Data has gained relevance and is one of the biggest hypes of the moment. Creating a data-driven culture goes far beyond a technical challenge.

At Grupo RBS, we are advancing in the transformation with a focus on generating results.

We’ve learned the following lessons while achieving this goal.

1. Build a programme

Creating the data-driven culture requires a series of initiatives and ongoing reinforcement. Have long-term planning, but know how to do short-term iterations. From the beginning, focus should be on generating results. Map the main opportunities within the business, and prioritise effort and value.

Keep the main leaders aligned and involved in the programme. This ensures team engagement. Share with the company cases that demonstrate the evolution of the programme.

2. Create a multi-disciplinary team of excellence

Data culture is a company-wide theme, but creating a reference team makes it possible to gain speed. Form a team of highly technical people with multiple skill who also have a business-focused vision. Have people who can translate and transition between technical data topics and business challenges. The market has a shortage of professionals, so develop internal talent.

3. Get everyone involved

Being data-driven means using data across all layers and areas. The team of excellence will be a reference. However, to gain scale, analytical skills must be developed throughout the company — in marketing, finance, and, especially, the newsroom. Create development programmes on logic, statistics, and programming languages.

4. Act in an integrated way

Data-focuused people need to act within the business, sharing challenges and proposing solutions together. Integrated groups tend to generate results faster and intensify the transformation. Create a data culture aligned with the company's culture.

5. Develop data products

Generating value with data is a long and continuous cycle. Understand that your company is creating new products and not just implementing projects.

At Grupo RBS, we are working with three layers of data products: statistical models, data visualizations, and data platforms. The closer to the user, the greater the implementation challenges. This is when the culture of data products increases in importance too.

The transformation of culture will be an ongoing process, and you need to be prepared for a journey. At RBS, we have been accelerating the data-driven culture for two years, with important results and much more to develop.

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