Nowadays we hear a lot about data and data is considered as the backbone for any business. If any organization wants to perform effectively then the organization should teach its employees to handle the data properly.  Today the data helps the organization to understand the customers, to make better decisions, to understand the performance, to improve the business processes. If you are not using the data to find out the insights then your business is like running on the street with blind eyes. With the help of the data, organizations are able to acquire the most useful information and knowledge of their own firm, their customers, their competitors, and so on. The world is changing so fast that if we have to compete with our competitors then we should be ahead of their competitors which will lead to success.

Data literacy is the skill to read, understand, work, analyze and communicate with the data. Amber Lee Dennis says “Engaging people so that their actions and decisions drive better decision making for the organization.” Eastern Michigan University says “According to Understanding what data means: including how to read charts, drawing correct conclusions, and recognizing when data is used in misleading or inappropriate”.

Data literacy is not learning each and every programming language or knowing all the advanced skills of data analytics. Data literacy is all about understanding the data, building knowledge, and making fruitful decisions from the data. According to a survey by Accenture, the study says workplace productivity chokes if there is a lack of data skills.  For the study, 9,000 companies were taken and found that three-quarters of the employees are not happy with working in data. And 59% of the employees are feeling frustrated when using data analytics and business intelligence tools. The frustration and unhappiness of dealing with data in the work environment can be stopped by equipping the employees with the data skills that are required to handle the data efficiently.

In this digital era, the leading companies consider data literacy as the main requirement for success. Amazon’s complete business is shaped by data i.e warehousing, online sales, and also in case of item delivery data is used.  Facebook practices Machine learning and AI to test which algorithms are best useful and can be rolled out. Leading companies are collecting huge data by means of calls, e-mails, interactions, and performance measures. Through collecting this data and in terms of proper handling of data it is possible for the companies to provide better-improved services, improved service, improved program design and even workforce planning.

Data literacy is almost everywhere and has become very important in all Businesses. Businesses require people with the ability to read, understand, interpret and draw insights from the data. An organization’s success is mainly dependent on its employees’ capability to learn data skills. Most of the employees understand that the data in the organization is an asset. But what many organizations are facing problems with is how to balance the employees with technology and processes elements that are mainly required to build a data-informed workplace.

Prof Roopa U
Assistant Professor
DSCE-MBA