold temperatures, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Team collected blankets and clothing to donate to Uday Foundation, which provides shelter for women and children undergoing medical treatment. Over the past year, in Noida, we also worked closely with the Smile Foundation, which has an initiative for every child to attend school. Currently, they have 30,000+ children across 27 states in India attending school through Mission Education Projects. Optimus Information’s Power of 10 Initiative provided to this organization. In addition, visits and drives occurred to local charities. 

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CSR Team in Noida visiting Uday Foundation

In July and November, team members from Optimus visited children at Deepalaya. This organization is focused on identifying economically and socially deprived children to help them become educated and skilled. We gathered our resources and were able to donate stationery as well as computers. We celebrated Children’s Day on November 14th at Deepalaya, by bringing the children lunch and continuing to encourage them on their path to higher education. By picking different organizations throughout the year, we hope to make an impact for various communities of people around us in both Canada and India. 

Where We Want to Be Helping in the Future:

Optimus is deeply passionate about making a difference in the local community. Our company has launched an initiative in 2020 to reach a goal of 5,000 volunteer hours collectively in both the Vancouver and Noida office. Moreover, our efforts will be mirrored with a concentration on education, healthcare and environmental conservation. 

Looking ahead into the new year, the CSR Team continues to engage with local NGOs. By circulating a survey to employees on what socio-economic issues are important to them, we are able to focus on issues that have a personal impact as well. Our unified efforts are primarily focused on education, as we believe it is the path to empowerment.

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Spending time on Children’s Day in India with the Deepalaya organization

Through company collaboration, we are able to put our best collective efforts forward. Feedback from our employees to focus our efforts on upcoming corporate social responsibility activities include organizing backpacks to give to those less fortunate, stocked with basic necessities. We continuously donate at a blood drive and intend to carry on doing so. We feel that in order to truly make a difference, you must donate your time not just your money. Connecting on a deeper level is always the core purpose behind our philanthropic initiatives. To give our time is what matters most to us. We hope to truly make a difference in whatever way we can. 

 

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Technology and Collaboration in the Workplace

Collaboration is a top priority for many organizations and business leaders. At Optimus, collaboration is integral to office culture and how we evolve and stay flexible. Collaboration within the workplace elevates the group as a whole. We are better able to solve problems and serve our clients by incorporating technology into our collaborative practices. 

Open Communication

Every desk in the Noida office is in an open work-space which provides easy communication between all members of a team. This helps facilitate the daily huddles that happen between team leads and their members. Firstly, a detailed plan executes all tasks. Following that, each individual takes responsibility for their sections and logs their efforts. A retrospective meeting addresses what can be improved. 

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The Optimus team collaborating in the office

Our two offices have weekly check-ins to maintain clear communication of projects and keep up to date on their status. Leads of test and development meet to converse on the status of projects, and what challenges need to be addressed. Furthermore, clients are kept up to date through weekly status reports which analyze what work has been completed, where efforts were directed for the week, along with dependencies for the clients to act upon. 

Collaboration Across Time Zones and Platforms

Optimus Information uses technology to come together and spread information across a multitude of platforms. For instance, internally you can see birthday messages posted on Google Plus, schedule a meeting overseas through Zoom, keep up to date with your colleagues through Slack, and track your metrics on Zoho. Moreover, the use of Azure boards provides lucidity in work. A ticketing system assigns a ticket to each collaborator amongst the projects.

Through this common board, collaborators can see which tickets are assigned to whom, and what the progress is on each task. As a result, allocating tickets is based on individual capacity along with how many projects they are working on. In addition to filters, there are separate boards per project. These boards optimize differentiation and keep an organized way of merging a multitude of channels. Technology and collaboration in the workplace happen homogeneously. To reach overseas, Zoom ensures all calls are easily accessible. This allows for the Vancouver and Noida office to have a seamless partnership.

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Daily huddles keep our teams up to date on each project

Technology is constantly evolving. In order for a company to remain at the forefront of the industry, information must be accurate and up to date. Collaboration allows for knowledge to be shared, cultivating a culture of continuous learning. Optimus utilizes technology to pass forward the information efficiently. Each individual has their own strengths, and by combining their unique standpoints it accelerates the achievement of common goals. 

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